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Don't spoil your diet over Easter

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What can you do to prevent Easter from wrecking your diet and packing on the kilos?

It's Easter again and the supermarket shelves are groaning with chocolate eggs, bunnies and chickens.

Before you give in to the temptation, it's worth giving your weight and health a thought. If you have a weight problem and have been following a weight-loss diet for months, you'll be doing yourself a disfavour if you cheat over Easter. Those innocent-looking bunnies and treats are loaded with empty kilojoules that could lead to weight gain.

A 100g Easter egg made of milk chocolate will add 2240kJ and 27g of fat to your daily intake. If you eat more than one of these eggs, which is quite likely, you'll be overwhelming yourself and your slimming diet with nearly 5000kJ and 54g of fat. This is really not worth it and will set your diet back for weeks

Hot cross buns contain about 1650kJ per 100g (about two buns) and if you add 10g of butter to this, you'll end up with about 2000kJ at a sitting. Not a wise move either.

So, what can you do to prevent Easter from wrecking your diet and piling on the kilos?

Healthy alternatives
Firstly, you need to take a decision to stick to your healthy weight-loss diet. Secondly, you need to make plans to use alternatives for chocolate Easter eggs and hot cross buns that won't overload your body with fat and kilojoules.

Here are some suggestions for your Easter breakfast:

  • Freshly squeezed orange juice or sliced melon (rich in vitamin C and beta-carotene, with few kilojoules)
  • Low-fat yoghurt (brimming with calcium and low in fat)
  • Hard-boiled, brightly coloured hen's eggs instead of chocolate eggs (see below for tips on preparation)
  • Bran muffins (see recipe) with Lite margarine, fat-free cottage cheese and strawberry jam
  • Coffee or tea with skim milk

Coloured Easter eggs
Coloured, boiled hen's eggs make a stunning display and beautiful presents. These eggs can be kept in the fridge for long periods and don't get gobbled up by ants if you hide them in the garden for the children to find on Easter morning.

Buy fresh, omega-3 enriched eggs, which have 1/3 less cholesterol and only contain 320kJ per 50g egg. Boil the eggs till hard and, while still hot, immerse in hot colouring mixture until the eggs have developed a deep colour.

You can buy Easter egg colours at most German delicatessen shops. To make the colouring mixture, add one sachet or one tablet of vegetable dye to one cup of boiling water to which one tablespoon of vinegar has been added.

The colours are stunning - bright red, deep blue, verdant green, royal purple and vibrant orange. You can dye a number of boiled eggs in each colour while the mixture is still hot. Once the eggs have a nice, rich colour, remove the eggs from the dye and allow to dry on a wire rack (put paper underneath to catch drips).

When the eggs have dried and cooled down, they can be rubbed with a piece of bacon fat or a drop of cooking oil to give them a shiny appearance.

Bran muffin recipe
Replace store-bought hot cross buns with delicious, home-made bran muffins.

Ingredients:

250 g wholewheat flour
83 g bran
25 ml baking powder
2.5 ml mixed spice
5 ml salt
2 eggs
425 ml skim milk
15 ml oil
60 g chopped dates or raisins or sultanas
30 g raisins or sultanas for decoration

Method:

1. Combine flour, bran, baking powder, spices and salt.
2. Beat eggs, milk and oil.
3. Add dried fruit to dry ingredients and then add egg mixture. Mix well.
4. Spoon dough into greased muffin pans. Decorate the top of each muffin with an X made of raisins or sultanas to create your own “hot cross” effect. Bake muffins at 200oC for 15 to 20 min until golden brown.
5. Serve with low-fat cottage cheese, strawberry jam and/or Lite margarine.

Each muffin only contains 325 kJ and 1.8g fat, but supplies nearly 4 g of fibre. I think you will agree that these bran muffins are an excellent alternative to commercial hot cross buns because the bran muffins contain half the kilojoules, 1/4 of the fat and 13 times more fibre. Hopefully these tips will help you to stick to your diet and avoid the Easter diet trap of chocolate eggs and hot cross buns.

(Bran muffin recipe from: Cooking the Diabetic Way by Hilda Lategan)

Here's to a healthy, happy Easter!

- (Dr Ingrid van Heerden, registered dietician)

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