Eat wisely during the New Year to bring good luck and happiness

During Chinese New Year and other festivals, we not only say auspicious words but also eat auspicious foods, especially when friends and family get together to enjoy them after dinner. However, the fat in small snacks is often swallowed unknowingly and can become the culprit of obesity. Nutritionists suggest that if you shop and eat smartly, you can still happily satisfy your appetite.

In addition to saying auspicious words during the New Year, you should also eat healthy and auspicious foods.

1. Rice cake: It symbolizes promotion year by year. Sweet and salty rice cake, taro cake, radish cake and other seasonal foods are indispensable during the New Year. Sweet and salty rice cake made of glutinous rice puts a heavy burden on the stomach and intestines. The elderly, children and patients with poor digestive function should eat it with caution. They can also eat radish cake that is not made of glutinous rice instead.

The calories in rice cake products are equivalent to those in staple foods. You should reduce your intake of rice and noodles. When eating, you should also use less seasonings to reduce your salt intake. (See Table 1 for heat)

2. Nut snacks: Peanuts and nuts are often a common snack after meals. The oil in nuts is composed of healthier fatty acids. Eating some nuts every day will not make you gain weight and can also lower your cholesterol. Among them, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and cashews are nuts that contain more zinc, black sesame and peanuts have higher iron content, while black sesame and almonds are far ahead in calcium.

Sunflower seeds, almonds and pine nuts are rich in vitamin E, while chestnuts and walnuts contain more beta-carotene. Nuts also contain a lot of dietary fiber. Nuts also contain oil and calories and should not be consumed in excess. When choosing nuts, do not choose those with egg crispy coating or honey flavor. Just eat them in their original flavor. (For heat, refer to Table 2)

3. Festival candies: Usually 5 or 6 peanut candies or nougats have 300 to 400 calories, which is almost the calories of one and a half bowls of rice. How can we eat candies wisely? It is recommended to control the amount and choose relatively low-calorie snacks. For example, you can choose almost zero-calorie konjac dried tofu, low-sugar jelly, etc. to replace candy and squid shreds to reduce calorie intake. Or you can eat fresh fruit after dinner instead of dehydrated dried fruit, which also has an amazing calorie content. These are all good ways. (For calories, see Table 3)

Zhou Qianqin, a nutritionist at the Department of Nutrition at the Linsen Branch of Taipei Municipal United Hospital, said that when eating snacks, you may want to pay attention to the labels on the packaging, including the total calorie count, sodium content, whether it contains trans fats, etc. Paying more attention can increase your health protection.