Chocolate, Chinese and Champagne

When reading the title of this blog you may wonder what chocolate, Chinese and Champagne have to do with each other. Well, that's more than just their first letter! For example, you often eat or drink them when you have something to celebrate. Champagne is festive, chocolate gives you a euphoric feeling and Chinese food when you've been craving it for weeks is delicious. Great, but there is one disadvantage: this trio is not exactly healthy. During this festive season I would like to highlight them. To make you aware, but also to show that you always have a choice - even when it comes to tasty and unhealthy things.

Chocolate

Milk, white pure, with nuts or filling… Chocolate comes in all different types, shapes and sizes. My personal favorite is white chocolate, followed by dark. I like milk chocolate the least. What you may not have known is that all three types of chocolate contain approximately the same number of calories. However, dark chocolate does contain more antioxidants and is therefore somewhat healthier than the other two. Chocolate in general is especially unhealthy because it contains bad fats that cause increased cholesterol. These fats can also cause your blood vessels to clog up. Should you completely ignore chocolate if you love it? No. Especially during the festive month, you should treat yourself to a chocolate. But do this in moderation and choose the chocolate that you like best

Chinese

We used to live next to Chinese people. The mother of the family always made those delicious thick spring rolls. I can still remember the smell and taste now. I was crazy about it! Many people find Chinese food very tasty. The bad news is that it is very high in calories. But only if you make the wrong choices. Because the good news is that there are also dishes that you can eat within a healthy diet. For example, white rice, Tjap Tjoy, chicken in black bean sauce and chicken with cashew nuts are all responsible choices. What should you not eat (too much)? Babi Pangang, nasi, noodles and mihoen, duck, Kou Lou Yuk (basically everything that is fried, including the spring rolls unfortunately) and satay with peanut sauce. So simply swap the noodles for white rice and choose a less calorie-rich dish. Then Chinese is a great choice for every now and then!

Champagne

If you really have something to celebrate, Champagne will be on the table. You won't drink it every day and that's a good thing, because alcohol isn't good for you for a lot of reasons besides being expensive. If you have a party, want to toast the new year or have an extra chic dinner, then Champagne is a better choice than wine. For comparison: a glass of Champagne has 60 calories, a glass of red or white wine 125. Toasting the New Year probably also includes something tasty to eat. The real classic, the oliebol, contains 185 calories. A more responsible choice is the apple fritter. If you bake it yourself, it contains around 105 calories. An apple fritter from the stall is often a bit larger and contains 165 calories (still less than an oliebol!). By the way, the apple turnover is the real killer. It contains no less than 400 calories.

The festive month: on rations or completely free?

Of course, you don't have to let everything pass you by this December. It's okay to eat and drink something tasty during the holidays. But wait until the holidays, choose those days only for the things you like most and, for example, pay more attention to fats for a period afterwards. Then you will enter the new year healthy and slim without any problems!

XO OLIVIA