Tweeners

The weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas can put on a lot of pounds in between the shoulders and the knees. We call these tweeners. This is not what you want to get for Christmas. For Christmas we want leaners – leaner abs and a leaner derriere. To achieve this goal you have to stay away from the tweener-bites.  These are the snacks that we graze on in between meals throughout the month of December because, well just because. Sometimes the tweener-bites become the meal and it becomes a foggy memory of calories. The grocery store shelves call our names, actually not just at the grocery store anymore, the drug store, the gas station, and the office.  There is no privacy anymore, all the cakes, candy, cookies, chocolate know your name. Forget credit card fraud, your identity is not safe anymore. It is time to change your name! Wear your sunglasses into the grocery store and maybe the holiday treats won’t recognize you and leave you alone.

It’s time to prepare for battle! Now, not in 2012 when the armor will no longer fit. Get a strategy to survive the onslaught and your tweeners will turn to leaners and you’ll leave Santa in the dust. Poor Santa, he has to eat cookies at EVERY house he visits, but you don’t. You get to choose! After all, not ALL the temptations in the month of December are really worth it. It used to be that everything was made from scratch around the holidays. Not so anymore. So why waste your calories on what is not a “worthy splurge”?

Even Santa has to take a little time for
himself to exercise and fight those "tweeners!"

When at a holiday party or in your kitchen, peruse the joint and decide what is really worth it. Then just take one small portion, eat slowly, enjoy and then move on....to the gym the next day and the day after that until when January comes you are not one of the newbies, but you are one of the regulars wondering where all these people came from. Movement is the key to not gain the 2, 4 or even 7 pounds that appear out of nowhere on January 2^nd. Start your New Year’s resolution NOW! 

When you go to a party or dinner, bring something healthy, so you can be sure to have at least one healthy choice.  Surprise your friends and family with a new recipe. Below is one I enjoyed once in Napa, California and again in Beaune, France. The crème de cassis is made from black currants that are grown in Burgundy.  It can only be purchased at an ABC store. I put the two experiences together and came up with my version of Poached Pears. 

EASY Poached Pears – 12 servings

6 pears – I prefer Bosc

1 cup dried fruit – I use raisins, cherries, cranberries and sometimes dried apricots – Mix and Match

1 cup liquid – water, apple cider and crème de cassis – 1/3 each or ½ cup water and cider (or juice)

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

¼ cup chopped pistachios

1 - 80% dark cocoa bar melted (I like the Lindt or Green & Black’s organics)

My Poached Pears right before I add the
chocolate sauce and pistachios! Delicious!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut the pears in halve lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and stringy part to the stem. A melon baller works great for this. 

Spread the dried fruit on the bottom of a rectangular glass, baking dish. Place the halved pears upside down on the dried fruit. Combine the liquids together in a measuring cup and stir in the cinnamon.  Then pour over the pears. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes or until the pears are soft (pierce with a fork). Riper pears take less time than harder pears. Meanwhile melt your chocolate and chop your pistachios.

To serve:

Place a pear halve right side up in a dessert bowl. Fill the hole where the seeds were with soft dried fruit.  Pour some of the juice over the pear.  Drizzle chocolate on top and sprinkle with nuts.

Voila! Bon Appetite!