Talkin’ Turkey – Holiday Game Plan

The holidays are a time to reflect on the bounty of nature and, more importantly, pig out with family and friends. For many athletes, the holidays are also a time to compete in a special tournament or competition. Whether soccer, basketball, running or some other sport, you want to enjoy the great spread, especially the desserts, without giving up your game. What’s a player to do?

If you’re trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle, don’t feel like you need to be deprived of your holiday favorites. Fitting all the yummies into a healthy eating plan is easy. Try to eat smaller portions, replace high calorie foods for lowfat options or slightly alter your recipes. For example, replace two egg whites for one egg or used dried fruits intead of nuts, or try evaporated skim milk in place of cream or whipping cream. You can also snack on foods that are high in soluble fiber such as fruits, veggies, and legumes – they actually slow down food digestion and make you feel full longer.

Roast turkey, a holiday staple, gets high marks from most dietitians for overall nutrition. It’s low in fat and high in protein. It’s also a good source of iron, zinc, selenium, phosphorus, potassium and B vitamins. A 3-ounce serving of boneless, skinless turkey breast contains 26 grams of protein, 1 gram of fat and 0 grams of saturated fat. To keep it healthy, you may want to forgo the skin and choose white over dark meat. Also, try to buy a wild or farm-raised bird without hormones and antibiotics. If you’ve got a holiday sports event you’ll be burning plenty of calories so for this one day, it’s probably okay to “have it your way.”

Side dishes can be traditional or creative but chances are there will be some potatoes on the table. You can add butter and sour cream, or you can make them lower in fat by using broth as a liquid or 2% milk instead of cream. Another way to add a lot of flavor without adding extra calories is to mash them with a few cloves of roasted garlic, which adds a mellow flavor. However you eat ‘em, they’re a great source of vitamin B6.

Stuffing can also get a holiday makeover and added nutrition by using whole-wheat bread and adding ingredients such as:

• Chopped vegetables (onion, celery, mushrooms, and eggplant)
• Nuts (toasted walnuts, pecans, or almonds)
• Fruits (fresh or dried cranberries, apples, apricots, or pears)
• Wild rice

Cranberry Sauce, always a staple, is rich in antioxidants which help protect your body from free radical damage. Cranberries also contain salicyclic acid, the same anti-inflammatory found in aspirin. Less inflammation means faster recovery so eat up!

Freshly picked pumpkins from the pumpkin patch are ideal for decoration, but the canned version wins for ease of preparation as well as for its nutrient score. In terms of both dietary fiber and beta-carotene, canned pumpkin’s nutritional profile far surpasses that of fresh. If you’re concerned about carbs and calories, consider:

• Pumpkin mousse or soufflé as an alternative to pumpkin pie.
• One-crust or no-crust pies rather than two-crust pies.
• Nonfat or reduced-fat whipped topping rather than full-fat whipped cream.
• Replace refined sugar with whole-grain sweeteners such as barley malt syrup.

Most experts say you shouldn’t view a holiday dinner as a meal of extreme excess or extreme restriction. To support the rigors of training, you need to eat well, but don’t forget a dose of good, sound common sense. The best game plan is to eat small portions of a variety of protein, fat, and carbohydrates throughout the day. And most important, take time to enjoy your friends, teammates and family.

Cheers, and happy, healthy holidays to all.

Carve a Liberty Halloween pumpkin!

Halloween is upon us. Are you getting ready to deck out your place with cobwebs, witches and zombies? Well, get psyched because if you’re a WNBA fan the New York Liberty is ready to add to your holiday fun.

Check out the team’s very special custom Liberty Pumpkin Stencils. You can carve the WNBA team into your Halloween jack o’ lantern with four fabulous designs.

Instructions:

1) Cut out a lid in the top of the pumpkin large enough to fit your hand and a spoon inside.
2) Add a small notch in the back of the lid. The notch will remind you how the lid is positioned, allow smoke and heat to escape, and ensure that
the candle receives enough air to remain lit.
3) Scoop out the pulp and seeds. Retain the seeds for roasting.
4) Scrape the inside of the pumpkin in the area where you’ll be using the pattern, until that area is about 1 inch thick.
5) Trim and make small incisions in your pattern so that it lies flat on the face of the pumpkin. Tape the edges of the pattern to the pumpkin.
6) Transfer the pattern by poking small holes along the pattern lines with a drill tool or needle.
7) Remove the pattern.
8) Saw carefully along the dotted lines. Gently push the pieces through with your fingers.
9) Create a glow effect by scraping designs into the shell of your pumpkin with a melon baller, wood gouge or linoleum cutter.
10) Anchor a candle in the bottom of the pumpkin and light the candle.

You’re now ready to display your best jack-o’-lantern ever.

Bid on Maria Sharapova’s bag, Venus & Serena’s signed T-shirt and more

December 10, 2008 – Make it a Christmas to remember. If you’re looking for that perfect holiday gift,  Maria Sharapova is auctioning off an autographed Nike duffle bag to support her Foundation. According to her site, the bag is “a soft gold color accented by shimmery gold trim. The bag has been personally used by Maria and is gently worn.”  Bid here.

Looking for more ideas? How about a signed Justine Henin visor or apparel from some of your favorite 2008 Olympians?

Right To Play – the international humanitarian organization that promotes health, developing life skills and peace for disadvantaged communities and children – is offering a variety of items donated by athletic superstars such as Venus and Serena Williams, Chemmy Alcott, Paula Radcliffe and numerous 2008 Beijing Olympians. Bid for these items through December 15th on eBay ebay.com/righttoplay.

Break out the BBQ for a picnic perfect day

July 2, 2008 – With July 4th right around the corner, we can almost smell the bbq (maybe that’s because one of our neighbors is literally grilling a burger right now). This is the perfect month to get the summer party started so whether you’re going for a casual, fancy or diet-friendly vibe at your get-together, we’ve got some suggestions.

PT Alert! The average person attending a summer BBQ consumes at least one soda, a hot dog, a burger, chips, coleslaw, potato salad, and dessert. That can easily exceed 1,500 calories. So beware.

With some planning you can still enjoy all the festivities (and the food) without regretting it later. So, without further ado, here’s your need-to-know BBQ info:

Stock up on essentials:

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Green Day – reducing holiday waste

Being Pretty Tough means being Pretty Smart too. This season find out what you can do to reduce holiday waste.

• Turn down the heat before your party guests arrive. You’ll save energy while the extra body heat of your guests will warm up the room.
• Shop online when you can and cancel the mail order catalogs you don’t use. Did you know…if each household canceled 10 mail-order catalogues it would reduce trash by 3.5 pounds per year? (If everybody did this, the stack of canceled catalogues would be 2,000 miles high!)
• BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag): Thousands of paper and plastic shopping bags end up in landfills every year. Reduce the number of bags thrown out by bringing reusable cloth bags for holiday gift shopping. Tell store clerks you don’t need a bag for small or oversized purchases.
• About 40 percent of all battery sales occur during the holiday season. Buy rechargeable batteries to accompany your electronic gifts, and consider giving a battery charger as well. Rechargeable batteries reduce the amount of potentially harmful materials thrown away, and can save money in the long run.
• When buying gifts, check product labels to determine an item’s recyclability and whether it is made from recycled materials. Buying recycled encourages manufacturers to make more recycled-content products available.

More tips and sources for trimming your holiday waste.

EPA’s Reducing Holiday Waste
42 Ways to Trim Your Holiday Wasteline
Earth 911