Thanksgiving is only a few days away, and there have been countless online discussions and recommendations on what to eat, how to eat, and how to stay healthy. We can’t help but weigh in with our list as well.

1. No Guilt. Folks, holidays are no time to start a diet or feel bad about poor eating habits. It’s all about family, tradition, and having a good time together. That said, a few simple adjustments, barely noticeable, but highly effective, can help you lower your stress levels this holiday.

2. Prepare a home cooked meal. It may be rich and full of calories, but at least it’s low on preservatives, additives, colorings, and other artificial stuff your body does not need. Prepare the meal together with your spouse and children, and get the added benefit of quality time together, before all the guests arrive.

3. Serve on small plates. Countless studies have shown that when plates are smaller, less food is placed on them, and less is eaten. Resist the urge to show off the entire China set, and use just the appetizer plates and soup bowls.

4. Color your table. The turkey, stuffing, gravy, and potatoes are all shades of beige-brown. Thank goodness for the cranberry sauce. But what about some hearty salads as sides too? Corn on the cob, Broccoli, beans, carrots and peas, beets, leafy greens, as well as peppers, eggplants, and so many other veggies can be an integral and healthy part of the meal.

5. Hors d’oeuvres. Make them small. Tiny. Bite size. What great French Chefs call amuse bouche. This is important because  people consume 300 calories BEFORE the meal begins, just snacking.

6. Drink water. And fine wine. But not soft drinks, juices, and other useless calories.

7. Wait before dessert. Take 20-30 minutes after finishing off the main course to let your body feel full. You’ll then be happy with a small portion.

8. Plan the days after. You’ve got a long weekend, 3 full days, ahead of you. Some of us will exercise by sprinting during Black Friday’s big sales at the shopping malls. But for the rest, how about planning some physical activity outdoors. Hike, jog, walk around the neighborhood. And have plenty of fruit and vegetables stocked up for preparing and eating together with leftovers from the holiday meal.

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Here’s an interesting story from Italy, posted Thursday on GlobalPost:

“From lands freed from the Mafia,” reads the light blue pack of penne rigate pasta on display among dozens of other products in a dedicated shop in Via dei Prefetti 23, in the heart of Rome. To understand that label, travel 250 miles as the crow flies south, to Sicily.

Turns out that lands confiscated from mafia members have been turned to good use -  an agricultural cooperative is selling products such as pasta, olive oil, tomatoes an wine, all from fields not far from the town of Corleone, Sicily.

Get the full story from global post here.

Speaking of the mafia, how come there are no good mobster outfits for kids to wear when trick or treating. They’d sure get a larger bounty than with those goofy monster costumes.

Happy Halloween and don’t forget to brush your teeth when it’s all over…

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Two recent articles in Progressive Grocer Magazine highlight changes in food purchase and preparation.

1. Trading down from premium brands to private label or store brands.
2. Consolidation of shopping trips.
3. Coupon clipping and purchase planning using store circulars.
4. Comparing prices more carefully.
5. Stocking up on bargains.
6. Curbing impulse buys. This is painful for grocers, as impulse items are usually more profitable.
7. Cooking in large batches and then freezing foods.
8. Cutting back on desserts, wine and alcohol, gourmet oils.
9. Eating out less.
Sources:
Grocery Shopping Behavior Shifts, Some Changes Permanent
Study Illustrates Women Concerned with Food Costs

If there is a bright side to the financial downturn, maybe it’s people eating more home prepared fare, which tends to be leaner, less salty, and less sweet than prepared foods.

Do you see yourself eating better these days?

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Two spring holidays that usually fall within days of each other are Easter and the Jewish Passover. As with almost all holidays, food is an important dimension of the festivities.

Easter highlights, courtesy of A.C. Nielsen:

1. America are buying over 120 million pounds, or $500 million, in candy this week.

2. 70% of the candy purchased is chocolate based, or approximately 71 million lbs.

3. That’s higher than the number for Valentine’s Day (48 million lbs.) but lower than Halloween’s tally (90 million lbs.)

4. Over 61 million eggs will be sold this week, 45% higher than on an average week.

5. On the Passover side, spending on unleavened matzo bread will reach $3.5 million dollars and $6.5 million on kosher passover wine (about 1.5 million bottles).

What you need to know:

The egg is a symbol of the rebirth of the earth in pre-Christian celebrations of spring. It was adopted by early Christians as a symbol of the resurrection. The oldest tradition is to use dyed or painted chicken eggs. In the early 19th century, egg shaped chocolates became all the rage in France and Germany, spreading to the rest of the world faster than a rabbit being chased by a hound.

The Passover matzoh is unleavend bread made from just flour and water. According to tradition, Jewish slaves, in their haste to flee ancient Egypt to freedom, did not have time to fully bake bread for the road. The matzo, unleavened flat bread, is what resulted.

Happy Festivities!

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A: The answer is sulfites.

Have you ever wondered why dried fruit such as apples and apricots that you buy at the supermarket maintain their luster but when you slice an apple at home it immediately starts to brown?

Do you glance at the wine label while sipping your pinot noir and wonder why “contains sulfites” should appear there?

A brief intro to sulfites follows. Read more…

Ever wonder how many calories you’re chugging down, drinking that can of Bud? And what is the exact serving size of the Pinot Noir you’re having with your tofu burger?

Today,  you’ll have to ask a dietitian or go online, because this information is not available on the can or bottle. However, a petition by several consumer groups may be changing that. From the International Business Times:

the organizations reported overwhelming public support for a standardized “Alcohol Facts” panel on all beer, wine and distilled spirits products listing such basic information as the serving size, calories per serving, alcohol content per serving, and the definition of a “standard drink.” Additionally, the petition sought the inclusion of the Dietary Guidelines’ definition of moderate, or low-risk, alcohol consumption on product labels. Today, alcoholic beverages are the only major category of consumable products not required to carry label information summarizing these basic characteristics of the product.

Read more…

What you need to know:

Alcohol is not under the jurisdiction of the FDA or USDA. Instead it is regulated by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) which is part of the US Treasury Department. It’s comforting to know the government is taking tax revenue collection seriously, but it would also be great to provide the taxpayer with minimal information about the product being purchased or consumed.

In the meantime you can download a one pager with sample values here [PDF]. Thanks to the Consumer Federation of America.

By the way, beer has 150-200 calories. Light beer has approximately 100 calories.

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