Nutrition Tips for the Holidays!

It is sometimes hard, especially as a college student, to think we are being super unhealthy when at home for the holidays.  It sometimes can be easy to overeat, under exercise, stress out with family, and know that finals will be awaiting you when you come back!  Not to worry, follow these top ten tips over your break to keep your body happy and healthy.

1. Exercise. Get up 30-60 minutes earlier so you can get this in. Do it before company arrives. This will help you "get fully grounded" in your body and geared up for the day! Plus, it's a chance to offer up gratitude before the busy-ness sets in.

2. Eat Breakfast. "Saving Yourself" for your Thanksgiving Meal not only slows your metabolism but also leads to over-eating. So eat a healthy breakfast...and keep that digestive fire stoked all day!

3. Eat Strategically! Start with protein and veggies. Lastly, eat the starchy, bread-y carbs. You will feel more satiated eating protein and fiber filled veggies first which will cut down your intake of the starchy stuff.

4. Balance Your Plate. 1/2 of your plate should be green -- salad, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, roasted veggies, asparagus, etc. 1/4 of it should be protein such as turkey, chicken or fish.   The other 1/4 of it can be a starchy carb like mashed potatoes, stuffing, or bread. This should be your rule of thumb always, not just Thanksgiving!

5. Try Sample Sizes, not Servings. If it all looks SOOOO good, great! Try a little of everything. Dollops vs. full serving sizes! If it's THAT good, go back to get more later.

6. CHALLENGE: Try to be the LAST one to Finish Your Meal. The best way I know how to eat slow is to CHEW-CHEW-CHEW your food. Our first inclination is to hurry up and eat, so we can go get more. This inevitably leaves us feeling miserably full and bloated. So GO S-L-O-W. If you want more later, go back for more. But don't stuff yourself to the point of miserableness.

7. We DON'T GAIN weight overnight.  So you overdid it.  EH....No big deal.  Our bodies work over a bigger span of time than a day by day basis so if you know you overate at a holiday meal, try to be more active that day, eat healthier the next day and don't worry! 

8. Whether your family is hosting Thanksgiving dinner or bringing a few dishes to share, make your recipes healthier with less fat, sugar, and calories.

• Use fat-free chicken broth to baste the turkey and make gravy.
• Use sugar substitutes in place of sugar and/or fruit purees instead of oil in baked goods.
• Reduce oil and butter wherever you can.
• Try plain yogurt or fat-free sour cream in creamy dips, mashed potatoes, and casseroles.

9. Drink Water throughout the Day. Wine, water, wine.  OK, not realistic. Water, wine, wine, water, wine? :)

10. See the Good. This is for those fun, uh-hum, family dynamics! Of course you can see where your relatives fall short, annoy you, or come from a totally different planet. Your task is to SEE THE GOOD in them. EVERYONE has some good. Find it!

p.s. Your stomach is the size of your hands cupped together. I'm just saying..

Healthy Living Restaurant Review: Piola

This past weekend, after a long week of exams, papers, and problem sets, my friend and I really just wanted to de-stress with some good food. We were both really in the mood for pizza, but we wanted something fresh and light, not doughy and greasy like most pizza joints. We did a bit of online research and stumbled upon what may now be my favorite pizza place in Houston: Piola. This cute, trendy restaurant is downtown on Louisiana St., about a 10 minute drive from Rice, and they have over 40 varieties of authentic Italian pizza: thin crust, thick crust, no sauce, you name it!

The menu has a really wide variety of offerings, from pizza to pasta to salads to carpaccios. My friend and I did not want to play around; we were here for the pizza. They have a lot of the classic toppings that you would find in any pizzeria on the streets in Italy (prosciutto, porcini mushrooms, basil, ricotta, etc), but they also have some interesting pizzas with a South American flare. We decided to go for the thin crust varieties to cut down on the carbs (you can opt for whole wheat too). I got the Rio De Janeiro, which came with baked chicken and this life-changing Brazilian cheese called catupiry. My friend got the Italian, which was fresh arugula, tomatoes, and ricotta beautifully arranged to look like an Italian flag. And oh my goodness, were these pizzas delicious. They tasted like they came right out of Italy! The portions are huge, so we had plenty to take home with us for lunch the next day. All of the prices are really reasonable, as most pizzas range from $9 to $15 in price (but it's really like two servings--more bang for your buck).

If you and your friends are sick of the same old Domino's and Papa Johns routine, I strongly recommend giving Piola a try!

Tea Tuesdays in the Wellness Center

Did you know that every Tuesday, the Wellness Center offers free tea for all students? From 10 am to 2 pm, you can stop by the Wellness Center to grab a cup of your favorite tea (we have green, black, fruit, and herbal varieties), hot chocolate, or cider and relax in our comfortable lobby. This is to encourage you to take a peaceful break and become more mindful of your well-being.

While we are on the topic of tea, you should know that tea isn't only good for revitalizing the soul...it also does some amazing things for your health! Here are some of the health benefits of tea:


1. Boosts your immune system. The theanine in tea stimulates the disease-fighting capacity of your T cells, which helps your body's immune response when fighting infection.

2. Lowers your stress hormone levels. Studies have shown that drinking black tea daily can lower your cortisol levels by almost 20%. Can you imagine being 20% less stressed?

3. Weight loss and cholesterol control. The caffeine in green tea helps with fat oxidation, which helps fight obesity and lower your LDL ("bad") cholesterol.

4. Contains antioxidants. This helps protect our body from dangerous free radicals, like X-rays, pollution, smoking, and alcohol.

5. Raises your metabolism. By drinking about 5 cups of green tea per day, your metabolic rate increases so that you can burn 70 to 80 more calories per day.

6. Reduces your risk for cancer, heart attack and stroke. And these are the top three causes of death in the United States (according to the CDC). Shouldn't you try to reduce your risk?

7. Contains juuuust enough caffeine for you to make it through the morning. Tea has about 40 mg caffeine per cup, whereas coffee sits at around 135 mg. So if coffee makes you jittery or interferes with your sleep, switch to tea.

--Cristina, Wellness Intern