You'll probably recognize this feeling: you are at a party and see all kinds of tasty snacks and drinks. You must do your best to keep you in. How do you resist the temptation of all those tasty snacks and get-togethers? In this article I give you some tips to deal with this temptation. 

Dining out

You can also watch what you eat outside the door. But how do you do this? The trick is to make sensible choices in a restaurant. Do not take more than you would eat at home and choose consciously for the healthier products. To make it easier for you to make conscious and healthy choices, there are four important tips below.

• Check the menu:  the food starts with a critical look at the menu. You can often do this online too. What are the choices that you can make? Cooked, grilled or stewed dishes are usually less caloric than fried or fried dishes . In cold red sauces such as ketchup, there are often fewer calories than in white sauces.
• Choose a limited number of courses: Perhaps you have already eaten enough after the main course and the ordered dessert still has to come. Do you have enough of 1 or 2 courses? Order the dessert only after the main course, if you still want it at least. You can also opt for a more extensive starter as a main course, or to omit the starter and / or dessert.
• Ask the possibilities for a small portion:  a smaller portion is fine, if you do not skimp on the healthy products. Ask if they serve sauce or dressing separately. Then you have the opportunity to choose how much you put on your dish. You can also ask for an extra portion of vegetables.
• Choose low-calorie drinks: not just alcoholic drinks such as wine and beer contain a lot of calories. Also fruit drinks and soft drinks tick. Therefore choose water or light soft drinks.

What are healthy choices in a restaurant?

• Starter: (wholemeal) bread with a bit of tapenade, broth, a clear soup, vegetable salad or carpaccio.
• Main course: lean meat such as steak, turkey, fish or game with lots of vegetables and just as many potatoes, rice or pasta as you normally need.
• Dessert:  fruit, fruit sorbet, coffee or tea.

Snacks

It is sometimes quite difficult to turn off all tasty snacks at a party. Below are some tips to make it easier to deal with.

• Take a good look at the snacks, what is actually all about? Try some of all kinds of treats, but do not eat too much of the same.
• If the tasty snacks are in front of you, it is all the more difficult not to keep striking. Help yourself by not moving close to the cheeses and chips. Has the serving dish with toasts or hot snacks been left on your table by accident? Share them around: you have your chat and you help the host.
• Choose a piece of cake and some snack vegetables or skip the piece of cake and give yourself some toasts and chips. Some people prefer not to hear a 'no' from you and still give you all food. Give in that case a reason why you do not want to eat that much today. 'No, I've eaten a lot today', or 'No, I've had a lot of cake lately, next time again' is probably easier accepted than 'No, thanks.'
• Do you want to eat something with as few calories as possible? Then go for slices of cucumber, cherry tomatoes, olives and carrots. Also Japanese mix (without peanuts) and salty sticks contain relatively few calories.

During a party or drink

A beer or wine on its time can be fine during a diet, but how do you keep it in check? Below are simple tips to keep it within bounds.

• Continuing to say 'no' to drinks or refreshments is not necessary. You can also join without flying out of the bend. Alternate alcoholic drinks with water and give yourself a bitter ball, but just let that scale go by. Talk to yourself in advance how much you plan to eat.
• What to do with the tasty appetite? You could get a bitter garnish and white bread with herb butter, but luckily most catering establishments offer healthier alternatives. If possible, opt for olives and crispy brown / wholegrain (stick) bread with tapenade.
• Do not hang on a drink for dinner, especially if you drink alcohol. The longer you stick, the greater the chance that you decide to take something easy (and unhealthy), or just to eat snacks. Or suggest around dinner time not to order a snack dish, but meal salads. So you can stretch the atmosphere and you have a healthy meal behind the choose.

Take your special moments

In addition, it is important to remember that you do not have to lose weight all year round to lose a certain weight after a year. Imagine: you come to the period around Christmas 3 kilos, but the rest of the year you lose 10 kilos. Then the net result is 7 kilos of weight loss . Some moments lend themselves better than other moments to lose weight.

For example, during Christmas there is a less smart time to lose weight. It is possible in theory, but this costs a lot more energy. So eat well and do not skip a hallway specifically. Unless of course you feel like it. It is important that if you feel guilt you do not pay too much attention to this. Leave them for what they are. Please note that you do not fall into the trap where you will label more and more moments as a special moment.

Vitamin D and bone health are inextricably linked. If you say vitamin D, you say healthy bones. But now it appears from a recent meta-analysis that extra supplementation with vitamin D does nothing for our bone health. Should we leave the supplements now?

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is important for a healthy and well-functioning body. A shortage of this vitamin increases the chance of health risks. Do you want to know more about this? Read this extensive article about vitamin D.

Vitamin D and bone health

Vitamin D is important for good bone growth in children and the maintenance of strong bones and teeth. It ensures that calcium can be properly absorbed. And calcium plays an important role in maintaining strong bones. This reduces the chance of bone fractures, especially in later life.

For the elderly, intake of extra vitamin D is advised because this group is more difficult to come to the recommended amount. In addition, supplementation is advised to reduce the risk of bone fractures and falls. The latter is now under discussion.

The research

81 studies were included in the meta-analysis , 30 of which were randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Here, the effect of vitamin D supplementation on bone health was investigated. What turned out: vitamin D supplementation has no effect on the prevention of bone fractures and falls. Also the mineral density of the bone tissue did not improve. This applies both to studies in which a low and a high dose of vitamin D was given.

More than bone health

According to the researchers, the advice to give preventive vitamin D to seniors should be reconsidered. But vitamin D has many more functions than just strengthening the bone tissue. There are indications that vitamin D protects against cancer and depression. In addition, vitamin D can help to strengthen the immune system.

At the moment there are several large studies that have to show whether these functions are indeed supported by vitamin D supplementation. Until that time I recommend to continue to follow the current guidelines regarding vitamin D supplementation.

Cooking for a crowd and want the perfect appetizer? Try making those shrimp and veggie-filled lumpia, or, as they’re noted within the Philippines, lumpia togue-- togue which means bean sprout. Your guests will love the crisp wrappers and flavor-packed filling, and you'll love how quickly a batch may be whipped up. You can also make those ahead of time, freeze, and fry a few days later!


Total Time
half-hour

Prep Time
10 minutes

Cook Time
20 mins


Ingredients
for 16 lumpias

SWEET CHILI SAUCE

½ cup  water, plus 1 tablespoon, divided (a hundred and twenty mL)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 large fresno chiles, minced
¼ cup  sugar (50 g)
⅓ cup  rice vinegar (80 mL)
2 teaspoons  kosher salt
1 tablespoon  cornstarch

LUMPIA

2 big carrots, peeled
½ lb  inexperienced beans, trimmed (225 g)
1 tablespoon  vegetable oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon  fresh ginger
1 lb  shrimp, peeled, deveined and finely chopped (455 g)
1 tablespoon  fish sauce
1 teaspoon  kosher salt
1 teaspoon  pepper
1 tablespoon  rice vinegar
2 cups  bean sprout (2 hundred g)
16 lumpia wrappers
egg wash, for brushing
canola oil, for frying

Preparation

1. Make the sweet chili sauce: In a small pot over medium heat, blend collectively ½ cup (120 ml) of water, the garlic, Fresno chilies, sugar, rice vinegar, and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the warmth to low and simmer for 2 minutes.
2. In a small bowl, whisk collectively the cornstarch and remaining tablespoon of water.
3. Whisk the cornstarch slurry into the sauce until absolutely integrated. Continue to simmer for 1 minute, or till the combination has thickened. Remove from the warmth and allow cool.
4. Make the lumpia: Julienne the carrots. Cut the green beans on the diagonal.
5. In a huge skillet, warmth the vegetable oil over medium-excessive warmth. Add the onion and prepare dinner for three minutes or till slightly gentle.
6. Add the garlic and ginger, and continue cooking for 2 minutes extra, until fragrant.
7. Add the carrots and green beans, and toss to combine. Add the shrimp, fish sauce, salt, pepper, and rice vinegar, and cook for two minutes or till shrimp is purple.
8. Add the bean sprouts, toss to contain, and dispose of the pan from the heat.
9. Layout a lumpia wrapper in a diamond form and spoon 2 tablespoons of filling onto the lowest of the wrapper, leaving approximately 1½ inches (4 cm) of space from the bottom point.
10. Fold the bottom factor over the filling, then fold in the rims to create an envelope form. Roll the wrapper toward the pinnacle factor. Brush the top factor with egg wash and finish the roll to seal the stop. Repeat with the final wrappers and filling.
11. In a massive, deep skillet, heat 1 inch (2.Five cm) of canola oil to 300°F (one hundred fifty°C).
12. Carefully upload four-five lumpia at a time to the recent oil. Fry on each aspect for 1-2 minutes, or till golden brown. Note: If the lumpia are cooking too fast or burning, reduce the heat. Remove the lumpia from the oil and drain on a wire rack or paper towels.
13. Garnish with cilantro and serve with the candy chili sauce.
14. Enjoy!

Ingredients

for 1 pint

3 cups  cashews, ½ cup (65 g) if simply making sufficient for the ice cream (390 g)
¼ cup  water (60 mL)
1 ¼ cups  natural sugar (250 g)
4 tablespoons  cocoa butter
4 tablespoons  coconut oil
1 teaspoon  salt
1 cup  coconut milk (240 mL)
1 teaspoon  vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT

ice cream maker

Preparation

1. Place the cashews in a huge bowl. Add sufficient room-temperature water to cover the cashews. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and soak in a single day.
2. Place the bowl of an ice cream device within the freezer in a single day.
3. Add the cashews and soaking water to a blender. Blend, beginning on low velocity and growing to excessive until clean and frothy, about 40 seconds. Strain right into a huge bowl through a satisfactory-mesh sieve or cheesecloth.
4. Reserve 1 cup (240 ml) of cashew milk for the ice cream and store the relaxation inside the refrigerator for as much as per week for some other use.
5. In a small saucepan over medium warmness, combine the water and sugar and cook, stirring constantly, until the combination is apparent, about 2 mins. Whisk in the cocoa butter, coconut oil, and salt. Remove the pan from the warmth and set apart.
6. In a blender, integrate the cashew milk and coconut milk. Blend on low pace. With the blender strolling, pour inside the sugar mixture to emulsify. Continue until properly-mixed, about 2 mins.
7. Pour the combination right into a big metallic bowl and blend within the vanilla extract. Scrape in the seeds from the vanilla bean and whisk to mix.
8. Chill the base in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
9. Add the chilled base to the ice cream maker and churn for 1 hour, or as long as the system requires, till thick and creamy.
10. Transfer the ice cream to a loaf pan and freeze overnight.
11. Scoop and serve immediately.
12. Enjoy

Have you trained hard and can you use some extra energy? Or do you just want something sweet? Then you have to make these delicious pancakes anyway. They supplement your reserves and feed you with the necessary vitamins, minerals and proteins. In addition, they give me a feeling of fullness to my lunch!

Necessities

• Blender
• Baking pan

Ingredients

• 1 overripe banana
• 3 proteins
• pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
• 100 grams of spelled flour
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• dash of milk
• 100 grams skimmed french curd cheese
• 50 grams of blueberries
• 2 ripe yellow plantains
• dash of agave syrup
• 100 grams of pecans
• coconut oil

Preparation method

Step 1:  Puree the ripe banana with a fork or with a hand blender. Add the vanilla sugar, honey (optional), 3 egg whites, pinch of salt and mix well. (possibly 1/4 tl baking soda for an airy pancake)

Step 2: Carefully add the flour for a syrupy whole and a smooth pancake. (Did you use too much flour, then add the splash of milk)

Step 3:  Heat a generous amount of coconut oil or baking butter in the pan and fry the plantains on a high heat until golden brown. Turn the heat to a low setting so that they stay warm.

Step 4:  Fry the pancakes golden brown on medium heat and turn between them. This recipe gives 2 medium-sized pancakes or 4 small ones.

Step 5:  Siege and decorate your pancakes with the curd cheese, blueberries, pecans and bananas. Enjoy your sweet sensation!

Variation tip: Add your own favorite fruit! For example, go for Mango and raspberries.

The end of 2018 is in sight. Traditionally I look back every year on the food trends of the year. What kept us busy this year? What were the discussions about? At this my top 10 of 2018.

10. Lectin

A big hype in America that cardiologist and cardiac surgeon Steven Gundry warns us about lectin. In his new book 'The plant paradox' he writes about the dangers of this substance. Lectin is a  vegetable protein . It belongs to the plant toxins. These are toxins that occur naturally in certain plants. But is Lectine really that bad for us? You read about lectin in this article .

9. National prevention agreement

The national prevention agreement was published on 23 November . The goal of this agreement is to make the Netherlands healthier. This due to different agreements about nutrition, alcohol and smoking. Despite the probably good intentions of the government, there is already a lot of comment on this agreement. For example, the food industry would have had too much say in the agreement. In addition, the agreements may not be strong enough. Research by the RIVM shows that the goals of the agreement will not be achieved in this way.

8. Cancer prevention

The new guidelines for cancer prevention were published this year. The report was based on hundreds of scientific studies. The researchers conclude from this that 40% of the cancer cases can be prevented. Of course there are no guarantees. But the guidelines can reduce the risk of cancer. Read more about this in  this article about reducing the risk of cancer.

7. Nutrition as a treatment

No pills, but a healthy lifestyle as a treatment and to prevent illness. The association doctor and nutrition that is committed to this is already established in 2016. Yet I have the idea that this year of treatment has received more attention. Instead of a pill for your high cholesterol or blood pressure, adjust your diet first. Or reverse type 2 diabetes by exercising more and losing weight. These are examples of a healthy lifestyle as a treatment. A nice development of our health care.

6. Vegetable pizza bottoms and legume spaghetti

They were unable to get in this year. And the range is getting bigger! I am talking about cauliflower pizzas, broccoli list, zucchini and lentil paste. An alternative is coming up for more and more carbohydrate-rich products. Why am I so enthusiastic about these products? They help you to get more vegetables more easily!

In addition, they are generally lower in energy and rich in fiber. So they can help with weight loss or with a low carbohydrate diet . Please note: for safety's sake, check the label for the nutritional values. For example, pizza bottoms of vegetables still contain a lot of calories because they only consist partly of vegetables.

5. Less alcohol

Alcohol-free beer is becoming increasingly popular. Nearly half of all beer drinkers consciously choose beer with less alcohol. Sales of alcohol-free beer have increased by a quarter this year. The increasing popularity of non-alcoholic beverages is due to consumer awareness. The adverse effects of alcohol are becoming increasingly clear. In addition, the supply of alcohol-free beer is becoming wider. The use of non-alcoholic wine is still somewhat behind. But who knows, in 2019 we will all switch to the wine without alcohol.

4. Energy drink under the spell

If there was a lot of discussion this year, it was the use of energy drinks. And especially the use of children. This is because it becomes increasingly clear how unhealthy these drinks are. They can lead to an overload of the heart and fatal cardiac arrhythmias. The development of the nervous system in children can also be negatively affected by these drinks.

Doctors therefore called for a ban on the sale of energy drinks to children. Many supermarkets went along with this. For example, Aldi and Lidl do not sell energy drinks to children under the age of 14.

3. Save the dietitian

2018 is the year that the dietitian revolts against the health insurers. After all, there is a considerable cutback on the dietitian from the health insurance. Despite the fact that more and more attention is paid to nutrition as a medicine. It has been proven that every euro spent on dietetics earns the state treasury 63 euros. Nevertheless, the hourly rate of the dietitian has not changed for 10 years. The recent new contracts were the last drop. Telephone consultations and indirect time that are no longer reimbursed.

On top of that, you are obliged to examine customer satisfaction, which the dietician has to pay for and has to perform in her own time. The dietician rebels. As well as physiotherapists and speech therapists. The care is sick. I hope that next year I can look back on a major change in the current healthcare system. ]

2. Pioppi diet

Since the broadcast in October of the program 'The doctors of tomorrow' about the Pioppi diet, the whole of the Netherlands was in turmoil again. Do we all have to eat as the inhabitants of the village of Pioppi in Italy? The book about the Pioppi diet was in any case soon after the broadcast in the bestseller list. But whether this book matches the actual diet in Pioppi? You can read my opinion about the Pioppi diet in  this article .

1.Plant food

The national week without meat, meatless monday, the last campaign of the Nutrition Center. In recent years, much attention has been paid to a vegetable diet. And this year too much attention has been paid to it. The impact of a diet with a lot of meat on health and the environment is becoming increasingly clear. The benefits of a vegetable diet are increasingly being highlighted. The number of people who eat vegetarian or even vegan food is increasing. A trend that I expect will continue in 2019.

Now that the days are getting darker and shorter, it is important to pay attention to our vitamin D intake. This week it was over in the media that chocolate would be a good source of vitamin D. But is this also correct? I searched it out for you. 

The short answer:  There are strong indications that chocolate contains vitamin D2. However, this amount is very variable and you should eat huge amounts of chocolate to get enough vitamin D. This is not healthy due to the amounts of fat and sugar.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is crucial for a healthy and well-functioning body. A vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of health risks. Read more about vitamin D in this article.

Vitamin D and chocolate

In September a German study was published that examined whether there is actually vitamin D in chocolate. And this also turned out to be correct.

Vitamin D occurs during the drying of the cocoa beans. After picking and fermenting, the cocoa beans are dried in the sun for 1-2 weeks. In this way, the flesh disappears and the cocoa beans remain. Yeasts grow on the beans during this drying process. These yeasts are rich in ergosterol, a precursor of vitamin D. In the sun, the ergosterol is converted into vitamin D2. This is not the vitamin D3 that our skin produces in the sun, or that we get from our fish, margarine and vitamin pills. It is often thought that only D3 can be included in our body. But vitamin D2 can also be absorbed and fulfill its function as vitamin D in the body.

To test whether there is actually vitamin D in our chocolate, the research group analyzed various cocoa products and powders. Products containing cocoa were indeed a source of vitamin D2!

All about the chocolate?

Is this a good reason to eat plenty of chocolate this winter ..? Unfortunately not. First of all, the amount of vitamin D2 varies greatly in the different cocoa products. The dark chocolate had a relatively higher vitamin D2 content than white chocolate. That is not surprising. Pure chocolate contains more cocoa than white chocolate. But not only that. The amount of vitamin D in cocoa beans is small and very variable. It depends on how much yeast has grown on the cocoa beans and how much sunlight they have had. It is therefore possible that your piece of dark chocolate contains little or no vitamin D.

In addition, you should eat huge amounts of chocolate to get enough vitamin D. Now this may not be a punishment for the chocolate lovers among us. But chocolate is also very rich in calories, sugar, and fat. Because of which such large quantities are not particularly good for our health. In short, enjoy your piece of chocolate. But do not see it as healthy because it may contain a little bit of vitamin D.