Navigate The Holidays! Pan Jus Gravy

One thing I LOVE about family dinner is mashed potatoes and gravy…gravy on everything.  I love it!  However, it’s not the healthiest.  Which is why I reserve it as a treat for the holidays (every holiday, I’m not a saint) and for sometimes Sunday night roasts.

South Beach came up with the following Pan Juice “Gravy” that uses no cornstarch or flour.  I’m terrible at making gravy so I might as well stick with a recipe that doesn’t require thickening!

This “jus”-style gravy, made without flour or cornstarch, is thickened naturally by reducing and concentrating the turkey juices. After the bird is carved and placed on a serving platter, add the juices from the cutting board to the gravy for extra richness.

Makes 8 (1/4-cup) servings

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients
1 cup dry white wine
2 cups lower-sodium chicken broth

Instructions
After turkey has roasted, pour juices from the pan into a glass measuring cup or a fat separator; set aside. Place the roasting pan on the stove over medium-high heat. Add wine to the pan and, using a wooden spoon, scrape any browned bits of turkey from the bottom of the pan. Add broth, bring to a simmer, and cook until reduced by half, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, skim off any fat that has accumulated on top of the reserved pan juices (you should have about 2 cups of juices). Add juices to the roasting pan along with any additional juices that have accumulated on the carving board. Bring to a simmer and cook until reduced by half, stirring occasionally. Serve warm.

Nutritional information
Per (1/4-cup) serving:
25 calories
1 g fat (0 g sat)
1 g carbohydrate
1 g protein
0 g fiber
105 mg sodium

November 16, 2010. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Diet, Navigate the Holidays, Recipes, Weight Loss Tips. Leave a comment.

I’m backkk!

January 3, 2010

Hello,

I’m back.  I haven’t posted recently as I went to family’s for Xmas and New Years and they have no internet.  Hell, we were lucky we had hydro with how much snow and ice was one the trees.

My grandmother also passed away on Dec. 13.  Right in the middle of exams.  So now I am finishing up my last 4 exams this coming week, starting a new set of classes, and returning to work.  Whew! 

I did gain a few pounds over the holidays.  I did drnk a bit (but luckily my family is dry so it wasn’t such an issue).  I did eat to my heart’s content.  I could still have more turkey.  I did try to get in a 15min run every day, and did do lower body (lunges, squats) and upper body (pushups, 15 down to 1) and ab work from the Dummy video.  So interested to see if I kept up or increased the muscle mass. 

I found my love of running again, and hope to keep that up with my schedule this semester!

NOW TO LOSE THOSE FEW POUNDS AND MORE.  MAYBE 15lbs MORE TO GO?!

January 3, 2010. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Dear Diary, Diet, Exercise, Weight Loss Tips. Leave a comment.

Navigate the Holidays: Eat this, Not that!

Play a little game with holiday food – Eat this, Not that – to avoid the holiday weight gain!

To play, click here!

December 19, 2009. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Uncategorized. 1 comment.

Navigate the Holidays: How to Work Around Holiday Festivities

Budget your calories.  If you are hitting up a party or dinner later on, halve your portions the day of the party.  You can slice 300-500 calories off your daily diet and use those at the party.

Stick to the veggie platters.  ***Choose veggies over fruit when possible too.

Stick to protein platters – meat, lettuce wraps, shrimp…avoid the desserts, pastries.  Too many carbs!

Indulge in one vice – if you drink alcohol, no food.  If you want the food, avoid alcohol.

Talk more than eat.  If you are at a party, do more talking and socializing than eating.  If you are at a dinner table, take a bite, strike up a conversation, take a bite and so on.  Also, put your fork down between bites.  This forces you to chew and to wait and to enjoy your food (and company!).

Shrink your plate.  Eat off of a 20 inch dinner plate rather than a 22 inch.   You can elimiate 22% of calories and 18 pounds a year.

Switch your cheat day.  If your cheat day is Sunday, party is Thursday, move the cheat day to Thursday.

Get back on the horse.  If you splurge one night, get back on the diet and exercise horse the next day.l

Burn it off!

December 14, 2009. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Diet, Exercise, Navigate the Holidays, Weight Loss Tips. Leave a comment.

Navigate The Holidays: Navigate the Dinner

  1. If you have to have a drink, chose red wine.
  2. Chose white meat over dark, and no skin!
  3. Keep gravy to a tablespoon or 2.
  4. Chose regular bread stuffing over corn bread.
  5. Nix the cranberry sauce – lots if sugar.
  6. Eat sweet potatoes baked rather than in casseroles.
  7. If you’re going to have pie choose pumpkin.

November 28, 2009. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Diet, Navigate the Holidays, Weight Loss Tips. Leave a comment.