Just when
you’d lost those extra pounds gained from the Christmas and New Year holidays,
along comes Chinese New Year, a festive that boasts of much feasting, delicious
goodies and late nights! And oh, you couldn’t possibly turn your nose up at the
dishes that your elders so painstakingly prepared for the reunion dinner, or
reject generous offers of delicious nibbles when you go visiting. It isn’t
about missing the good food, but being polite and socially appropriate.
The good
news is, you can be polite and enjoy your festive goodies without sacrificing
your health! Here are some ways to go about it.
Take smaller helpings, eat slowly
Wherever
possible, take your own servings before someone else helps you to scoop up a
much more generous helping than you usually eat. Eat slowly, enjoy your food
and enjoy conversation. This prevents zealous offers for second helpings.
Chewing your food thoroughly also aids with digestion.
Inform beforehand
If you have
to refrain from eating certain types of foods due to health concerns or you do
not wish your diet to be disrupted, inform your hosts beforehand. This is a
polite thing to do as your host would not over-prepare, and you can then
rightfully reject food without coming across as being rude and wasting food.
Choose the lesser of evils
Chinese tea
and Green tea aid in digestion, and are great relief when taken with heavy
meals and oily snacks. Green tea especially is known to have detoxification
purposes. However, do not drink them too late at night if you want to turn in
early, as tea can keep you awake.
Don’t overcater to your guests, stock up on
healthier alternatives
Because at
the end of the festival when you end up with excess, you are going to be the
one responsible to finish them up, and this will certainly do no favours to
your weight gain prevention attempts.
Avoid
buying too many goodies to cater to friends and relatives who may pop in
unexpectedly. Indeed, during Chinese New Year, it is rude to turn visitors
away, and having nothing satisfactory to feed them could cause you to be
labeled as a stingy host! Instead of buying snacks, why not stock up on
mandarin oranges instead? These are delicious festive fruits that are
presentable to guests. Dried fruits and sour plum sweets are good alternatives
too.
Don’t be tempted by specials after Chinese New
Year
As early as
the night of Chinese New Year eve, new year goodies will start going at slashed
prices as sellers of makeshift stores and pasar malam stores hasten to pack up
for a well-deserved holiday. Don’t give in to temptation. No matter how cheap
and tasty the goodies are, you will regret going near them after having the
same things for breakfast days in a row after the festive season. If you’re
itching to spend some money, splurge on some new year plants instead!
Don’t stop exercising
The festive
mood induces laziness in everyone, but don’t cease your fitness routine just
because it’s the holidays. Even if you are busy with gatherings and visits, it
cannot be difficult to squeeze in a 15-minute jog or work-out in the morning. Don’t
allow your biological timetable to be disrupted by one night of ‘shou sui’ (a
practice where young people stay up over midnight on Chinese New Eve as an
auspicious practice to promote longevity of their parents). Continue to wake up
early in the morning. Exercising in the morning has the added benefit of
keeping you awake and alert for the rest of the day’s activities.
Remember the main purpose of Chinese New Year
One of the
most meaningful purposes of Chinese New Year is spending time with family and
reuniting with relatives and friends whom you have not met in a long time. Make
an effort to spend more time interacting with your loved ones instead of your
food.
Here’s
wishing everyone a happy and prosperous year of the Monkey!
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