Enjoying holiday cheer is good. Repeatedly saying “Cheers” and knocking back cocktails all night long—not so much. In addition to being loaded with lots of useless calories, alcohol often leads to lousy food choices. So, limit yourself to maybe one drink at the party or family gathering, and otherwise stick to low-cal soft drinks, sparkling or still water.

Choose what you eat carefully—and then savor the flavor. At parties or get-togethers, consider choosing only those foods that are special this time of year, and skip over the items you can have any old time. Make a point of taking in the look and smell of your special choices before digging in. Then enjoy them slowly to maximize the experience. Doing so should give you big-time enjoyment with minimal caloric intake.

Don’t forget the stocking stuffers. Don’t throw all your good eating habits out the window this time of year. As you’re hitting the buffet table, remember to grab some of those vegetables that are probably sitting next to the dip and whatever fruit might be available. Drink plenty of water too. Having these “stuffers” alongside your chosen special treats will help you feel fuller faster, leading to less overeating and weight gain.

Get enough ZZZ’s to balance out the Ho Ho Ho’s. During this hectic time, it’s key to get enough sleep. When you’re feeling run-down or tired, you might be tempted to grab some high-sugar or high-fat foods to try to give yourself an energy jolt. But the rushes that result are only temporary—the pounds hang around for a good while longer!

Give yourself the gift of understanding. The tips above should help you avoid gaining weight this holiday season, but don’t get too down on yourself if you slip up a time or two. Do your best, but acknowledge that this is just a challenging time of year for eating right. Enjoy the company of family and friends, the—perhaps—unusual good humor of certain workmates, and the sights and sounds of the season. Things will be back to normal all too soon.

Nutritionally speaking, mangos are high in fiber, Vitamins C and E, beta carotene, calcium, flavonoids, and amino acids. Translation: The health benefits of mangos include everything from cancer prevention to improved digestion, eye health, and some say even heat stroke. With the LA temperatures we endured last week, I say bring on the mangos!

Mangos are for sale everywhere in greater LA.  Drive up Kanan Rd on the way home from the beach and you can get a box for $6.00. Obviously, you can also get them at your favorite grocery store, or, usually, even at Costco. Get yours and get ready to make some mango salsa! Here’s the California Chef recipe:

1. Chop all ingredients separately in a food processor. If you don’t have a processor, by hand is fine. Besides being faster, a food processor will retain more of the juices. Pulse each ingredient and then empty into a bowl:

1 cup of mango, peeled

3 seeded Roma tomatoes

¼ of a red onion

2. To your bowl add:

2 Tablespoons of corn

2 Tablespoons of diced Serrano chilies

1 Tablespoon of lime juice

1 Tablespoon chopped cilantro

1 teaspoon of minced garlic

1 teaspoon of chili powder

This salsa is great as a dip for chips (for guilt-free chips, use the chips part of the recipe from my blog of February 10, 2010), or try it on grilled chicken or fish.  If you try it, let me know what you think at denise@californiachef.com

3 cups mixed salad greens

½ c new potato, sliced, patted dry

¼ c jicama, grated

¼ c cucumber, sliced thin in half moons

1 T feta cheese

2 T celery, chopped

2 T red onion, sliced thin

2 T craisins

3 1/8 oz. cooked, boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced

1 t parsley, chopped

¼ c fat free raspberry vinaigrette dressing

Layer ingredients in the order listed above. In the California Chef kitchen, we say “Willy Nilly” style, which means just sprinkle each ingredient on top w/o worrying about a particular design or placement. For the dressing, we like Maple Grove Farms’ version, which you can find at your local grocer. This salad not only tastes great, but it also looks beautiful. And with summer fast approaching, there’s no time like today to start eating right for more energy to get out there and enjoy the great weather!

1. I didn’t have to think about what to eat. All of my meals were planned for me.
2. My food quantities were measured out specifically for my calorie count.
3. I really did like all of my meals.
4. I didn’t have to go to the grocery store when I was hungry.
5. I ate out much less.

I didn’t intend to go on a maintenance plan at that point, but that’s what happened. I celebrated my birthday month (August) w/ lots of ice cream (my favorite) and weekend celebrations, but I compensated with extra exercise and staying on track during the week. I was amazed I never gained more than 2 lbs.

Then it seemed there were celebrations on top of celebrations: friends’ birthdays, a wedding, more relatives visiting, a bar mitzvah, Thanksgiving, my husband’s birthday month, holiday parties, Christmas, and now here we are. With all the festivities, I guess I forgot to go back on my diet! However, I am still in my maintenance range of +2 pounds. And after January 1st, I will start my diet again and go for another 10 pounds.

I, and everyone else at California Chef, wish you all the happiest and healthiest new year and the best of luck with all your goals in 2011—be they dietary or otherwise!

August is my birthday month (yes, I celebrate the entire month) and I refuse to be “on a diet.” I can be “on maintenance,” but I don’t want to have to worry about losing weight during the traditional celebratory period. So, that means I have to shed at least 5 lbs. in the next 3 weeks. My original goal was 30 lbs. Somewhere along the way I got a little cocky and decided I should go for 35, but 30 is much more realistic, and I decided to be happy if I reach it. What a great birthday present it will be to myself. Wish me luck!

Jalapeño Turkey Club Panini

2 pieces whole wheat bread

1 ½ slices fat-free Swiss cheese

8 slices shaved turkey

1 T chopped tomato

1 slice turkey bacon, cooked and chopped

5 slices pickled jalapeño peppers

2 sprays olive oil cooking spray

Assemble as a sandwich, with the cheese forming the first layer on each slice of bread. Spray the outward-facing sides of both pieces of bread with the olive oil spray and either cook in a panini maker or sear on both sides in a frying pan. Yum!

Because my diet is really a balanced, healthy eating plan, rather than a drastic elimination of food groups, my maintenance naturally included many of the same principles that I have followed from the beginning of my weight-loss program. The biggest difference was that I had less planning, less control, and less exercise. There was more eating out and more social eating and drinking. However, I still tried to eat my usual portion size, and I chose well balanced meals with whole grains, lean proteins, and lots of veggies. At the end of the 3 weeks, I weighed in at break-even, without ever having fluctuated more than 2 pounds. It is good to have an idea of what life will be like when I reach my goal—which, by the way, I have revised (increased) to 35 pounds lost by August 1st. I’m now ready for Phase 2!

First, choosing the right restaurant is important. For one event, we switched our choice of restaurant from the one we originally planned to go to—the one w/ super gourmet buttery food—to another great option, one w/ lots of fresh seafood. I have gotten into the habit of ordering my fish blackened so I have lots of flavor, and I request no oil or butter. Second, I planned what I was going to eat and how much before I got to any of the restaurants for any of the events, and this planning included any appetizers. Appetizers can be very dangerous, and most times I just skip them now. However, when I do order one, I’ll usually just order another appetizer for my entrée or choose something else that is on the small side. And I never feel bad for not finishing—I am pretty good about guessing my portion size and I try to stick to it even when eating out.

Next weekend may be trickier—a weekend in the desert for the wedding of one of my best friends!