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 In less than a week, we’ll be ringing in the New Year. And with that comes the things we want to start doing (and maybe some things we want to stop doing) in the year to come. Here are some tips that can help keep you on the road to success:
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 It’s the time of year that you’re likely to hear songs of people proclaiming “here we come a-wassailing”, but if you aren’t sure what that means, we’re here to help.
Wassail is a hot, mulled cider drink whose name comes from the Anglo-Saxon phrase “waes hael” which means “good health”. Getting your hands on this beverage was the goal of “wassailing”, which was an English tradition that dates back to the 1600’s. During wassailing, the less fortunate would travel the streets while singing songs of good cheer and good fortune in the hopes that someone would open up their home to them momentarily for a bite of food, warmth from their hearth, or a hot drink of wassail from their large, silver communal wassail bowl. Traditional wassail was made of: • mulled ale • curdled cream • roasted apples • eggs • cloves • ginger • nutmeg • sugar Most modern recipes include (but can vary quite a bit): • apple cider • orange juice • pineapple juice • lemon juice • brown sugar • cinnamon • ginger • cloves • optional alcohol (brandy, sherry, whiskey, rum) The modern version of the drink is typically warmed in a crockpot and shared among guests at holiday gatherings, mimicking the large wassail bowls of old but keeping the same spirit of generosity. SOURCES https://www.whychristmas.com/customs/wassailing.shtml http://www.history.org/Foundation/journal/Holiday06/wassail.cfm  It’s the time of year where peppermint shows up in food, drinks, and even floating through the air to freshen a room. But is there something more to peppermint’s leaves than minty and festive refreshment? Below are some benefits that can come from peppermint tea and extracts:
SOURCES https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16767798 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30087294 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30166188 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20931070 https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/peppermint-tea  Among all of the “once a year” foods that show during the holidays, festive drinks are a thing too. One of those drinks is eggnog. It’s been around since colonial times (George Washington had a recipe) but today you can buy it premade in a carton. So what’s in eggnog? Here’s what’s in traditional eggnog or what you’ll need if making it yourself:
Store-bought eggnog usually swaps the sugar for corn syrup and reduces the amount of egg yolks due to government regulations. There are also additional stabilizers like guar gum and carrageenan added. As you could probably guess, either kind of eggnog is high in calories and fat. A typical 1-cup serving with no alcohol has 343 calories and 19g fat (11g saturated) as well as 50% of your daily value of cholesterol, so enjoy in moderation. SOURCES https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/eggnog-recipe2-2013745 https://www.huffpost.com/entry/what-is-eggnog-made-out-of_n_5a2aaf0ae4b069ec48acbf03 https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/55/2  If the Christmas spirit has you in the mood to get some chestnuts roasting on an open fire, we’re here to help. The best way to roast chestnuts is actually in your oven and it can make for a fun and delicious holiday tradition.
Be sure that the chestnuts you’re using come to a point on the end - those are called sweet chestnuts and that’s what stores will sell. The round ones you may have seen on the ground outside are horse chestnuts and they’re toxic and don’t taste good. Here are the basic steps needed to get the holiday treat going:
Chestnuts are high in fiber, copper, B Vitamins, manganese, folate, and thiamin so they're definitely a holiday tradition to feel good about! SOURCES https://toriavey.com/how-to/how-to-roast-and-peel-chestnuts/ https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/nut-and-seed-products/3143/2  Green tea is one of the few superfoods you can drink and its popularity continues to rise. You can either drink it or take a supplement to reap its benefits. But what are those benefits? Let’s take a look:
SOURCES https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2855614/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28864169 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16840650 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23235664  The group of vegetables known as “cruciferous” are named after the Latin word for “crucifix” because of the cross-like shape of their flowers. The term has been gaining popularity because the group’s members are some of the biggest nutritional powerhouses. Here are some of the most popular ones:
Arugula Bok choy Broccoli Brussels sprouts Cabbage Cauliflower Collard greens Kale Mustard greens Radishes Turnips Watercress Top Benefits of Cruciferous Vegetables:
SOURCES: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11110848 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11789487 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5408160/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14525683 |
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