"low cal" news and stories

Once the Halloween candy hits the shelves, you know that the holiday season is starting up and won't be over until after New Year's. In addition to candy, there are cakes, pies and huge family dinners to contend with. There are ways to prepare for a meal, but how can you prepare for a season of not-so-healthy eating without worrying about your health or weight?

Some people wait to see how much damage has been done before cutting back in January. One friend told me that she tries to have a salad with low-fat/low cal dressing, or a low-fat soup for lunch as the holidays approach and throughout the season - as opposed to sandwiches, burgers and even leftovers - which gives her a sense of flexibility when it comes to her aunt's pecan pie and potatoes with gravy. That's quite a long time to prepare for a few big meals, though.

Do you try to change your diet to offset seasonal indulgences?

Nestle has just introduced a series of lower-calorie candy bars called Stixx. Named because of their crunch and their shape, these candies have a crisp wafer structure, candy creme center and chocolate coating. They are available in Butterfinger, Nestle Crunch and Nestle Crunch Dark. The Butterfinger version has a Butterfinger-flavored creme center, while the Crunch flavors have milk and dark chocolate crèmes. Each package contains six individually wrapped “stixx”, which have only 90 calories and 3-4 grams of fat each, depending on the particular variety you choose, making each of the flavors a great snack option when you want to sneak a little candy into your afternoon. That's less than half the fat and calories of most candy bars! The newly-released chocolates might be hard to find at the moment, but they'll show up soon at grocery or convenience stores.

Diet is a word that you don't really want to hear on Valentine's Day, especially since the word you probably want to hear is chocolate. Unfortunately, millions of people are either actively dieting or simply watching their weight - and they neither want to eat all those extra calories and fat grams at a meal, nor do they want to refuse them. After all, they've only lost weight, not their taste buds. Dieters have learned how to cope at restaurants, but if you are inclined to cook for your sweetheart, you will have to customize your dinner menu to their requirements. Fortunately, this isn't as difficult as it seems. Try one of these menus for your special evening, one lower in fat and one lower in carbs. Both include an appetizer, side dish, a main course and a dessert, all of which should go over in a big way with your Valentine - without making them any bigger.