Baseball season is in full swing.  What accompanies a visit to the stadium – food, of course!

Oh, the food!  Oh the calories!  Hang on – this post is not about ignoring the good time food.  Of course, there are always healthy food options:  you can bring your own or be scrupulous in making healthy choices. And, there are now many more gourmet options available (but usually still loaded with calories). But honestly, do you think that most people really want to eat low calorie foods when they’re at a ballgame? No way.

So what do you do when you’re at these places with food vendors about every 20 feet hawking dogs, ice cream, and beer?

There Are Ways And Then There Are Ways

If you’ve got a will of iron, I guess you could ignore the food and drinks.  But if you’re like most people and you’re tempted at every turn, you can try to minimize the damage without taking out the fun.  If you know you’re going to be having a stadium or food court meal, do some thinking, planning, and learning.  The best choices are not always the obvious ones.

Do you need both peanuts and popcorn?  Can you make do with a regular hot dog instead of a foot-long?  Can you keep it to one or two beers instead of three?  Can you choose the small popcorn instead of the jumbo tub?

Make Your Best Choice

Here’s some info to help you make your best choice.  Just a heads up – we’re not talking about the most nutritious choice because given these foods, quality nutrition is not front and center.  You can, however, enjoy your day and make the best caloric choice (with a nod to fat and sugar content) and still eat traditional ballpark and amusement park food.

• Cotton Candy: Nothing but heated and colored sugar that’s spun into threads with added air. Cotton candy on a stick or wrapped around a paper cone (about an ounce) has around 105 calories; a 2oz. bag (common size) has 210. A lot of sugar, but not a lot of calories – albeit empty ones.
• Cracker Jack (officially cracker jack, not jacks): candy-coated popcorn with some peanuts. A 3.5oz stadium size box has 420 calories but does have 7g  protein and 3.5g fiber.
• Hamburger: of beef with a bun has about 490 calories — without cheese or other toppings which up the ante.
• Grilled Chicken Sandwich, 6oz., 280 calories – not a bad choice.  6oz. of chicken tenders clock in at 446 calories.  Barbecue dipping sauce adds 30 calories a tablespoon.
• Hot Dog: Most sold out stadiums can sell 16,000 hot dogs a day. A regular hot dog with mustard has about 290 calories: 180 for the 2oz. dog, 110 for the bun, zilch for regular yellow mustard. Two tbs. of sauerkraut adds another 5-10 calories, 2 tbs. of ketchup adds 30, and 2 tbs. of relish another 40. A Nathan’s hot dog racks up 320 calories; a foot-long Hebrew National 510 calories. Hot dogs are usually loaded with sodium.
• Pizza: Stadium pizza is larger than a usual slice, about 1/6 of a 16-inch pie (instead of 1/8) making it about 435 calories a slice.
• Super Nachos with Cheese: A 12oz. serving (40 chips, 4oz. cheese) has about 1,500 calories!!! Plain French fries look like a caloric bargain by comparison.
• French Fries: A large serving has about 500 calories. A serving of Hardee’s chili cheese fries has 700 calories and 350 of them come from fat.
• Potato Chips:  One single serving bag has 153 calories (94 of them from fat).
• Peanuts in the Shell: What would a baseball game be without a bag of peanuts? Stadiums can sell as many as 6,000 bags on game days. An 8oz. bag has 840 calories; a 12oz. bag has 1,260. Yes, they have some protein and fiber.  But wow on the calories.
• Soft Pretzel: One large soft pretzel has 483 calories – giant soft pretzels (7-8oz.) have about 700 calories.
• Draft Beer: A stadium draft beer, 20oz. cup (the usual size), has about 240 calories. A light draft saves you 60 calories.
• Coca Cola:  A 12oz can has 140 calories –- and close to 10 tsp. of sugar.
• Helmet Ice Cream: Your team’s mini-helmet filled with swirly Carvel, 550-590 calories.
• Souvenir Popcorn: At Yankee Stadium a jumbo size has 1,484 calories and a souvenir bucket has 2,473 calories.

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Morning coffee.  Coffee break.  Afternoon tea.  A nice cup after dinner. Many of us love – need – our coffee or tea.

A nice hot steaming cup of coffee or tea can hit the spot and a hot skim latte is a great snack – soothing, calorie controlled, and protein laced.  On the other hand, a giant hot coffee drink filled with syrup and whipped cream – often clocking in at 400 to 500 calories — might be soothing but sure isn’t great for your waistline.

Black Or Light And Sweet?

How do you like your coffee?  Black, light and sweet, regular?  Do you add sugar and pour milk until the color and taste is just right?

As you dump sugar and pour cream into mugs and those too hot to touch cardboard containers, have you ever thought about how many calories you’re actually adding to an otherwise very low calorie drink?  Probably not. They’re calories not usually measured and all too easy to forget.

What Do You Put Into Your Coffee Or Tea?

There are about two calories in eight ounces (a small cup) of unsweetened black brewed coffee or tea – doesn’t matter if it’s hot or iced. Not a bad deal.

What a lot of us don’t think about is how many calories are in the add-ins that we stir into our coffee and tea.

How much milk or half and half do you add to your coffee or tea? How much sugar? Bet you don’t have a clue.  We all do a freehand pour.  Try measuring how much you pour and you might be really surprised.

The Add-Ins

• Heavy cream, 2 tablespoons:  104 calories
• Half and half, 2 tablespoons (1/8 cup):  40 calories
• Whole milk, 2 tablespoons:  18 calories
• 2% (low fat) milk, 2 tablespoons:  14 calories
• Non-fat milk, 2 tablespoons:  11 calories
• Table sugar, 1 tablespoon:  49 calories
• Table sugar, 1 teaspoon:  16 calories

How’s This For An Eye-Opener?

Say you have 3 grande (Starbucks) – or 3 large (Dunkin’ Donuts) – size coffees a day.  Each is 20 ounces or 2.5 times the size of a traditional 8 ounce cup.

If you add 4 tablespoons of half and half and three teaspoons of sugar to each that’s adds up to128 calories for the additives and around 5 calories for the coffee.  That’s 133 calories for each grande/large cup of coffee. Have three of those and you’ve added 399 calories a day from coffee (or tea).

Do that every day for a year and mathematically that’s the equivalent of 145,635 calories. Does that make you stop and think?

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Have you been known to invade the breadbasket with gusto as soon as it lands on the table?

Then do you mindlessly continue to munch before and during your meal either because you’re hungry or because the bread is there for easy nibbling or for sopping up gravy or sauce?

Butter or Oil?

Olive oil for bread dipping is giving butter some stiff competition.  Olive oil arrives green or golden, plain, herbed or spiced.  It can be plopped down on your table, or poured with a flourish.  Some restaurants offer a selection for dipping – and attempt to educate you about the variation in flavors depending upon the olives’ country of origin.

Butter can also appear in many forms.  It still may still arrive in shiny foil packets – what would a diner be without them – or mounded in  pretty dishes sprinkled with sea salt or blended with various fruits or herbs.

Don’t be misled by the presentation — butter and oil, although delicious, are high calorie, high fat foods. Certain oils may be heart healthy, but they are still caloric.

Who Takes In More Calories – Butter Or Olive Oil Eaters?

Hidden cameras in Italian restaurants have shown that people who put olive oil on a piece of bread consume more fat and calories than if they use butter on their bread. But, the olive oil users end up eating fewer pieces of bread than the butter eaters.

In a study done by the food psychology laboratory at Cornell University, 341 restaurant goers were randomly given olive oil or blocks of butter with their bread. Following dinner, researchers calculated the amount of olive oil or butter and bread that was eaten.

The researchers found:

• Olive oil users used 26% more olive oil on each piece of bread compared to block butter users (40 vs. 33 calories)
• Although the olive oil users have a heavier hand than the butter users when slathering or dipping their bread, over the course of the meal the olive oil users ate less bread and oil – the olive oil users ate 23% less bread over the course of a meal than the people who used butter
• Olive oil users took in 17% fewer bread calories:  264 calories (oil eaters) vs. 319 calories (butter eaters)

The Caloric Punch of Butter, Oil, And Bread

• A tablespoon of olive oil has 119 calories, a tablespoon of butter has 102 calories, one pat of butter has around 36 calories
• Butter and oil are all fat; olive oil is loaded with heart healthy monounsaturated fat, butter contains heart unhealthy saturated fat
• Bread varies significantly in calories depending on the type of bread and the size of the piece; harder breads and breadsticks are often less caloric than softer doughy breads
• Most white bread and a small piece of French bread average around 90 to 100 calories a slice; dinner rolls average 85 calories each
• If you’re eating Mexican food, bread may not appear, but a basket of chips adds around 500 calories

If you’re thinking of switching up your bread and butter routine when you eat at home, why not consider an attractive oil canister for pouring some extra virgin olive oil onto a plate for dipping your bread (or for dressing your salad or some vegetables).  Here are some very attractive ones at different price points.  All are available through Amazon Prime.

Cucina Italiana Ceramic Olive Oil Dispenser Bottle, with Set of 4 Bread Dipping Plates, Honey Yellow

One Quart Olive Oil Dispenser, Stainless Steel Olive Oil Can Drizzler with Drip-free Spout

Michael Aram Olive Branch Gold Olive Oil Dispenser

My posts may contain affiliate links. If you buy through one of the links you won’t pay a penny more but I’ll receive a small commission. I do not get compensated for reviews.

The post Are You Eating A Bread And Butter (or oil) Meal Before Your Actual Meal? appeared first on Eat Out Eat Well.

Once Your Bird Is Cooked, Does It Matter How Long You Leave It Out?

It definitely matters – and the clock starts ticking as soon as the bird comes out of the oven, fryer, or off the grill.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, the number of reported cases of food borne illness (food poisoning) increases during the holiday season. Leaving cooked food at room temperature is an invitation for bacteria that can cause food poisoning to multiply and reheating leftovers doesn’t always destroy their toxins or spores.

You shouldn’t leave turkey or any perishable food out for more than two hours (one hour when the air temperature is 90 degrees or above), any time of the year. Food that stays in the temperature “danger zone” which is 40-140 °F (4-60 °C) for more than 2 hours should be discarded. To save turkey leftovers, remove the stuffing from the turkey cavity, cut the turkey off the bone, and refrigerate or freeze all the leftovers.

The Basic Rules For Leftovers

According to the USDA the mantra is:

2 Hours–2 Inches–4 Days

• 2 Hours from oven to refrigerator: Refrigerate or freeze your leftovers within 2 hours of cooking (taking them off the heat or out of the oven). Throw them away if they are out longer than that. Think about your buffet table – or even your holiday dinner table. How long does the bird, stuffing, and accompaniments sit out as people eat, go back for seconds, and pick their way through the football game and conversation?
• 2 Inches thick to cool it quick: Store your food at a shallow depth–about 2 inches–to speed chilling. Are you guilty of piling the food high in storage containers or in a big mound covered with tin foil?
• 4 Days in the refrigerator – otherwise freeze it: Use your leftovers that are stored in the fridge within 4 days. The exceptions are stuffing and gravy. They should both be used within 2 days. Reheat any solid leftovers to 165 degrees Fahrenheit and bring liquid leftovers to a rolling boil. Toss what you don’t finish.

How Long Can Leftover Turkey Stay In The Freezer?

Frozen leftover turkey, stuffing, and gravy should be used within one month. To successfully freeze leftovers, package them using freezer wrap or freezer containers. Use heavy-duty aluminum foil, freezer paper, or freezer bags for best results and don’t leave any air space. Squeeze the excess air from the freezer bags and fill rigid freezer containers to the top with dry food. Without proper packaging, circulating air in the freezer can create freezer burn – those white dried-out patches on the surface of food that make it tough and tasteless. Leave a one-inch headspace in containers with liquid and half an inch in containers filled with semi-solids.

Turkey: Nutrition

Keep that turkey safe to eat because whether you’re eating it during the holidays or for several days afterward, it’s good to know that it is low in fat and high in protein. A 3.5 oz serving is about the size and thickness of a new deck of cards. The fat and calorie content varies because white meat has less fat and fewer calories than dark meat and skin.

Calories in a 3.5 oz serving (from a whole roasted turkey):

• Breast with skin: 194 calories; 8g fat; 29g protein
• Breast without skin: 161 calories; 4g fat; 30g protein
• Wing with skin: 238 calories; 13g fat; 27g protein
• Leg with skin: 213 calories; 11g fat; 28g protein
• Dark meat with skin: 232 calories; 13g fat; 27g protein
• Dark meat without skin: 192 calories; 8g fat; 28g protein
• Skin only: 482 calories; 44g fat; 19g protein

The post How Long Can Your Turkey Safely Stay On The Table And The Leftovers In The Fridge? appeared first on Eat Out Eat Well.

The cold deliciousness of ice cream, gelato, sherbet, and sorbet is hard to beat.  There are an astounding number of flavors with varying degrees of fat, calorie, sugar, and dairy content.  The sad truth is that no matter how innovative food scientists and savvy marketers have become, a three-scoop sundae or a chocolate dipped waffle cone still isn’t going to rank at the top of the health-o-meter.

The Difference Between Ice Cream And Gelato

In the US, the government regulates what can be called ice cream, but in some other countries ice cream can mean all frozen desserts.

Ice cream and gelato are usually dairy-based but differ in texture, fat and air content, and ingredients. Because gelato is made and stored at a higher temperature than ice cream, it’s softer, smoother, and quicker to melt.

Both are usually made from sugar, milk, eggs, and flavorings — although gelato is often made from fresh fruit. Gelato has less butterfat than ice cream, usually about 4 to 8% compared to ice cream’s 10 to 20%.

Gelato has a higher sugar content than ice cream, and the sugar/water combination acts like anti-freeze, preventing the gelato from freezing solid. Most US commercial ice creams are frozen in an assembly line freezing process while gelato is frozen very quickly in small batches.

Both ice cream and gelato are churned during the freezing process, which incorporates air. Most commercial ice cream contains about 50% air while gelato contains much less, generally 20-35%, producing a denser product with more intense flavor.

Ice cream is sold by weight, not by size, so a pint of cheaper ice cream which is fluffed up with more air than premium or artisanal ice creams will feel lighter than better brands which are pumped up with just enough air to make the ice cream nice and smooth.  Compare pints of different levels of quality when they’re fresh out of the freezer.  Which one is heavier in your hand?  Not surprisingly, the premium brands will also be higher in calories, probably have more intense flavor, and be higher in price.

Ice cream, with its higher fat content, can be stored frozen for months. High-quality artisan gelato, when stored carefully at consistent, low temperatures, only keeps its peak flavor and smooth texture for several days.

What’s In The Frozen Desserts?

According to US federal standards, a frozen dessert must have a minimum of 10% milk fat to be called ice cream.  Economy brands usually have the least amount of fat and super premium brands have more.  Milk fat content of less than 10% makes the product ice milk or light ice cream.

• Premium ice cream has between 11% and 15% butterfat, which makes it richer, denser, higher in calories.
• Regular ice cream – what you usually find in the larger containers in the market — is somewhat less dense and contains 10% to 11% butterfat (perfect for milkshakes).
• Economy ice cream, by law, has 10% butterfat        

• Light ice cream has either 50% less fat or 33% fewer calories than the producer’s regular ice cream. Here’s the hitch: because of the higher starting point for fat content especially in premium brands, light versions of premium ice cream can have more fat and calories than the regular version of other brands.
• Reduced fat ice cream must, by law, have 25% less fat than the regular ice cream produced by the same vendor.
• Soft serve ice cream is the same as regular ice cream but is served at a higher temperature.
• French Style Ice Cream also called glace, has a custard base that includes eggs, which makes it silky and rich.
• Gelato (plural, gelati) has more milk than cream (if any) so its fat content is significantly lower. It doesn’t saturate your taste buds as much as ice cream so the flavor seems more intense. It’s often flavored with fresh fruit, nuts, chocolate, and other natural flavors. Gelato is served at a higher temperature than ice cream making it look more like frozen yogurt or whipped cream than ice cream.
• Sorbet, which means water ice, is made from fruit, wine, or liqueur, but not milk and is sometimes flavored with herbs and spices and then whipped to lighten its texture. It’s sometimes used as a palate cleanser.
• Sherbet, like sorbet, is traditionally fruit flavored but with milk added for creaminess. By law it contains between 1 and 2% butterfat – which makes it lighter in flavor and texture.
• Granita is similar to sorbet but not whipped. Ice crystals give it a granular appearance and a crunchy texture.

How Many Calories?

There’s a huge variation in nutrition so it’s best to check labels if you’re counting calories, fats, and/or carbs. These are the general caloric ranges for “naked” ice cream and gelato (without sauce, toppings, nuts, and whipped cream):

• 5 ounces of milk-based gelato has between 120 and 160 calories, 4g to 8g of fat, and 30 g to 45g of carbs; milk and soy-based gelato has between 3g and 5g of protein
• 5 ounces of American ice cream (not churned, light, or reduced fat) averages 240 calories, 15 grams of fat, and 24g carbs
• 5 ounces of light ice cream can vary between 100 to close to 200 calories depending upon whether it is just light or if it is slow churned light.  The flavor and the add-ins can significantly raise the calorie count.

Tip:  Order a small serving of ice cream or gelato instead of a medium or large. You’ll probably be just as satisfied.  Even if you indulge in your favorite full-fat flavor, you’ll save as many as 550 calories with a 5-ounce size of ice cream instead of a 12-ounce size.

Don’t be led astray by frozen yogurt which has a wide range of calories depending on fat content and flavorings. Frozen yogurt can be as caloric, if not more caloric, than other frozen desserts.

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Soda Bread and Native Americans

The earliest reference to the chemical reaction that makes soda bread rise is actually credited to native Americans. Centuries before soda bread became popular in Ireland, they added pearl-ash (potash), the natural soda in wood ashes, along with an acidic ingredient, to make their breads rise.

Soda bread became popular in Ireland when bicarbonate of soda, also known as bread soda, became available to use as a leavening agent.  Bread soda made it possible to work with the “soft” wheat grown in Ireland’s climate. “Hard” wheat flour, the main kind used in the US today, needs yeast to rise properly. “Soft” wheat flour doesn’t work well with yeast but is great for “quick breads” like soda bread.

According to The Society for the Preservation of Irish Soda Bread, the earliest published recipe or soda bread was in a London magazine in 1836 – also later repeated in several US papers – that refers to a “receipt for making soda bread” from a newspaper in Northern Ireland.

In 19th century Ireland, making bread was part of daily life and most families lived in farmhouses where kitchens had open hearths, not ovens. Bread soda meant that anyone who didn’t have an oven (most people in Ireland in the 1800’s didn’t) could make soda bread.

The bread soda wasn’t perishable, was relatively inexpensive, and buttermilk, and the soft wheat for flour, both necessary components of soda bread, were commonly available. The bread was cooked on a griddle or in a bastible, a big cast-iron pot with a lid that could be put right into coals or a turf fire.

Brown Or White; Cake Or Farl

“Plain” soda bread often comes with breakfast or with a main meal to soak up gravy. It comes both brown and white, and in two main types, cake and farl.

Traditional brown Irish soda bread is basic table bread made from whole meal flour, baking soda (bread soda), salt, and buttermilk.  White soda bread, made with white flour, is considered slightly more refined than brown soda bead and is sometimes thought of as a more special occasion bread.

Cake tends to be found more in the south of Ireland while people in Northern Ireland seem to prefer farl — although both can be found in the North and South, sometimes with different names.

Cake is soda bread that is kneaded, shaped into a flattish round, then deeply cut with a cross on the top.  Now it’s normally baked in an oven.

For farl the dough is rolled into a rough circle and cut all the way through — like a cross — into four pieces or farls (“farl” is a generic term for a triangular piece of baking).  It’s usually baked in a heavy frying pan, on a griddle or on top of the range or stove. It’s flatter and moister than cake.  Each farl is split in half “the wide way” before it’s eaten and is best when hot. It’s also allowed to cool and then grilled or fried as part of other dishes — especially the Ulster Fry, a local breakfast where golden and crispy soda bread and potato farls have been fried in reserved bacon fat and are served with Irish bacon, sausage, black pudding, tomato and egg.

What’s Spotted Dog?

There are regional variations of the basic soda bread recipe – even though some purists would say there should be no additions to the dough.

In Donegal, caraway seeds were traditionally put in the bread.  In earlier and leaner times when raisins or dried fruit were luxuries, a fistful of them or maybe even a little sugar or an egg — if either could be spared — would have been put into the white flour version of the bread during the harvest as a treat for the working men.

The non-traditional varieties of soda breads that are made with raisins, caraway, orange zest, and other add-ins are often called Spotted Dog.

What About The Cross On Top?

Before baking, a cross is traditionally cut on the top of the soda bread loaf with a knife – often said to ward off the devil and to protect the household.

Legend and symbolism aside, there’s a practical reason for the cruciform shape to be cut into the top of the dough. Slashing the dough lets heat penetrate into the thickest part of the bread and allows the bread to stretch and expand as it rises.

Slashing a round loaf with a cruciform shape ends up dividing the bread into quadrants that can be easily broken apart (the breaking of the bread). But, since Ireland is a Catholic country, the symbolism of the cross can also be interpreted as blessing (crossing) the bread and giving thanks.

One serving (74 g) of Irish Soda Bread with raisins and caraway seeds has 214 calories, 3.67g fat, 41.51g carbs, 4.86g protein.

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Morning coffee. Coffee break. Afternoon tea. A nice cup after dinner. Many of us love – need – our coffee or tea.

A nice hot steaming cup of coffee or tea can hit the spot and a hot skim latte is a great snack – soothing, calorie controlled, and protein laced.  On the other hand, a giant hot coffee drink filled with syrup and whipped cream – often clocking in at 400 to 500 calories — might be soothing but sure isn’t great for your waistline.

Black Or Light And Sweet?

How do you like your coffee?  Black, light and sweet, regular?  Do you add sugar and pour milk until the color and taste is just right?

As you dump sugar and pour cream into mugs and those too hot to touch cardboard containers, have you ever thought about how many calories you’re actually adding to an otherwise very low calorie drink? Probably not. They’re calories not usually measured and all too easy to forget.

What Do You Put Into Your Coffee Or Tea?

There are about two calories in eight ounces (a small cup) of unsweetened black brewed coffee or tea – doesn’t matter if it’s hot or iced. Not a bad deal.

What a lot of us don’t think about is how many calories are in the add-ins that we stir into our coffee and tea.

How much milk or half and half do you add to your coffee or tea? How much sugar? Bet you don’t have a clue. We all do a freehand pour.  Try measuring how much you pour and you might be really surprised.

The Add-Ins

• Heavy cream, 2 tablespoons:  104 calories
• Half and half, 2 tablespoons (1/8 cup):  40 calories
• Whole milk, 2 tablespoons:  18 calories
• 2% (low fat) milk, 2 tablespoons:  14 calories
• Non-fat milk, 2 tablespoons:  11 calories
• Table sugar, 1 tablespoon:  49 calories
• Table sugar, 1 teaspoon:  16 calories

How’s This For An Eye-Opener?

Say you have 3 grande (Starbuck’s) – or 3 large (Dunkin Donuts) – size coffees a day.  Each is 20 ounces or 2.5 times the size of a traditional 8 ounce cup.

If you add 4 tablespoons of half and half and three teaspoons of sugar to each that’s adds up to128 calories for the additives and around 5 calories for the coffee. That’s 133 calories for each grande/large cup of coffee.

Have three of those and that’s 399 calories a day of coffee (or tea) your way.

Do that every day for a year and mathematically that’s the equivalent of 145,635 calories. Does that make you stop and think?

Coffee Drinks And Hot Chocolate, Too

Sweet, creamy comfort in a cup is how Starbuck’s describes their hot chocolate made with steamed milk, vanilla and mocha-flavored syrups, and topped with a generous swirl of sweetened whipped cream. With a description like that, how can you resist? Just remember that hot chocolate and specialty coffee drinks come not only with a monetary price, but with a caloric one, too.

Here’s the nutritional information for some other Starbuck’s and Dunkin’ Donuts drinks:

• Starbuck’s Caffe Latte, grande (16 oz), 2% milk:  190 calories; 7g fat; 18g carbs; 12g protein

• Starbucks’ Non-Fat Caffe Latte (espresso and non-fat milk)
  • Tall (12 oz):  100 calories, 10 grams of protein
  • Grande (16 oz):  130 calories, 13 grams protein
  • Venti (20 oz):  170 calories, 16 grams protein

• Starbuck’s Cappuchino, grande (16 oz), 2% milk:  120 calories; 4g fat; 12g carbs; 8g protein

• Starbuck’s Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha, grande (16oz), 2% milk, no whipped cream:  440 calories; 10g fat; 75g carbs; 13g protein

• Starbuck’s Gingerbread Latte, grande (16 oz), 2% milk:  250 calories; 6g fat; 37g carbs; 11g protein

• Starbuck’s Hot Chocolate, grande (16 oz), 2% milk with whipped cream:  370 calories; 16g fat ; 50g carbs; 14g protein; 25mg caffeine.  Without whipped cream: 290 calories

• Dunkin’ Donuts Gingerbread Hot Coffee with Cream, medium:  260 calories; 9g fat; 41g carbs; 4g protein

• Dunkin’ Donuts Mint Hot Chocolate, medium:  310 calories; 10g fat; 52g carbs; 2g protein

• Dunkin’ Donuts Vanilla Chai:  330 calories; 8g fat; 53g carbs; 11g protein

For flavored lattes, add (in sugars): 50 calories to the tall, 70 calories to the grande, and 80 calories to the venti and drop the protein count for each by a gram.

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The holidays are here. You can’t go anywhere without sugary, glittery, shiny holiday themed food calling your name.

Holidays create a “perfect storm” for eating way too much. They combine some of the worst cues and triggers for overeating: family drama, too much food (much of it sweet and fatty), tradition and ritual, stress eating, and the attitude of “why not – it’s the holidays.” All too frequently the default then becomes: “I’ll start my diet in the New Year, or after Easter, of in September after Labor Day” – or after a month of Sundays!

Do You Really Want To Count Calories On A Holiday?

No way. Holiday food is special and holiday traditions and rituals are hallmarks we count on.

When you restrict yourself of may foods, it often means that you end up depriving yourself of traditional and possibly your favorite foods that you associate with holidays. When you do deprive yourself of those cherished foods, more often than not you end up later that night standing in front of an open fridge rummaging for leftovers still feeling the sting from the stare down you had with your favorite foods earlier in the day.

What’s Your Holiday Game Day Plan?

What’s your game plan? Does it allow you to enjoy the holiday and the food (really important). On a holiday you know you’ll eat a bit more – or maybe a bit more than a bit more – than on a typical day.

Balance it out by allowing for a range of calories during the holiday and the days surrounding it. To maintain your weight, the overall number of calories you eat should approximate the calories you burn, so compensate by eating a little lighter the days before and after (and maybe adding in some extra activity).

15 Tips and Strategies

Here are some tips — choose what you can commit to and that will work best for you. Then build them into your personal holiday eating plan.

1. Don’t starve yourself the day of a holiday meal or party. If you attempt to save up calories for a splurge, you’ll probably be so hungry by the time dinner is served you’ll end up shoving food into your mouth faster than you can say turkey. Have a protein and fiber snack (around 150 calories) and something to drink beforehand, but don’t skip meals or arrive famished.

2. Give yourself permission to NOT eat something that you usually eat just because it’s a holiday tradition. Certain foods may taste, look, or smell like Thanksgiving or Christmas, but that doesn’t mean you have to eat them. It’s still the holiday without them.

3. Ask yourself if you’re eating something because you like it or are you eating it for another reason — perhaps because you’ve been eating the same holiday food since you were a kid. Maybe you don’t even like the food any more or it disagrees with you. So why are you eating it? Who’s forcing you to? Eat what you want — not what you think you should.

4. Say no to the friends and relatives who push the extra piece of pie and the second helping of stuffing, or who constantly refill your drink. You’re the one stepping on the scale or zipping up your jeans the next day – not them.

5. Have your own personal rules and swaps for what you will or won’t eat and commit to sticking with them ahead of time. Your rules are an integral part of your game plan. Examples might be: I really want pecan pie for dessert so I’ll only have one biscuit without butter with my meal. Or, I’ll only take two hors d’oeuvres from the passed trays at a cocktail party. This will both limit how much you eat and will also make you think carefully and choose what you really want instead of randomly sampling everything.

6. Acknowledge your red flags, your trigger foods. Can you be near Christmas cookies without eating a dozen? Do you overeat at family events? There’s no need to psychoanalyze why. Just know the things that serve as your red flags and have a plan to deal with them.

7. Decide what’s really worth an indulgence. Then fill up on the lower calorie volume foods — like vegetables — so you won’t have tons of room left for the splurges. If you’re a sucker for desserts, stick with lean protein and veggies for your main course followed by a reasonable slice of cheesecake. Or if the stuffing and au gratin potatoes are calling your name, have them, but skip or skimp on the desserts.

8. Make a deal (with yourself) that you can eat what you want during dinner. Put the food on your plate, eat it with a fork, and enjoy every last morsel. Clean your plate if you want to. But – that’s it. No seconds and no double-decking the plate.

9. Choose your beverages wisely. Alcohol clocks in at 7 calories a gram. Alcohol with mixers adds even more calories. Plus, alcohol takes the edge off lots of things – including your ability to stick to your plan. Drink water. It fills you up. Have a diet soda if you want. If you’re going to drink alcohol, try limiting the amount – think about alternating with water or seltzer.

10. Control your food environment the best you can. Don’t hang around the buffet table or stand next to the platter of delicious whatevers. Why are you tempting yourself? Go into another room or the farthest corner away from serving table.

11. Keep your back to the buffet. For most people, food that is out of sight is out of mind.

12. Don’t eat off of someone else’s plate, finish your kids’ food, sample your spouse’s pie, or take a taste of this and a taste of that as you walk around the party. One bite here and one bite there doesn’t seem like much, but add them up and you’ll be shocked. Mindless bites average about 25 calories apiece. Four mindless bites a day means around a hundred (extra) calories. Do this daily and by the end of a month you might have gained close to a pound. Because it’s so easy to overlook those hand to mouth sneaky bites, make a deal with yourself that you’ll only eat food that’s on a plate.

13. Have a conversation. It’s hard to shove food in your mouth when you’re talking. Hold a glass in your hand, even if it has water or seltzer in it, and a napkin in the other hand. It’s hard to nibble and nosh when your hands are full.

14. Get rid of leftovers. Leftover stuffing has defeated the best-laid plans and don’t nibble during clean up (or preparation for that matter). Broken cookies, pieces of pie crust, and the last bits of stuffing haven’t magically lost their calories.

15. Don’t multi-task. Try to avoid combining eating with other activities. Distractions are a major contributor to overeating. When you’re with family and friends the last thing on your mind is going to be how many nachos you just inhaled while some annoying in-law was yakking your ear off. TV is another major culprit. When you sit down to catch a game, parade, or a holiday special, be sure that there isn’t a big bowl of munchies sitting right next to you waiting to sabotage your waistline.

What If You Ate Everything In Sight?

If you ate everything is sight and your exercise was walking back and forth to the to the buffet table, take heart, It was just one day. It’s not so difficult to make up for your indulgences over the next few days.

The danger is letting it stretch into days or weeks. That’s when your waistline starts expanding and the pound you gained this year stays there and gets joined by another the following year.

Enjoy the holidays and the traditions that are important to you. Be thankful and joyous. Isn’t that the point?

The post 15 Easy-On-The-Waistline Holiday Eating Tips appeared first on Eat Out Eat Well.

Once Your Bird Is Cooked, Does It Matter How Long You Leave It Out?

It definitely matters – and the clock starts ticking as soon as the bird comes out of the oven, fryer, or off the grill.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, the number of reported cases of food borne illness (food poisoning) increases during the holiday season.

You shouldn’t leave food out for more than two hours, any time of the year. To save turkey leftovers, remove the stuffing from the turkey cavity, cut the turkey off the bone, and refrigerate or freeze all the leftovers.

The Basic Rules For Leftovers

According to the USDA the mantra is:

2 Hours – 2 Inches – 4 Days

• 2 Hours from oven to refrigerator: Refrigerate or freeze your leftovers within 2 hours of cooking (taking them off the heat or out of the oven). Throw them away if they are out longer than that. Think about your buffet table – or even your holiday dinner table. How long does the bird, stuffing, and accompaniments sit out as people eat, go back for seconds, and pick their way through the football game and conversation?
• 2 Inches thick to cool it quick: Store your food at a shallow depth–about 2 inches–to speed chilling. Are you guilty of piling the food high in storage containers or in a big mound covered with tin foil?
• 4 Days in the refrigerator – otherwise freeze it: Use your leftovers that are stored in the fridge within 4 days. The exceptions are stuffing and gravy. They should both be used within 2 days. Reheat any solid leftovers to 165 degrees Fahrenheit and bring liquid leftovers to a rolling boil. Toss what you don’t finish.

How Long Can Leftover Turkey Stay In The Freezer?

Frozen leftover turkey, stuffing, and gravy should be used within one month. To successfully freeze leftovers, package them using freezer wrap or freezer containers. Use heavy-duty aluminum foil, freezer paper, or freezer bags for best results and don’t leave any air space. Squeeze the excess air from the freezer bags and fill rigid freezer containers to the top with dry food. Without proper packaging, circulating air in the freezer can create freezer burn – those white dried-out patches on the surface of food that make it tough and tasteless. Leave a one-inch headspace in containers with liquid and half an inch in containers filled with semi-solids.

Turkey: Nutrition

Keep that turkey safe to eat because whether you’re eating it on Thanksgiving Day or for several days afterward, it’s good to know that it is low in fat and high in protein. A 3.5 oz serving is about the size and thickness of a new deck of cards. The fat and calorie content varies because white meat has less fat and fewer calories than dark meat and skin.

Calories in a 3.5 oz serving from a whole roasted turkey:

• Breast with skin: 194 calories; 8g fat; 29g protein
• Breast without skin: 161 calories; 4g fat; 30g protein
• Wing with skin: 238 calories; 13g fat; 27g protein
• Leg with skin: 213 calories; 11g fat; 28g protein
• Dark meat with skin: 232 calories; 13g fat; 27g protein
• Dark meat without skin: 192 calories; 8g fat; 28g protein
• Skin only: 482 calories; 44g fat; 19g protein

The post How Long Can Your Turkey Safely Stay On The Table — And The Leftovers In The Fridge? appeared first on Eat Out Eat Well.

Ah — Halloween candy! It’s pretty hard to escape because it’s everywhere – on desks, in restaurants, even in my veterinarian’s office in a nice purple bowl with a dog bone painted on the side.

Halloween week accounts for about eight percent of yearly confectionery sales and 34% of seasonal candy sales (like Christmas and Valentine’s Day). Only Easter, the next largest candy holiday, comes close.

FYI: The top five candies of all time — click here for the list of the top 50 – even though you might not agree:

1. M&Ms
2. Hershey’s Kisses
3. Snickers
4. Twizzlers
5. Reese’s Peanut Cups

Can’t resist – do you invade your kid’s Trick or Treat bag — what do you go for first?

Don’t feel guilty — If you’ve ever swiped candy from your kid’s trick or treat bag, you’re certainly not alone. According to the National Confectioners Association, 90% of parents confess they occasionally dip into their kid’s stash. I know I sure did.

It’s been estimated that, on average, a child in the US collects between 3,500 and 7,000 worth of candy calories on Halloween night.

Parents invade that collection big time — they eat one candy bar out of every two a child brings home.  Their favorite targets are snack-sized chocolate bars (70%), candy-coated chocolate pieces (40%), caramels (37%) and gum (26%).

In Case You Want To Pick The Least Caloric Candy . . .

Here are the calories in some popular Halloween candy – just in case you might want to minimize the caloric damage (you didn’t read that wrong — candy has a big range of calories and fat grams) – and, just so you know — minis are small square candies while snack-size and fun-size are usually about 2 inches long:

25 calories or less:

• 3 Musketeers, Mini
• Hershey’s Kiss
• Smarties Candy Roll

30 – 50 calories each: 

• Airheads, Mini Bar
• Kit Kat, Miniature
• Milky Way, Mini
• Peppermint Pattie, Fun size
• Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Miniature
• Snickers, Miniature
• Starburst, 2 Fun Size pieces
• Twix Caramel Cookie Bars, Mini

50 to 70 calories each:

• 3 Musketeers, Fun Size
• Hershey’s Milk Chocolate, snack size
• Jolly Ranchers Lollipop
• Skittles, Fun Size Bag
• Sour Patch Kids, Treat Size
• Swedish Fish, Treat Size
• Tootsie Roll Pop

70 to 85 calories each:

• Brach’s Candy Corn: 10 pieces
• Butterfinger, Fun Size
• Kit Kat, Fun size; 73 calories
• Milky Way, Fun Size
• M&Ms, Fun size bag
• Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, Fun size
• Snickers, Fun Size
• Tootsie Rolls, 3 midgee pieces

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