Holiday food time

The average weight gain over the holidays is three to four pounds, but before you decide to fast on Thanksgiving Day take the advice of Daphne Olivier, a dietitian, who spoke Thursday at LSUE’s Arnold Ledoux Library.
“On a holiday day, enjoy yourself,” she said. “We don’t need to be counting portions and making sure you have a half-cup serving size on Thanksgiving Day.”
But on the other days before and after a holiday people should be aware of tier portion sizes.
Olivier’s program was “Ways to Stay Food Sane During the Holidays” and included tips on food preparation and the food issues between everyone’s ears.
Studies have shown that after about the third or fourth bite of food the pleasure declines, she said.
“Once you start eating it takes your brain about 20 minutes to get the signal that you’ve started eating,” Olivier said.
Once the stomach is full it again takes about 20 minutes for the signal to get to your brain, she said.
Olivier suggested visualizing what you will eat at holiday gatherings such as one glass of wine and one piece of pie.
“Make sure you are the last person to be finished eating,” he said. “Take time to enjoy the food.”
Whenever you start eating, it is important to slow down, she said.
“You’ve heard put your fork down while you are eating. That works for some people,” she said.
Olivier said caffeine and sugar can rule a person’s food intake.
“We start in the morning with something like that bowl of cereal, then by 9 o’clock we are really really becoming hungry and feeling not so great — dozing off and not feeling like you are ready to move through the day. So, you have a cup of coffee,” she said.
The coffee often includes sugar, she said.
Another holiday tip is to cherish the special foods of the season rather the food that is available year round.
For her, cornbread dressing is a Thanksgiving treat that she would eat and skip dishes such as macaroni and cheese.
Other food points made by Olivier included:
— Substitute other natural sweeteners such as maple syrup, molasses and applesauce, for refined sugar.
— Use butter instead of margarine.
— Avoid adding add sugar to foods that are already sweet such as sweet potatoes.
— Be less concerned about saturated fats and focus more on the quality of the fat. Olivier said the quality of fat is determined by how the animal is raised.
Olivier is a graduate of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She has a website at myfoodcoach.tv.