Football viewing isn’t just for cheering, it’s also for eating! But if you want to help us redefine “fat” to mean Fit After Thirty, then you may have to modify some of your game-viewing snack choices. If you are watching the playoff games this weekend, and need a healthier cheat food, try the new Baked Kettle Chips! Though not super low calorie, they are healthier than the fried variety, and taste just as good! They are made with all healthy oils, and actually taste like potatoes, unlike other versions of baked chips! It’s not always practical or enjoyable to munch on carrot sticks in the company of other football viewing fans who are eating typical snack food fare, so if you want something more flavorful, try one of Kettle Chips’ many flavors!

Is there anyone on earth who does more to help us improve our health than Oprah? I say no! And she’s starting off 2009 with a new commitment to getting and being healthy while helping all of us do the same!

For those of you who missed Dr. Oz on Oprah yesterday, I’ve got your recap for you right here! He talked about eliminating from your diet the things I talked about on my Resolutions list last week, and then gave four things to add to your diet if they aren’t already in it. Some of these things are also discussed in other previous Fit After Thirty posts, but it can’t hurt to be reminded of all of the things you can do to redefine “fat” in 2009!

Get on a path to being *f.a.t. by incorporating the following things into your daily diet:

1. Antioxidants - He suggests these foods: tomatoes, blueberries, broccoli, kidney beans, artichokes, and dried prunes.

2. Omega 3 oils - 3g daily- He suggests: flaxseeds (ground), walnuts (12 per day), salmon, scallops, soybeans, squash, and olive oil

3.  Fiber - 25g/day - He suggests: 100% whole grain oatmeal, lentils, black beans, peas, raspberries, pine nuts.

4. Multivitamin - If you are pre-menopausal, it should include iron and 5,000 units or less of Vitamin A, and for men and post-menopausal women, it should not include ironand only 2,500 units of Vitamin A.

Check Oprah.com to sign up for next week’s webcasts with Dr. Oz and her trainer, Bob Greene. I think it could be a great way to get you educated, motivated and inspired to get Fit After Thirty this year!

If you’ve taken my advice about changing your eating for the new year, you’ll need to forego some of last year’s fast food runs. In order to help make this transition easier, spend some time looking at these before and after fast food photos, taken from Hungry Girl. I think we can safely call it fast NON-food by the looks of some of these items!

If you are heeding my advice from yesterday about cutting back alcohol in the new year, in order to burn fat more efficiently, here are some non-alcoholic party drinks to try, from Associated Content.

Vienna Soother:  Add 4 ounces of strong coffee, 2 ounces of cream, a hearty drizzle of chocolate syrup, and a couple of dashes of cinnamon to a cocktail shaker. Fill the shaker with plenty of ice and shake well. Strain the cocktail into a clear coffee mug or highball glass and top with whipped cream and shaved chocolate.

 Nada Colada: This non-alcoholic alternative to the Pina Colada can be made to taste even more like the real thing by adding a little rum extract to the blender. Blend 2 cups skim milk, 2 cups unsweetened pineapple juice frozen into ice cube trays, 1 tablespoon of vanilla, 1 tablespoon of coconut extract, and two tablespoons of vanilla in a blender until mixture becomes frothy. Pour into glasses and garnish with pineapple wedges.

 Cinderella:  Add one ounce each of strained fresh orange juice, pine

I want to keep driving the point home that being fit is about more than just looking good in a bathing suit. It’s also about being healthy on the inside by living in a way that prevents heart disease, hypertension, cancer, alzheimers, and every other degenerative diseases. Since hypertension is strongly linked to heart disease, it’s important to keep your blood pressure in check. One way you can do that is by keeping an eye on your sodium consumption.

So check out this article on beegs.com about the sodium content in some of the salads you may be ordering at McDonald’s. So much for healthy options, huh?

When my little sister and I were kids, we were addicted to the soap opera, All My Children. One episode near Christmas time was about an alcoholic character named Devon who was sneaking extra liquor into her egg nog, while reciting the line, “Too much egg. Not enough nog.” That line cracked us up for some reason, and we’ve mimicked it millions of times since, both in context and out of context. (I know. We are easily amused.) 

So every year at Christmas, when I walk by the Egg Nog display at the grocery store, that soap opera line goes through my head. But with my adult sensibilities another line follows right behind it: “Not just too much egg, but too much fat too!”

And since we at Fit After Thirty are all about being *f.a.t. and not fat, and we espouse remaining conscious about what you are putting into your body -even in liquid form- I thought I’d give you the skinny (or not so skinny) on all of those liquids you’ll be consuming over the next few weeks! Maybe the comparisons can help you maintain some caloric balance with your choices!

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Have I mentioned before how much we love men? That is why we love Men’s Health Magazine, because they are dedicated to keeping men healthy! But the great thing is, a lot of the information they provide on their site and in their magazine is very applicable to women as well.

We love the Eat This Not That books, and from that research, we give you the top 20 worst foods. If you eat out, steer clear of these foods, or at least be aware of the impact it will have on your health so you do not overdo it! It’s not just about your weight - think about your arteries! The biggest surprise comes from a couple of items that would, on a menu, seem to be healthy.

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From Self Recipes Database: Here is a great winter recipe with one of the best 15 foods to burn calories from yesterday’s article!

Ingredients

Vegetable Oil Cooking Spray

2 tsp olive oil

1 small shallot, chopped

1 cup packed fresh spinach, chopped

4 whole eggs

4 egg whites

8 sun dried tomato halves, chopped

½ cup grated Asiago

2 tbsp chopped fresh basil

¼ tsp salt

1/8 tsp freshly group pepper

4 slices whole wheat toast

2 cups fresh berries

Preparation

Heat oven to 425°. Coat 4 small baking dishes with cooking spray. Set aside. Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Cook shallot until soft but not brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add spinach; cook 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Lightly whisk eggs and egg whites in a bowl. Stir in sun-dried tomatoes, cheese, basil, spinach mixture, salt and pepper. Spoon into baking dishes; bake until firm in the center, 12 to 14 minutes. Serve each with 1 slice toast and 1/2 cup berries.

289 calories per serving

13.4 g fat (5.2 g saturated)                               

27.7 g carbs

4.3 g fiber

17.5 g protein

With the economy in shambles, and the holidays around the corner, a lot of you may be doing a lot of budgeting of your money. But for a Fit After Thirty girl, the holidays are also about budgeting your caloric intake. It’s all about moderation. One of the greatest pieces of snacking wisdom I can offer to help you in this balancing act is to eat thermogenic foods. Actually, all foods are thermogenic, because they all require calories to burn them, but some are more thermogenic than others, and a few foods actually contain less calories than it takes to digest them!

Therefore, your body can gain the benefits of the nutrients in the foods without gaining weight along with them. They are all fruits and vegetables anyway, so they are not calorie-dense to begin with, but if you have got to snack on something, why not make it a food that burns itself along with a few calories from the holiday cookie you ate the day before!

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In the next few weeks most of you will be surrounded by cookies in one way or another. Whether through a work function, a party you attend or host, a cookie exchange, or your own holiday baking, we will have access to more doughy confections than any other time of the year. I’m not a huge calorie counter myself, and prefer just approaching the season with an attitude of moderation. But I know a lot of you like to be more precise with your dieting methods, so that you don’t end up with Santa’s belly by new year’s day. So, I’ve compiled a cookie calorie count list to refer to as you munch your way through the holidays! 

Almond cookie

Serving Size: 2″  Calories per cookie: 51.34     Fat grams:  3.12       Carbs: 5.14

Homemade chocolate chip cookie  

Serving Size: 2′1/4″ diameter    Calories per cookie: 78     Fat grams: 4.5    Carbs: 9.3  

Chocolate chip large bakery style:

Serving Size: 5″ diameter     Calories per cookie:  210,    Fat grams: 10       Carbs: 6 

Gingerbread cookie

Serving Size: 1 gingerbread man  Calories per cookie: 90  Fat grams: 5  Carbs: 12

M&M cookie:

Serving Size: 2″  Calories per cookie: 107    Fat grams: 4.6     Carbs: 15.5

Sugar cookie:

Serving Size: 2″    Calories per cookie: 110,      Fat grams: 5      Carbs: 14.7 

Powdered sugar frosting:

Serving size: 2 Tbsp.                 Calories per cookie: 112,    Fat grams: 4   Carbs: 19

Cream cheese frosting:

Serving size: 1 TBSP                  Calories: 60   Fat grams: 3.5   Carbs:  6.8 

White chocolate macademia large bakery style:  Calories per cookie: 210     Fat grams: 11,    Carbs: 29

Oatmeal raisin :                       Calories per cookie: 94            Fat grams 2            Carbs: 17 

Mexican wedding cookie:  

1″ diameter                            Calories per cookie: 98,              Fat grams: 7.3        Carbs: 7.4

Peanut Butter:    

3″ diameter     Calories per cookie: 95, Fat grams: 4.8. Carbs: 11.8  

With Hershey Kiss on top:

Serving: 1 Kiss Calories: 26 Fat grams: 1.4 Carbs:  2.7 

Chocolate covered pretzels:

Serving size: 13 pretzels Calories: 190 Fat grams: 8  Carbs: 25