Issue Date: December 10, 2006
8 healthy holiday cooking tips
Add some cinnamon to cider to lessen blood sugar spikes.
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GO WILD WITH CINNAMON. Add the spice to sweet potatoes, applesauce, muffins, cakes, pies, breads, compotes, cider, hot chocolate. Cinnamon lessens blood sugar spikes and helps control diabetes and borderline diabetes.
USE LOW-FAT, LOW-CALORIE STAPLES such as fat-free or 1% milk (but not whole milk or cream) for mashed potatoes and pies.
FOR VEGETABLES, sprinkle on fresh herbs, not butter and cream sauces.
MAKE YOUR OWN STUFFING using sourdough bread, high-fiber bulgur or barley instead of white bread. Get flavor from sage, rosemary, thyme and onions, not salt. Use low-fat, low-sodium broth rather than butter or turkey drippings.
CHOOSE DARK CHOCOLATE candies, baking squares and chips over milk chocolate. The darker, the more health-protecting antioxidants.
SERVE A GREEN SALAD before a meal, and use dressing made with lemon juice or vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil (not corn and soybean oil). Lemon juice and vinegar both can help to suppress appetite and spikes in blood sugar. Olive oil contains good monounsaturated fat.
FOR BEVERAGES, serve water, black or green tea, orange, pomegranate and other 100% fruit juices and low-sodium tomato juice (not carbonated beverages). If you serve wine, make it red, which is high in antioxidants.
USE SMALLER PLATES and bowls, and let adults and kids serve themselves.
Contact Jean Carper at stopagingnow.com. Scientific sources are at usaweekend.com.
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Push your training
Lifting weights aids in reducing body fat.
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Circuit training is doing strength exercises one after the other without rest in between. This efficient workout mixes cardio and strength training and keeps your heart rate up because you're continually moving.
"Anybody can benefit from circuit training: individuals on tight schedules, those looking to lose body fat or for general health benefits," says Scott Lucett, director of education, National Academy of Sports Medicine. "A lot of health clubs have express stations now -- a series of machines that will basically walk you through the circuit training program."
It's also easy to get started on your own. Just choose a pushing exercise, pulling exercise, squatting exercise and an overhead press exercise, then do them one after another, without resting, until you've completed one set of each. As you get used to the format, add exercises to the circuit for a more challenging workout. Aim to complete three to four circuits.
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Put your miles to work
With the average flight nearly 80% full these days, it's harder than ever to get a free seat or upgrade using your miles. Improve your odds by traveling in low or shoulder season, when there's less demand and lower mileage requirements. Or fly midweek, when there tends to be fewer passengers.
Flying from a different airport also can work. For example, if JFK has no seats, try leaving from Newark. And plan your trip far in advance. If you will be visiting Hawaii in 11 months, then book your ticket today.
If you still can't get a seat, consider exchanging your miles for hotel nights or a rental car, or give them to family members or friends. Check out your airline's website for all your options.
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Be sure you're a Go-2 and never 404
Feeling like the young techno-savvies in your office are speaking Urdu? Use this cheat sheet, which was assembled from an informal survey of 20-somethings and the very funny website officeslang.com.
404 adj. Someone who is clueless; from the Web error message, "404 not found." Example: "Better get Brad. Bob is 404 when it comes to PowerPoint."
Bee break n. Heading off to the bathroom in the middle of a meeting or social event to check BlackBerry messages.
Blacking v. See "Bee break." This is the annoying habit of checking or typing on your BlackBerry in the middle of a meeting, as if to say you are too busy and important to be sitting here.
Case v. Using all capital letters in an e-mail, which is the rude equivalent of shouting. "Then she started casing me."
Drailing v. Sending drunken e-mails, often rants against the boss, to co-workers after-hours via personal e-mail acccounts.
E-mnesia n. When you can't remember getting or sending e-mail.
Flight risk adj. A co-worker who may be ready to leave the firm.
Go-2 adj. The most capable person. "Sherry is a Go-2 manager."
Stall talker n. Someone who chats at you while you (or they) are going to the bathroom.
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