Are you eating endless amounts of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall and Dongpo Pork during the New Year gathering? Obesity follows! Nutritionists teach you 4 tips to avoid eating fat during the Chinese New Year and stay healthy without any burden

The Lunar New Year is here, and eating New Year's dishes such as Buddha Jumps Over the Wall and Dongpo Pork around the fire is the highlight of the New Year. In addition to the big fish and meat on the table, snacks and drinks are also indispensable to help increase the festive atmosphere. However, if you are not careful, the calorie intake may exceed the limit and obesity may follow. Yang Huiping, a nutritionist from the Nutrition Group of Cathay General Hospital, teaches you 4 tips to avoid getting fat during the Chinese New Year and stay healthy and free of burden.

Stop, look and listen before buying New Year dishes

Traditional New Year dishes often include Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, Dongpo Pork, Eight Treasure Rice Cake, etc. Most of them are high in fat, thickened, sauced, and sugared. Snacks and drinks also have high calories, fat, sugar, and salt content. Don't rush to buy or eat. It's best to stop and listen first:

Stop: Stop and observe the composition of the food before putting it in your mouth.

Think about the negative effects of too much heat.

The benefits of changing the order of your meals.

Look: Which food category do the dishes on the plate belong to?

Eating order: eat vegetables first → beans, fish, eggs, meat → staple food.

Try to make whole grains the main staple food.

Listen: Listen to your inner voice and ask yourself, what do I want to eat right now.

Don't swallow your food whole; chew it slowly and savor it.

Will we take out or cook our own New Year dishes this year? Here are some eating and shopping tips for your reference:

4 tips to avoid eating fat during the Chinese New Year and stay healthy without burden

Tip 1: Reduce processed foods

Try to choose natural foods as much as possible to reduce the burden on the body caused by the loss of nutrients during processing and the use of additives. Choosing local seasonal ingredients is fresher and reduces energy consumption in long-distance transportation. The ingredients also comply with the principles of energy conservation and carbon reduction. In addition, food produced under the most suitable weather conditions not only has high nutritional value and good quality, but is also cheaper.

Tip 2: Low-oil ingredients and cooking

Replace high-calorie, high-salt, and high-fat processed meat products with natural ingredients. It is recommended to reduce the intake of smoked, salted, or nitrite-processed bacon, sausages, etc. It is recommended that each meal contain about one palm-sized and thick portion of beans, fish balls and meat. When choosing dishes, it is recommended to replace ingredients such as lion head, pork trotter, and Dongpo pork with fresh shrimp, sea cucumber, squid, beef tendon, chicken, etc. that have lower fat content.

When choosing ingredients and cooking methods, priority should be given to white meat such as poultry, chicken, duck and seafood, and lean meat should be chosen to replace fatty meat with high fat content. In addition, you can choose seafood such as fish, sea cucumber, shrimp, squid, etc., which are lower in calories and saturated fat. The cooking methods should mainly be steamed, braising, blanched, and cold dishes. For example, steamed fish should replace sweet and sour fish, Shaoxing drunken chicken should replace crispy fried chicken, or you can pick out the fried coating to reduce excessive fat intake. If you buy New Year's dishes outside, you can choose products with lower calories or semi-vegetarian or vegetarian options. For thawed soups, you can remove the solidified fat on the top and then heat them to reduce fat intake. In addition, you can choose to have about 1 tablespoon of nuts and seeds as a snack every day, such as 8 almonds, 5 cashews or 2 walnuts.

The standard amount of vegetables consumed per meal is 1.5 fist-sized portions, so when choosing New Year's dishes, it is recommended to choose 2 to 3 vegetarian or semi-vegetarian dishes. You can also prepare fresh vegetables and add appropriate amounts to meat or soup dishes.

Tip 3: More fiber

It is recommended to choose whole grains that are rich in vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber and "maintain their original state", such as brown rice, whole wheat noodles, taro, pumpkin, yam and red beans. Rice cakes and eight-treasure taro paste that are common in New Year dishes are usually made with a lot of extra oil and sugar, so it is recommended to consume them in moderation. It is recommended that people use whole grains as the staple food for their three meals, or at least 1/3 of them should be unrefined whole grains.

The standard amount of vegetables to be consumed per meal is 1.5 fist-sized portions. Therefore, when choosing New Year's dishes, it is recommended to pick 2 to 3 vegetarian or semi-vegetarian dishes. You can also prepare fresh vegetables and add appropriate amounts to meat or soup dishes. For example, you can add radish, chrysanthemum, cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, and enoki mushrooms to soups; you can add blanched mustard greens, cauliflower, and bok choy as garnishes to meat, or stir-fry it with green peppers, bamboo shoots, and mushrooms. This not only increases fiber intake, but also increases a sense of fullness.

The amount of fruit intake per meal is about the size of a fist. It is recommended to replace snacks such as green mango, fruit-flavored gummy candy, nougat, etc. that are commonly eaten during the Chinese New Year with fresh seasonal fruits (such as citrus, cherry tomatoes, grapes, wax apples, strawberries, and dates). Fruits are rich in vitamins and dietary fiber, which can promote gastrointestinal motility, prevent constipation, increase satiety and enhance immunity.

Tip 4: Drink more water and sugar-free drinks

Boiled water is the healthiest and most economical source of water for the human body. It is recommended to consume more than 1,500 ml of boiled water every day. Sugary drinks contain a lot of sugar, and the ingredients used (tapioca balls, taro balls, vermicelli, pudding, etc.) also contain a lot of sugar. Excessive intake will cause weight gain. It is recommended to replace sugary drinks with boiled water and sugar-free drinks.

Nutritionist Yang Huiping reminds us to consume a balanced variety of foods during the Spring Festival to increase food diversity. Eat three meals at regular times and in regular amounts, reduce the intake of snacks and late-night snacks, or replace desserts with fruits. Overeating can easily lead to excessive calorie intake or food waste, so when purchasing and preparing food, you should pay attention to the appropriate portion size. In addition, you can increase your physical activity by making more appointments with relatives and friends to celebrate the Spring Festival and burn off excess calories. Therefore, while enjoying the company of others, we should also pay more attention to our health. Before shopping or eating, we should stop, look, listen, and choose the food that is most suitable for our health.

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