Happy SATURDAY people:
Yes, it’s Saturday and you’re receiving your Body Designs. That can only mean one thing. Yup, we don’t have any internet service at the house again! What a surprise! Let’s hear it for AT&T…Go !@%$#%@ yourself!
Anyway, now that Turkey Day is over and you’re still stuffed like a piñata, let’s move on to the next holiday. I know it’s not a “high” holiday, but it is one that I will be celebrating for the first time…Hanukkah. Or is it, Channukah? Which one is it? Wait, don’t send me your responses! It’s a rhetorical question…I know both are acceptable! So let’s leave it as the festival of lights or the celebration of the miracle of oil. Why am I mentioning all this?
Well, since Anna and I have been invited to attend our first Hanu…Chanu…kah dinner, I thought it would be nice to know what I can expect to be on the menu and thus learn what many of my clients will be eating for the next eight days (starting December 2). And, after a throughout search of the net, I only have one word for you all, “Oye!”
Let me start by saying, I am fully aware that none of you use the same recipe for any of the following. But as I kept clicking on links to find different ways of making the following items, the calorie content was in the ball park for each. So, I just averaged a few of them out and the results are below. Please note, some of the items have a brief description next to them. This is for the other people, like myself, who may not know what some of these holiday favorites are. Thanks for your patience.
Latke (fried potato) – 1 pancake, 2 oz. = 200 calories, 11 grams of fat
Applesause (unsweetened) – 1/2 cup = 50 calories, 0 grams of fat, sugar
Applesause (sweetened) – 1/2 cup = 95 calories, 0 grams of fat, sugar
Matzo Balls – 1 large = 90 calories, 3 grams of fat
Chicken Soup with Matzo Balls – 1 cup = 185 calories, 8 grams of fat
Blintzes or Crepes (fried dough, cheese filled) – 1 medium = 340 calories, 15 grams of fat
Baked Sufganiyot (jelly-filled doughnut) – 2 inches wide = 115 calories, 1 gram of fat
Fried Sufganiyot (jelly-filled donut) – 2 inches wide = 300 calories, 15 grams of fat
Mandelbrot (almond bread) – 1/4 inch slice, 45 calories, 2 grams of fat
Rugelach (cookie) – 1, 100 calories, 7 grams of fat
Kugel (potato and egg noodle casserole) – 1/2 cup, 365 calories, 18.7 grams of fat
Beef Brisket – 1 oz. = 65 calories, 5 grams of fat
Now that that’s done, let’s do the math! To be conservative (no, not politically; I know I’m not gonna win that argument), let’s say you eat the following…
4 Latkes with unsweetened applesause (1/4 cup) = 825 calories, 44 grams of fat
2 Cups of Matzo Ball Chicken Soup = 370 calories, 16 grams of fat
1 Blintz or Crepe = 340 calories, 15 grams of fat
1 Baked Sufganiyot = 115 calories, 1 grams of fat
1 Slice of Mandelbrot = 45 calories, 2 grams of fat
2 Rugelach cookies = 200 calories, 14 grams of fat
1 Cup of Kugel = 730 calories, 37.4 grams of fat
4 Ounces of Brisket = 260 calories, 20 grams of fat
What’s your total? 2885 calories and 150 grams of fat! That means that 47% of those calories are FAT!
Well my friends of the Jewish faith, if you had a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner (5000 calories) and do the above, even for one night, you will have ingested 7885 calories in just two meals. One more time; let’s do the math… 7885 calories divided by 3500 (calories in one pound of fat) that’s 2.25 pounds of fat in just two meals! It’s no wonder that the average American gains anywhere between seven to 10 pounds during the holiday season.
L’chaim! (Cheers! or To Life!)
