Holiday Health
Thanksgiving weekend is officially over. It was a great weekend filled with friends, family, gorgeous weather and, of course, LOTS of amazing food. After a weekend of eating, drinking and relaxing it is hard for even the most disciplined of people to get back to their normal day to day routines. Follow these tips to help get our bodies back into a routine and prepare ourselves for the next big holiday!
1. Turn the leftovers into a healthy meal
What do you do with all of the left over turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. For many of us, leftovers are the best part of a holiday but there may be a better way to eat those left overs, rather than overloading our plates the same way we did on the weekend. You can try adding your leftover turkey, peas, and carrots to a nice salad or try making the following “Left Over Turkey Chili” recipe from simplyrecipes.com. The beans in the chili will give us some much needed fibre to help get our digestive systems back on track.
Left Over Turkey Chili
INGREDIENTS:
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
4 garlic cloves, chopped fine
2 Tbsp chili powder (or up to 4 Tbsp if you like it more hot)
1 Tbsp ground cumin
3 15-ounce cans crushed tomatoes (fire roasted if you can get it)
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 cup of turkey stock or chicken stock
Two 15 oz cans kidney beans, drained
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 to 4 cups of shredded, cooked turkey meat
METHOD:
1 Sauté the onions, peppers, garlic, and spices: In a large, 8-quart, thick-bottom pot, heat the olive oil on medium high heat. Add the onions and green peppers and cook, stirring, until golden, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, chili powder, and cumin, and cook, stirring, for a minute or two more. Add a bit more olive oil if needed.
2 Add tomatoes, beans, stock, cooked turkey: Add tomatoes, tomato paste, stock, kidney beans, oregano, salt, pepper, and cooked turkey meat. Bring mixture to a simmer and reduce heat to low. Simmer, partially covered, for an hour.
3 Serve with toppings: Serve with shredded cheddar cheese, chopped
red onion, and or sour cream.
The chili may be made in advance and chilled for 2 days, or frozen for 2 months.
2. Rehydrate yourself
Do you still have lots of pops, juices and wine left over from the weekend? It might be best to save those for your next Halloween party and stick to water for the week. Drinking extra water will help cleanse our bodies. We have all heard of the “drink 8 glasses of water per day” rule, but to be more specific for your individual size and weight you should aim to drink half an ounce of water for every pound that you weigh. For example, someone who weighs 120 lbs should drink 60 ounces of water (which equals 7.5 eight ounce glasses). For some extra flavour- try adding cucumber and lemon to your water.
3. Schedule exercise
After a weekend of eating, we all have a goal to exercise more. When we get to work, we realize that we have so much catching up to do from the long weekend that we completely run out of time. The best way to avoid this is to actually schedule yourself some time for exercise, the same way most of us schedule in time to eat lunch or to attend an appointment. Try giving yourself 30 minutes to an hour of “me time” to recharge your body and get your blood pumping. You can go for a brisk walk, do some yoga or visit your favourite crossfit gym.
4. Let yourself have a treat
Do you still have half of a pumpkin pie in the fridge that's calling your name? Don't fight the urge until you finally cave in and eat the whole thing in one sitting. Cut the rest of the pie into bite size squares and allow yourself to have one square (or two!) after dinner. This is a great way to satisfy your sweet tooth but also stick to your after-thanksgiving diet.
5. Remember the reason for the holiday in the first place
Thanksgiving is all about giving thanks. Once the holiday is over and we get caught up in the stresses of work and everyday life, it’s often easy to forget everything that we said we were thankful for. Try writing down what you are thankful for and read it before you go to bed every night. Do this for 60 days straight and we guarantee you will be a more thankful person by training your brain to find something positive in every situation. Remember, it’s not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, that is the true measure of thanksgiving. Use your blessings well each and every day!