Four Quick Health Tips for Your Thanksgiving Dinner

1.         Talk More, Eat Less

Thanksgiving is the great time for family and friends to get together. Every day we are busy with our own stuff, so it’s a great time for you to catch up with your loved ones. Chatting with people at the Thanksgiving dinner table not only helps you get social, but also healthy. When you talk, you slow down with eating, and it gives your brain time to detect your fullness and let you stop eating. When you eat slowly, you’ll get a chance to enjoy great flavors than just stuffing yourself to maximum capacity with all the food.

2.         Light Food Goes First

Turkey is a must and stuffing is appealing. However, try to fill yourself up with lighter dishes first, such as salad and veggies. Sweet potatoes have a great mixture of fiber and vitamins, and a pinch (just a pinch and no butter needed) of brown sugar makes it delicious. When you have a good food base in your stomach, you won’t clean up your plate in seconds like a storm.  Instead, you can slowly enjoy all the great flavors melting in your mouth. 

3.         Go for Sweets, YES!   

Instead of trying to find reasons to persuade yourself from desserts, I say go for it.  BUT, keep portion control in mind, it is the key. A small piece of pie, a scoop of ice cream or a small bowl of chocolate pudding won’t kill you. You probably have been waiting for them for a long time. Have some but limit it to a small portion. Other than that, remember to have some coffee along with your desserts. A study showed that caffeine generates a greater thermic effect, which increases energy expenditure, basal metabolic rate and fat oxidation.¹   At the same time, caffeine acts as a central nervous system stimulant and reduces the sleepiness after turkey consumption.

4.         Move Around after a Meal

After your great meal, take a 15 to 20-minute walk. Walking after a meal helps you increase your metabolism and burn off any excess calories from the meal. If you don’t like walking by yourself, ask your family and friends, or even take your pets to join you. You are helping them stay healthy too! If you still feel walking is too boring for you, then do something else. Help clean the table, put away stuff, do the dishes or take out trash. There is always something better to do than just sitting down and watching TV.

1. Westerterp-Plantenga. Green tea catechins, caffeine and body-weight regulation. Physiology & Behavior. 2010; 100 (1): 42–46.

Wisdom Teeth Extraction Recovery Food / Diet

      I haven't done too much lately because I got four impacted wisdom teeth pulled out last week.  It was like a whole surgery process and I was a little scared.  The surgery went well because I was put to sleep.  I didn't feel any pain, however, the recovery phase was horrible.  My face was swollen for about three or four days.  Right now, the swollen phase is over, but my teeth, gum and jaws are still very painful, especially in the early morning and late night.  And that is the "alarm" to wake me up every day.  In the first three days after surgery, I had to wake up around 3 or 4 in the morning and took pain pills.  The worst part is I had to eat food before taking the pain pills, so I wouldn't be "killed" by the pills.  Plus the eating is a painful process, it was a NIGHTMARE!
      Right now, I'm feeling better but still in pain, especially when I eat (even thin, runny, liquid food!). I decided to put up some food I have been eating during this period of time, so people out there who have the same problem may get some ideas. 

Food / Diet #1

I have never had yogurt like this before, but it tastes really good.  Probably it will become a regular food in my diet.

Yogurt

Apple sauce

Honey

Cinnamon

Mix them together and eat!

Food / Diet #2

Oatmeal

 (cooked in more water than usual to make it thin)

Protein Powder / Protein Drinks

(I use Ensure, Chocolate flavor)

Mix them together and eat/drink!

Food / Diet #3

I guess you can use whatever ingredients you want, but this is the way I do it. It tastes very good for me and it has a lot of fiber and vitamins. Fiber is kinda important at this time, because the pain pills usually cause bathroom problem for me. I'm not sure whether this is a common probem for other people.

Celery

Carrots

Frozen blueberries

Frozen Strawberries

Honey

Water

Put them in the blender and make them into a shake!

Food / Diet #4

For me, I use those flavor packs come with instant noodles. However, there is a huge amount of salt in those packs. I really have to make sure I only use a little every time. They are just easy to use, and I don't feel like doing any work when I'm in pain. I opened a pack, and I have been using it for several days, and I still have a lot left. If you don't like those flavor packs, you can use whatever spices you like :)

Rice (Porridge)

( I cook my rice in a large amount water for about 20 mins to make sure it's really soft)

Spices / Flavors

Cook rice in the water to make porridge and add spices/flavors

Food / Diet #5

Canned soups without solid chunks work well and easy.  However, canned soups have a lot of salt and it's processed food.  For me, I go back and forth with canned soups and homemade soups.

Soups

(I put potatoes and soft veggies like zucchini in them. I cook them for a little longer time than I usually do, and use spoon to mash the veggies before eating)

Canned Soups

(They are quick and easy, choose the ones without chunks in there or pick out the chunks if they do have them)

      Alright, those are basically what I eat every day.  Hope it may help some people. And, I may miss some foods and I will add them when I remember :)

Mon Ami Gabi Restaurant @ Reston, VA

I was in Reston, VA last week for 5 days, and I ate at this Mon Ami Gabi restaurnat five days in a row.  Their food is beautiful and delicious, and people work there are super nice.  We met the restaurant owner on the 2nd day of visit and talked to him.  After that, we got two complimentary desserts on another two visits.  How nice was that!

Hello, D.C!

I'm gonna have a short trip to D.C and I'm super excited now!!  I have been doing research on tours and attractions in D.C. for a few hours.  I wanna go to the White House, but it's too late to schedule a tour now. Too bad!  Anyway, I'll keep looking, I wish it could be a FUN trip!

This looks really cool - International Spy Museum

Smithsonian



Pictures are from their websites