Have a healthy Halloween!

Remember that there are no forbidden food, it's all about proportions and combinations.

This week I have some ideas for Halloween.  

With these desserts/candies you will offer your children healthier options as fun as the original ones. 

Apples of terror

Wormy ice cubes

Scary Lemon Water

Fruit punch

To make the hand, freeze a juice-filled glove.

Funny tangerines

Cemetery sandwiches 

Have fun!

Our faithful companions at parties:SNACKS

To complement what we learned last week, today I leave you with the calorie content of 100 grams of the famous companions of alcoholic beverages:  snacks

SNACK	CALORIES
Banana chips	519
Potato chips	379
Potato chips BBQ	491
Potato chips Cheese	496
Potato chips Sour cream & Onion	531
Nachos	498
Trail mix (chocolate chips/nuts/seeds)	484
Dip BBQ flavour	143
Dip honey/mustard	464
Dip French cheese	96
Baby carrots	59
Pickles	18

REMEMBER

1 bag of potato chips: 50-100g

1 tablespoon dip: 10-15g

See you next week!

And ... is alcohol FATTENING?

 Yes, indeed! Each gram of alcohol contains 7 calories, so that if we take 100 mL of a beverage containing 50 % alcohol, we will be taking 50g of alcohol and 350 calories. This is equivalent to a full meal! And worst of all is that alcohol doesn’t nourish one bit.

Alcohol also gives calories (and makes us fat).  The only difference is that it doesn’t contain any nutrients.  It’s an “empty” food.

For example, if we go to a party and begin with a Rum & Cola( 50ml rum (111kcal ) and 100ml of Coca Cola (42Kcal ), during dinner we have 2 beers (200kcal) and finally a vodka on the rocks (126Kcal), we would be adding 479 extra calories to our day.  This is equal to eating 2 fried eggs, 2 slices of bread, a glass of orange juice, one piece of sweet bread and a cup of coffee.

It sounds terrible! All our effort to lose weight lost by a few drinks in an evening.

But not everything has to be banned, there are some tricks in order to be able to enjoy alcohol without sacrificing too much.  

Here are some tips:

• Choose low percentage alcoholic drinks like wine or beer.
• Choose low-calorie soft drinks or sugar free, such as mineral water, to mix them.
• If you mix your drinks with juices, look for those that don’t contain sugar.
• Avoid quenching your thirst with alcoholic beverages, try drinking a few glasses of water BEFORE drinking alcohol.

Here is a table with the most common alcoholic drinks and how many calories they provide:

DRINK	PORTION	KCAL
Anise	A cup ( 50mL )	131
Cava brut	A cup (100mL )	65
Cava semi-dry	A cup (100mL)	69
Beer	One can (250mL )	100
Light beer	One can (250mL )	55
Cuba libre cocktail	One glass (250ml )	347
Cocktail Daiquiri	A glass (100ml )	222
Gin Tonic Cocktail	A glass (250ml )	350
Cognac	One cup (50mL )	112
Geneva	A cup (50mL )	110
Sweet liqueurs	A glass (50mL )	116
Rum	A measure (50ml )	111
Sangria	A glass (200ml )	172
Cider	A small glass (100ml )	38
Dry Vermouth	A measure (100ml )	118
Sweet vermouth	A measure (100mL )	151
Table wine	A glass (100ml )	71
Sweet wine	A glass (100ml )	157
Fine Wine	A glass (100ml )	116
Moscatel Wine	A glass (100ml )	165
Vodka	A measure (50ml )	126
Whisky	A measure (50ml )	111

The lesson here is: Don’t ruin all your week’s effort to loose weight with some "drinks".  Just learn to choose the best option .

See you next week.

Nuts: healthy food or urban myth?

 In this week's blog we have invited the expert in nutrition and cardiovascular disease María del Carmen González. She will give us updated, scientific facts about nuts, why they are healthy and how we can take advantage of them. Hope you like it:

How many things have we heard about nuts? "they are high in fat " , "they are miracle makers" , "they cure diseases”... As with many foods, the information we receive is part truth, part urban myth and part tradition. This time I give you scientifically proven facts that many doctors and nutritionists have analyzed.

Nuts are low in simple carbohydrates (sugars)

• Research studies have found that when we eat natural nuts our glucose concentrations (sugar) are more stable. Also, if we eat nuts mixed with foods high in sugar, nuts can dampen the body's response and our blood sugar does not rise as much or as fast.
• Walnuts are rich in nutrients that help lower the risk of heart disease because they contain healthy fat like monounsaturated fatty acids, fiber, antioxidants and minerals.

 

Healthy fatty acid content

• They are a good source of Omega 3, a group of fat that protects the heart. A diet high in omega-3 can reduce inflammation as well as help to lower triglycerides and cholesterol among other things.

High in vegetable protein, fiber and minerals

• Nuts also contain copper and magnesium, minerals that protect your heart.
• Since they are high in fiber it helps regulate intestinal transit and helps with constipation.
• This food group is a great ally during pregnancy due to its high content of folic acid, which helps the correct formation of the fetus.
• In the elderly they help prevent osteoporosis.
• Nuts have a high percentage of protein: 100 grams of nuts are equivalent to 100 grams of meat.
• Since they contain small amounts of sodium, they are an excellent product for those who need to watch their salt intake (hypertension and/or diabetes)

As you can see, walnuts are good allies in our diet, remember they are high in calories so I recommend that you include 8-10 nuts in your diet once a day.

See you next week!

References

National Database USDA Nutrient reference standards

http://www.comenuez.org/xoo/modules/tinycontent/index.php?id=18

Çhttp://www.yocondiabetes.com/nutricion/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1825&Itemid=0

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20199995