Category: Wellness

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Health & Home Wellness

Cut Down On These Habits And See What Happens

Cut Down On These Habits And See What Happens

If you think you have a lot going on in your life and want to experience a change, try cutting down on these habits. Not only will they make your life easy and less busy, but they also help reduce the extra costs. This may sound like a fun experiment to you, but it is more than that. These are all good decisions that you can make to improve the functionality and efficiency of your life. Let’s have a look at what you can do to break habits and lead a better life.

Stop Buying Extra Stuff To Save Money

You can think of this list to any kind of list that can help you save money, time, and energy. However, we are specifically referring to a grocery or shopping list. A lot of people tend to buy extra stuff that they don’t really need when they are out grocery shopping.

Some people make it a habit to buy a specific thing every time they head out to the market. Most of the time, they are just collecting the same thing and hoarding it without making any use of it. What does it do for you?

You spend money on something that you don’t need and already have sitting at home. Moreover, things that are not needed but are still there take up storage space in your house.

Reduce Your Coffee Purchase Habits

It is normal and completely acceptable if you love your coffee. A lot of people can’t function without their daily dose of caffeine. But when you spoil yourself by getting a coffee on your way to work, it can rack up your expenses. If you are one of those people, the chances are that you spend a good fraction of money on just coffee.

You will realize how much you spend on coffee if you calculate how much it adds to when you get a coffee every day. Well, you can save that money by trying to make your morning coffee at home. Moreover, this will result in a reduced coffee reliance as it will reduce the amount of caffeine you take in each day.

Limit Dining Out To Save Money

Dining out can feel good and make any moment special. However, you should not ignore that it is also very costly at the same time. Dining out is a special occasion on its own, so cut down on how often you eat out. You can reserve it for special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries.

Most people stop by to have lunch on their way or go out for dinners when they’re just feeling lazy. This only adds up to spending extra money when it is not necessarily needed. It is better to get active and cook dinner and lunch at home to cut down on extra spending. You can go out on special days to keep celebrating any special events.

Conclusion

Saving money and breaking years-long habits is not easy, and you will find it quite hard to begin. You may also feel like giving up when you have a rough time. However, you will also find the results to be really rewarding and satisfying.

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Health & Home Wellness

Pick-Me-Ups To Make Your Days More Tolerable

10 Pick-Me-Ups To Make Your Days More Tolerable

Sometimes life can get tough and unbearable. Even if you are the strongest person among your friends, workload and stress can turn your mood down. This might put you in a situation where you question your entire life. Trying to find the cause during this time to solve the problem won’t always work. In fact, it rarely works. You need effective techniques to cheer up and feel better.

That doesn’t mean that you have to avoid problems and issues in your life. Instead, step away from these problems for a while and approach them when you feel better and motivated. You can effectively face your issues with a clear mind and a positive outlook. That’s why you should know some pick-me-ups to remind you that you are still okay and things will be better.

Top 10 Pick-Me-Ups

Here are some effective techniques or pick-me-ups to brighten your day between busy routines in life.

1. Open the Windows

If the weather is pleasant, you should open all the windows and let a fresh breeze enter inside your home or office. The smell of grass, little licks of wind, and the chirping of birds will magically bring positivity to your life.

2. Make Your Room Cozier

Turn on the lamps or lit the scented candles as this will make your room comfy. This is one of the easiest pick-me-ups to lift your mood.

3. Make Your Bed

Even if you are not a person who does a lot of chores, you can try this when your life gets unbearable. Making your bed is the least you can do for an instant lift in your heart.

4. Watch Funny Videos

YouTube can play a significant role to change your mood. If you feel exhausted because of excessive work, you can watch cat and dog videos. Also, pranks, funny home videos, and laughing babies can help.

5. Get Back to Your Hobby

Is there anything that you like the most and when you are busy with that activity you forget everything else? This could be gardening, playing a musical instrument, or even writing. Performing activity that you love and enjoy immediately make your heart flutter and give you the pick-me-up you need.

6. Complete a Task

The task doesn’t have to be your daily work. Something that you left unfinished for a long time will work. For instance, continue with the painting you left due to a lack of motivation or a song that you were writing last year. These activities bring your productivity right on track.

7. Take a Walk

Take a break in life and leave your home to walk around your neighborhood or anywhere that you feel like going.

8. Make a Phone Call

Whether you visit your friend or give them a call, you need to talk your problems out. When you interact with someone about your problems you feel lightened. Even if you don’t feel like talking about the problems, discuss your pet.

9. Visit Your Relatives

If your relatives live nearby, you can spend some time with them. This will give you a break from busy activities. If your mom makes the best cookies, then you should try this pick-me-up.

10. Go Shopping

When you purchase something that you wanted for a long time, you will feel happy about it. So, head to the nearest shop and get whatever you feel like purchasing. This can be clothes, shoes, and even new sunglasses.

Conclusion

So select a pick-me-up from the above list and take a break from your busy life. Believe it or not, you will feel motivated and relaxed when you will back to your activities.

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Health & Home Wellness

5 Tips To Get You Through Seasonal Depression

5 Tips To Get You Through Seasonal Depression

Seasonal depression is common among men and women in their twenties. This leads to Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD, which is another type of depression with symptoms. These symptoms are widespread in women. The symptoms of gloomy weather for an extended period are:

  • Sad and anxious feelings
  • Loss of concentration
  • Loss of interest in usual activities
  • Sleeping more than normal days and still feel tired

The optimal solution for this disorder is routine modification. But, how can you change daily activities when you don’t feel like leaving your bed. Here are a few tips that will get you through the gloomiest season of the year:

1.     Talk with Your Friends

The major reason why people feel depressed during the winter season is because of less social contact. If you don’t have someone to talk to about your life and problems during the low-light season, you will feel lonely. Everyone has private or professional problems in their life. These problems can result in SAD.

A simple chat with a friend or a colleague can help you through this time. Whether you meet them in person or talk on the phone, you will feel better after opening up. No other activity can change your mood quickly than having a cup of coffee with a true friend.

2.     Plan an Outdoor Activity

When you undergo seasonal depression, you should include a stroll in your activity. When you are outside, you will find many interesting things to make your day. Especially when you start your day with a morning walk, you will feel happy and active throughout the day. Exposure to sunlight in the morning will keep you on track.

3.     Try Light Therapy For Your Depression

A lightbox can also help when natural light is not available to brighten up your mood. A lightbox stimulates natural light and suppresses melatonin synthesis in your body. Furthermore, it also increases serotonin levels. Place the light box near your workstation for an hour a day. Your doctor will help choose the right lightbox model. The one that filters harmful UV light is an effective option.

4.     Take Hot and Cold Shower

When you wake up in the morning, take a shower. You might think about how the morning shower can get you through a depressing day? Well, you don’t have to take a normal shower. Alternating the temperature during the shower stimulates circulation and blood pumping. Start with warm water and switch temperature twice.

5.     Start a New Hobby To Take Your Mind Off Of Your Depression

Most people spend their time on the couch binge-watching Netflix shows. This is a good idea to spend your time during depressing days. But, watching movies and web series endlessly can cause nausea and put you back into the same depression.

Changing your hobbies is an effective technique to switch your moods. For instance, reading, baking, and painting are some activities that will keep you going through the season. Also, choose an activity that you always wanted to start.

Conclusion

Hopefully, you will find these tips effective to get through the gloomiest season of the year. One thing to always remember is that things will get better soon. So if you feel depressed, plan your routine and stay busy. Do whatever fascinates you and you can easily get through this period. Don’t fight with the symptoms. Instead, understand and accept the feeling.

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Health & Home Media Tech & Media Wellness

5 Best Books for Your New Year’s Resolutions

5 Best Books for Your New Year’s Resolutions

New Year is here and we are ready to change our future after the pandemic and other negative energy surrounding our lives. This could very well be the year when you move toward success and struggle to achieve a healthy life. So, make sure you determine your strategy and stick to it. We’ve listed the best books for your New Year’s resolution here!

Best Books for Your New Year’s Resolution

This year, read motivational books and create the right strategies to fight unproductive habits. Reading books can make you proactive and help you control your decisions. You can learn from other people’s experiences to deal with negativity and develop the power to change for good. Here are the five best books to help you achieve your New Year’s resolutions:

1. Notes on a Nervous Planet by Matt Haig (Buy Now)

We live in a world where we are anxious and stressed all the time. Although social media platforms keep us connected, we are still lonely than ever. To deal with this negative and lonely world this year, you should read “Notes on a Nervous Planet”. In this book, Matt Haig highlighted the issues that we face in the world. Furthermore, this book includes effective techniques to stay happy in the 21st century. Haig wrote this book from a personal perspective, which gives you a new way to look at current problems and learn to solve them.

2. Hanger Management by Susan Albers (Buy Now)

When we are hungry, we experience instant lash or crashes. In this book, Albers explained how hanger leads to impulse eating and poor decisions. She also suggested some ways to ignore hunger, eat healthy food, and prevent overeating. She further explains how these preventive measures can change your mood and behavior.

People think that hanger management is not possible. But that is not true. With this book, Albers shares some management tips and strategies to make healthy decisions and control the hanger cycle. Following these methods, you can nourish your body and maintain a positive mood.

3. The Big Life by Ann Shoket (Buy Now)

When it comes to New Year’s resolutions, career goals lead the list. But, every year we choose career goals that most of us fail to achieve. The problem is we focus only on the job. But, Ann Shoket’s book “The Big Life” emphasizes showing the bigger picture. The book explains how millennials should understand the problems with their money, passion, and love. She tried to connect youth with the realities of working. If you are looking for a solution to move forward in your life, you should buy this book.

4. Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon (Buy Now)

Austin Kleon explains creativity is an accessible and fun way. This book is a guide to start living a creative life. Whether you are an accounting manager or a starving artist, you should read this book. It will help you shed the fears that prevent you from taking the first steps.

5. All the Single Ladies by Rebecca Traister (Buy Now)

Don’t get confused with the title of the book. This book isn’t about non-dating women. Instead, the book highlights the advantages and disadvantages of long-term dating. Rebecca Traister went through extensive research to decode the meaning of relationships from history. So, if you want to understand the deep meaning of coupledom, you should read this book this year and set your relationship goals.

Conclusion

These books will help you stick to your New Year’s resolution and will encourage you to maintain a progressive life. Hopefully, you will be able to achieve your New Year’s resolution this year.

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Health & Home Wellness

3 Insanely Easy Weeknight Dinner Recipes

3 Insanely Easy Weeknight Dinner Recipes

Every year when the winter ends, we notice an increase in our craving and that is normal. Even if you are on a weight loss diet, there is no harm in including a weeknight dinner a week. Weeknight dinners will refresh your mood. However, planning a weeknight meal plan can be hard. Here are some simple weeknight meal plans that are delicious, fresh, and quick to make. So without further ado, let’s start with our first weeknight meal:

Saucy Mac & Cheese

You will love curly noodles in the creamy sauce. This corkscrew pasta is cavatappi or cellentani. But, you can use any spiral pasta that you can easily find. You will enjoy making this weeknight recipe as it includes lots of toppings including golden crumbs and cheese. You can also add ground pepper for a spicy taste.

To prepare the recipe cook pasta as directed on the package. Include melted butter and bread crumbs and cook until they turn golden brown. Don’t forget to stir. Melt the remaining butter in a skillet and stir until it turns smooth. Now add milk and let it boil. Cook for two minutes or until thickened and reduce the heat. Drain pasta and cheese mixture. Now cook for 3 to 4 minutes and sprinkle cheddar cheese and bread crumbs.

Teriyaki Beef Roast

This is a Japanese-styled pot roast recipe. Your taste buds will like the blend of flavors. You can make this recipe with leftover meat and gravy.

At first, you need to add green pepper, carrots, potatoes, and onion to a slow cooker. Heat oil in a large skillet on medium heat and roast vegetables on both sides.

Transfer roast to slow cooker and add brown sugar and mushrooms. Now add ginger, teriyaki sauce, pepper, and oregano in a small bowl make a sauce. Drizzle sauce over roast and mushroom.

Cook roast for 7 to 8 hours until tender. If you have leftover meat, you can skip this step. Now remove vegetables from the roast and place them on the serving platter. Pour the juicy gravy and serve with a toast.

Smoky Spanish Chicken

If you have tried Smokey Spanish Chicken in a restaurant, you will love this recipe. You can make this easily at home and enjoy a healthy weeknight dinner.

Mix smoked paprika, salt, pepper, and water and rub over chicken. Keep the skillet on medium heat and place the chicken. Cook until it turns brown. This will only take 4 to 5 minutes. Now remove the chicken from the pan. Add mushroom and green onions in the skillet and cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until it turns tender.

Add tomatoes and chicken and cook for a few minutes. Now place the chicken in the serving dish topped with green onions.

Conclusion

Did you find these weeknight dinner recipes easy? If yes, then you should try them at home. Refresh your recipe rotation and have fun. Your entire family will love these recipes.

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Health & Home Media Tech & Media Wellness

10 Books To Read If You Want To Improve Yourself

10 Books To Read If You Want To Improve Yourself

Reach for books that ignite passion, educate you, and motivate you to take action. While there are so many books in every corner of the world, we have chosen the 10 best ones for you today. Give them a read and make the impossible possible!

1.   The Only Skill That Matters – Jonathan A. Levi

Jonathan Levi provides you with the tools that you need to face future problems with, whether in your career or private life. The book has a great outline to help you learn better things. It is a game-changer and is a hit among people who have already read it.

2.   Fooled by Randomness – Nassim Nicholas Taleb

This book teaches us something we hear from very few people: you may do everything correctly and yet lose, or you can do everything wrong and still win. It is not about the end result, but the things that led you there. This book will help you create such a viewpoint to live in a world that you don’t completely comprehend.

3.   The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen R. Covey

The book shares seven habits to adopt in order to be genuinely productive in anything you want to do. Covey also discusses the importance of paradigm shift, i.e., a change in how we view ourselves and the world. The book is full of wisdom!

4.   Eat That Frog – Brian Tracy

Procrastination is a huge problem nowadays. We have so many distractions around us that it is hard to concentrate. The author of this book advises methods to save ourselves from procrastinating. It gives you deep insights on how to break the procrastination spell and focus on your priorities.

5.   The attention Revolution – B. Alan Wallace

The advent of technologies has caught our attention in the strongest way possible. This book guides us to empower ourselves with meditational strategies. It gives you a strong outline to take your focus back and focus on training your mind to achieve the important things in life.

6.   Mindsight – Daniel J. Siegel, M.D.

The author has combined neuroscience, psychoanalysis, and meditation to create an effective book. It includes everything that you want to know about reprogramming your brain by combining social and emotional intelligence.

7.   How to Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie

This is one of the oldest self-improvement books; and a huge success. It talks about the importance of self-worth and guides you to achieve important goals. The book tells us the importance of making the other person feel appreciated in order to do a successful business partnership with them.

8.   The 4-Hour Workweek – Timothy Ferriss

The author has done a good job of getting across the importance of the digital lifestyle. He also emphasizes starting your business and keeping a high level of energy in doing so. A must-read to develop your attitude, productivity, and health.

9.   Let Go! – Pat Flynn

Let Go! Is an inspiring story of the author himself. He shares the challenges he faced, and what led him to succeed in those challenges. This book should be in your collection to get inspired by the author’s entrepreneurial skills.

10. Habit Stacking – S. J. Scott

The author of this book talks about habit stacking in your life. He states that instead of making a dozen changes in your life, make tiny changes. Scott shares interesting strategies to inspire the act.

Go buy a book today!

There are thousands of books penned down by inspirational people. Applying those lessons in our life can also turn it around for the better. It is all about the mindset you adopt after reading the motivating words.

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Health & Home Wellness

How To Improve Your Posture at Work

How To Improve Your Posture at Work

You may already know the fact that the more you move your body throughout the day, the better it is for your overall well-being. However, that can be quite a challenge when you work all day sitting at a desk. After all, your posture can affect your overall health, including your blood flow, mood, and the strength of your muscles and joints. While it is normal for people not to take notice of their posture, you should know that poor posture is the reason for your backache.

We understand if you think that you can’t do much to help yourself, but here’s the good news: you can be mindful of your posture and fix it while going along your usual workday. Here are a few ways you can work smarter at your desk.

Sit All the Way Back

If you are a person who experiences constant back pain due to sitting for long hours, you need to change how you’re sitting. Most adults experience back pain because they’re unaware of the right way to sit in an office chair. Make sure that you are sitting with your butt touching the back of the seat. Then, you will notice a gap between your lower back and the seat, which is the natural sway in your spine. You should use a firm cushion and place it in the hollow space to support your back.

Adjust the Height of Your Chair For Better Posture

If your work involves a lot of typing, this will do wonders for you. Your keyboard or desk should be at a height that your elbows bend at an angle of 90 degrees while you type. If you feel like this is not true for you, you can adjust your chair to the correct height. Or, it is even better if your char has adjustable armrests. Make sure you adjust them to the same height as your desk.

Position Your Screen

You must have experienced cervicogenic headaches or neck pain from working long hours sitting at a computer. The reason for such pains is that you have your screen positioned at the wrong height or level. This can cause bad posture. Such head and neck aches occur when you stare at screens that are either too high or too low. So how can you make sure to position your screen correctly? Your screen should be directly in front of your eyes, at natural eye level. When you do, your chin will stay parallel to the ground when you look at the screen.

Avoid Slouching

This may require a little practice to finally master, and at times, you may even forget to maintain proper posture. Nevertheless, it is totally possible to fix your posture once you build an awareness of how you’re standing or sitting. It is very common for people to slouch to some extent, which can be really hard on their spine. You can open your shoulders by rolling them down and back. While you do this, you will feel your upper back muscles engage. This can be hard in the beginning, but in time, it can effectively relieve all your aches.

Let Your Feet Touch the Ground For Better Posture

We believe that you can’t ensure proper posture if you don’t start from your feet. It seems impossible to fix your posture if your feet are not placed flatly against the floor. This can negatively affect the shape of your spine if you sit down to work for long periods of time. Make sure your feet are pressed on the floor, and your knees are bent at a 90-degree angle. Propping your legs on an object can tighten your hamstring muscles or cause an irritation of the sciatic nerve.

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Health & Home Wellness

Personal Trainers’ Go-To Exercises

Personal Trainers' Go-To Exercises

If you are looking for the best go-to exercises that personal trainers believe in, you should use the ones that they do at home.

Here are just a few of the easiest, most reliable exercises that you can do daily to achieve the body and stamina, and energy of a personal trainer.

Squats

You have time to do some squats while waiting for your coffee to complete brewing, brushing your teeth, or waiting for your shower to heat.

The squat is a basic compound activity that is used by personal trainers all around the world. That’s not just because it’s a terrific way to increase lower-body strength, but it also allows you to move about more freely in daily life.

Consider this: you’re ready to sit or stand up and you’re performing a squat. Inside and beyond the gym, the squat is essential for functional mobility.

The nicest thing about squats is how simple of an exercise they are to do. Simply stretch your feet shoulder width apart, engage your core, and drop your mid-section as if sitting in a chair. Stay in that posture for a certain length of time before rising up and repeating the process.

Plank Exercises

Planks are just maintaining the posture at the top of a pushup, and they are a consistently great shoulder, core, and willpower exercises. They’re also versatile since you can use them to do burpees, mountain climbers, side planks, plank jacks, and more.

The plank stance is also beneficial to the back. It activates the core stabilizing muscles, which helps to maintain the spine. Its simplicity is also important since it can be done anywhere and requires no special equipment. That’s why so many personal trainers return to the plank on a regular basis, at least once a day.

Lunges

Movement is essential, but it’s also critical to concentrate on techniques that combat physical stagnation. Personal trainers are fully aware of this and remind their customers about it on a regular basis.

Sitting causes muscles around the hips and lower back to shorten, while also causing other muscles to overwork and become irritated. This is why the lunge matrix, sometimes known as “around-the-world lunges,” is recommended by so many personal trainers.

These multidirectional lunges enhance range of motion by lengthening the hip, lower back, and leg muscles that are latent when sitting.

How do you go about doing them? To begin, stand with your feet shoulder-width wide. Then, using your left foot, take a big stride forward. Make sure both knees are bent to around 90 degrees, distributing your weight equally between both legs. The front knee of your front leg should be precisely above your ankle. Return your left foot to the middle.

Then Step out to the left side with your left foot and bend your left knee. Maintain a straight right leg extension. This is how you do a side lunge. Return your left foot to the middle.

Step your left foot behind you, bringing your right leg in front of you. This is your back lunge. Return to the starting position with the left leg.

Rep the process with the right leg in the opposite direction: right foot steps back into a rear lunge, then out to a right side lunge, and finally forward to a right front lunge.

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Health & Home Wellness

10 Ways to Feel Healthier by Tomorrow

10 Ways to Feel Healthier by Tomorrow

Getting healthy has become much more important nowadays. With so many of us indulged in an overload of work, our health takes the backseat. It is about time we all make space for a healthy lifestyle in our schedule. Here are 10 things you can do to feel healthier by tomorrow:

1.   Exercise – Even if it is for 15 minutes

Ensure that you move your body, even if it is for 15 minutes. Sitting all day and working for eight or nine hours will stiffen up your bones. A light run, walk, and even some yoga moves will help ease you into exercising daily. This is also good for your mental well-being.

2.   Avoid Munching Late Night

Your body needs to go through its digestion process after you finish dinner. You should eat at least 3 hours before you sleep. This will help your body to maintain its process, otherwise, it all keeps adding up as fat in your body.

3.   Drink Lots of Water

This needs to be a full-on habit, especially during winters. We often forget to drink water as soon as the temperature drops. Water keeps us hydrated, resulting in glowing skin and better blood circulation. Coffee and tea are not considered liquids that keep you hydrated. So keep a bottle of water everywhere you go.

4.   Prepare a Nutritious Meal

Everyone loves burgers, pizzas, and pasta; but these are not healthy meals. Avoid having them frequently. If you are not a salad fan, go for healthy food like salmon, vegetables and chicken, soups, chickpea noodles. You will not find them boring, and they taste fine, too!

5.   Adopt Portioning Snacks

Portion out your snacks, so you have something to reach out to when you are hungry. Pack snacks that have protein and fiber. This will prevent you from overeating and keep your energy level intact.

6.   Stretch. And Stretch. Stretch.

We often underestimate stretching, but you will feel so good after doing so. Always stretch when you wake up in the morning and before going to bed. It helps your muscles to relax and give you a good night’s sleep. Perform each stretch for about 30 seconds.

7.   Drink a Cup or Two of Coffee

If you are a fan of coffee, this is for you. Coffee has beneficial antioxidants. One or two cups of coffee is an appropriate addition to your healthy routine.

8.   Eat Dark Chocolate for Sweet Cravings

You don’t have to cancel all your sweet cravings but find an alternative instead. Dark chocolate is the best alternative if you cannot give up on sweets. The cocoa in it also includes beneficial antioxidants and flavonols that help prevent heart diseases.

9.   Sleep for Seven to Nine Hours To Be Healthier

Going to sleep at a decent hour is highly important for a healthier lifestyle. Your body needs rest, and you need to stick to a consistent schedule for that.

10. Connect with Your Surroundings

We all get so indulged in the work that we forget to connect with everyone around us. Volunteering, doing community work, and communicating with loved ones also positively affect your physical and mental health.

Adopt the above-mentioned steps in your life and pave the way for a healthier tomorrow!

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Health & Home Wellness

Diabetes-Friendly Swaps For Holiday Cooking

Diabetes-Friendly Swaps For Holiday Cooking

The holidays are here! That means it’s time for wonderful festivities with family and friends – and wonderful holiday meals as well.

As yummy as your holiday snacks will be, many of them can load you up with calories and carbs and sugars that can make maintaining a slim tummy and healthy sugar level awfully hard. But keeping track of your sugar levels is important, especially if you’re diabetic. Therefore, there are vital steps and things to remember when you are enjoying the holidays with those closest to you. You don’t have to be a Grinch, you can still enjoy Christmas! You just need to be extra careful and keep these food facts in mind as the holidays approach. 

Shortbread Over Frosted Sugar Cookies

A buttery shortbread square has just 9 grams of carbs, which is 75% less than a frosted sugar cookie. Better still, go for the shortbread with almonds for a boost of protein and fiber.

Salsa Over Creamy Spinach Dip

Choose naturally low-carb salsa (just 4g per 14 cup) over mayo and sour cream-filled dip to add zip to your chip. In addition, each 14 cup, you’ll save 120 calories and 14 grams of fat.

Healthy Fresh Veggies Over Crackers

A pound of wheat crackers has the same amount of carbs as 212 cups of raw vegetables. You’ll also cut down on salt and fat, as well as get a vitamin and mineral boost.

Healthy Mixed Nuts Over Snack Mix

Instead of a snack mix containing cereal, dried fruit, and candy–which may have more than 24g carb every 12 cup–go for simple mixed nuts. Nuts are high in protein, fiber, and heart-healthy fats, with just 7 grams of carbohydrates per ounce.

Lemon Sparkler Over Soda

A 12-ounce can of soda has 40 grams of carbohydrates, all of which come from sugar. That’s almost three tablespoons! Instead, combine 4 ounces fresh lemonade with 8 ounces sparkling water to make a drink that is two-thirds lower in carbohydrates and sugar. Serve with a lemon slice as a garnish.

Holiday Pumpkin Pie Over Pecan

Corn syrup and brown sugar raise the sugar content of pecan pie. Instead, save 10 grams of carbs by eating a piece of pumpkin pie. Slowly chew it and relish just a few nibbles.

Dark Chocolate Over Brownies

A single ounce of dark chocolate has half the carbs of a sugary brownie. Dark chocolate contains flavonoids, which may have heart-healthy properties.

Turkey Over Glazed Ham

In comparison to a glazed ham, which may typically have more than 7g carbohydrates and more than 800mg sodium, a well cooked turkey may include just 2g carbs and roughly 300mg sodium. Turkey is a bit more adaptable than ham, and it gives you a lot of leftover possibilities.

Wild Rice Stuffing Over Bread Stuffing

Depending on the recipe, substituting rice for bread may save you more than 20 grams of carbohydrates and more than 100 milligrams of salt. Hot cooked wild rice is nutty and aromatic, making it an excellent complement to fresh spices.