Guess I'm not the only one who noticed her love for butter (no, this photo was not made by me, and I don't consider Paula a devil in the slightest).

During the course of her show, Paula cooked a mini-buffet for a party she was hosting later that night. In recipes for three appetizers, she used about five sticks of butter. There must be a better way! I thought to myself, while watching her add stick after greasy stick. In fact, if you just Google “Paula Deen butter photo,” you will get hits such as the picture at left.

Then I realized something: Paula isn’t the only butter-lover out there, and appetizers aren’t the only butter-filled food, especially not during the holidays. So, I have Googled tips to a healthier holiday this December, which I will now share with you.

In cooking, as Paula was doing on her show, there is more flexibility with ingredients than in baking. This includes substitutions and alternatives. So, keep this little hint in mind when preparing your holiday cookies!

Most recipes, in the list of ingredients, have butter listed somewhere. In fact, it is one of the most widely-used ingredients, surpassed only by things like salt and sugar. However, it is terrible for your cholesterol levels (which, in case you didn’t know, are serious health concerns). If you, like me, are a little concerned about the amount of butter you’ll be consuming this holiday season, then try some substitutions! Canola and sunflower seed oils are wonderful alternatives to butter for both baking and cooking, and olive oil can be used as well (but limit that to cooking). Best of all, with these subs you don’t even have to do any extra math – you use the same amount of oil as you would butter.

If you’re looking for a little bit of a different flavor for your favorite holiday desserts, try benching the butter in exchange for applesauce. This is healthier than butter and oil, is easy to find in the store and cuts down on costs (you use half the amount of applesauce than the recipe says for butter). Now, I understand your skepticism, because I was the same way when my mom first proposed making cookies with applesauce. But, I must say, it tastes much more delicious than I thought.

Another common ingredient, especially in baking, is milk. And anyone who has ever baked before knows that milk really adds very little flavoring to baked goods. So, I inquire, why not go skim? I myself prefer the taste of skim over 2% or Vitamin D in my daily life, but I understand that tons of people don’t. However, this little substitution has no effect on the taste of a chocolaty brownie or a scrumptious shortbread cookie, so do your body a favor and switch it up!

Staffers at the Mayo Clinic were kind enough to compile a list of all the possible healthy substitutions you can make in your cooking and baking this holiday season and beyond. So, my health-conscious readers, fear Paula no more! Just don’t be afraid to tweak her mouthwatering works of art – the changes will hardly be noticed.

Do:

• Make water your fallback drink. It should be what you choose most of the time to quench your thirst, because it’s healthy and your body needs it to function. Plus, it’s almost free!
• Choose healthy alternatives to drinks like soda. These can include V8 Splash and 100% fruit juice, which also have fruit/vegetable servings to help you meet your daily nutrient needs.
• Drink sports drinks, like Gatorade and Powerade, if you will be engaging in strenuous activity for more than 60-90 minutes, especially if that activity is outdoors in the sun. These drinks have the sugar and nutrients that your body will lose during this time.

Don’t:

• Drink soda, coffee or other sugary, caffeinated drinks all day. These drinks actually cause your body to lose water, leading to dehydration.
• Substitute water with sports drinks. The two drinks have different benefits and, while both may be necessary at times, nothing can beat water on a scorching day.
• Skip the nutrition facts. There are often low-cal or sugar-substitute versions of the drinks you love that taste just as good. Crystal Light is a great example: it has the great taste of juice, with more nutritional value.

Extra Tip:

“Fruit juice” bought at the store often is not really fruit juice. Rather, it’s “tastes like fruit” juice, and has almost no nutritional value. So, how will you know if your juice is legit? Well, try making it yourself! Find lemons, oranges or any other citrus fruit at your local supermarket, buy some sugar and invest in a juicer (automatic juicers can be less than $20 or, if you want the premium versions, more on the expensive side). You’ll be able to squeeze your own juice in no time, and you can cater to your personal preference by adding sugar and/or water until it tastes just right. Buying fruit on sale can also make homemade juice cheaper than store-bought. And, if you’re feeling creative, you can mix and match fruit for a new taste or search online for unique recipes, like this.

Check out this video that Cleveland’s 19 Action News ran about the outdoor pools.

In total, there are 22 outdoor and 17 indoor pools, all requiring simply each patron’s name, address, phone number and age at sign-in. According to my insider (my sister), Halloran, one of the outdoor pools, has been very busy lately, reaching capacity each day and having a line of waiting swimmers along the area’s fence.

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Halloran Pool

These services aren’t just keeping residents from having to suffer the unbearable heat; they also create many jobs in this downward economy. Lifeguards and captains are staffed at each pool, along with the CPR/lifeguard trainers and the downtown-based recreational coordinators hired to keep the pools afloat.

The fact that the city keeps up these pools summer after summer just goes to show that, at least in some respects, Cleveland puts its residents’ health first. Think about it: how many cities do you know that provide these services for free? Not the surrounding suburbs, that’s for sure.

For those of you that are freshman, new students, or just didn’t pay attention in past years, ResChallenge is an annual competition between all of the dorms on campus. The competition lasts seven weeks and, throughout this period, the percentage of energy consumption that each dorm drops (or, *gasp,* raises) is recorded and posted online.

This competition helps save the university (and, hopefully, us as students) money in electricity costs. More importantly, however, it helps push residents to be more conscious of their tendency to waste the environment’s resources.

So, students, the Office of Sustainability is calling you out. Will you listen? For some, just the idea of saving energy or even of winning a university-wide competition is not enough. Therefore, an award is being offered: all residents of the winning dorm from each green (East, West, and South) will receive a free trip to Cedar Point spring quarter. I don’t know about you, but with tickets running at $46 each I think it’s worth it to shut my lights off when I leave my room.

There are many other quick and easy ways to lower your dorm’s energy consumption and get closer to that free Cedar Point trip. Some basic tips are listed on the ResChallenge 2010′s webpage, but some other, less-obvious ideas are:

• Don’t stop at shutting off the lights in your room! If you leave the bathroom and no one’s in there, shut those lights off too. The same goes for lobbies and study lounges in your building.
• Know a friend that also loves to watch your favorite TV show each week? Watch it together! That way, only one TV is in use instead of two. (Hint: if your friend lives in another building, go use their TV!)
• Like to fall asleep to the TV or radio? Use that sleep timer! Setting the sleep timer on your electronics gives you time to fall asleep, but keeps them from running all through the night.

If you think of any other energy-saving tips, share them with others in your dorm! Remember, the competition goes until March 7th, so you have plenty of time to catch up with your green’s leader. Good luck West and South, but to the rest of East Green: be prepared to lose to Johnson Hall.

Now, on to the next subject. This came as a pleasant surprise to me, but fellow Bobcats, did you know about the green power now in place at Ping Center? Apparently while you’re increasing your own health you can increase the health of the environment as well.

This new technology, that is currently hooked up only to the elliptical machines in Ping, is called the ReCardio System. It turns the kinetic energy produced by elliptical users into energy that adds to Ping’s utilities. Thus, not only does Ping (and, therefore, OU students) save money, but less utilities are used.

The only problem is that not all Ping-goers use the ellipticals. Other machines, like treadmills and bicycles, are often more popular. So, will Ping stop there? Or will they channel the ReCardio System to other machines throughout the center? I guess we’ll see.

As I was searching my house for aerobic DVDs or small dumbbells, I came across a new VHS tape (didn’t know that was possible, did you?) that my mom must have gotten while I was away at school. It’s made by Kellogg’s Special K brand, and the tape is a 30-minute pilates workout routine. Apparently the tape was free if you collected a certain amount of “Special K stamps” located on the back of their cereal, waffle, and snack bar boxes.

So now Special K is helping women lose weight in more ways than just by following their diet. I haven’t started the routine yet, but I will tonight and will try to do it at least 5 days out of the week until I go back to school. I’ll let you know how it goes, and whether you should try it or not! However, I do wish they sent a DVD and not a VHS so that I could take it school… but I’ll make due. Who knows? Maybe my New Year’s resolution will be to follow Special K’s diet plan in addition to their workout plan.

A couple tips that I’ve used over the years have been pretty effective for me. First of all, while I am a slow eater to begin with, I eat even slower on Thanksgiving day. The average person doesn’t begin to feel full until after 20 minutes of eating, and so eating slower guarantees that you won’t overeat as much. Also, if you start off with just a little portion of each dish, you get a large variety of tastes even if you decide to eat slower! And, you know, you can always go back for more.

Besides eating slower and keeping small portion sizes, you can also take your post-Thanksgiving weight into your own hands by making some healthier side dishes to counteract the calorie-filled gravy and stuffing. For example, pumpkin, which is big this time of year, can be used in more than just pies. And turkey, another popular food, tastes good even without the fat-filled skin.

How much do you know about the average person’s Thanksgiving? Take Health Magazine’s quiz to test what you know and to learn some interesting facts that might help you make the most of your Thanksgiving, both taste-wise and health-wise.

I know that, between my job and all of my finals, final projects, and final papers, I do sometimes feel like I’m losing my mind. Apparently I’m not alone, meaning you aren’t either! Here are some of my personal study tips that helped me get through three quarters of finals weeks, and will hopefully help me through this week too. Don’t work continuously on one project if it’s really intense. Split up your time by working on different projects that are less difficult, and you won’t feel so overwhelmed.

Other university students have great ideas too! Check out the Academic Advancement Center’s (AAC) Study Tips provided by the university for students just like you.

Well, my best answer is yoga. That’s right, it will help you kill two birds with one stone. Not only will it relieve your stress from classes (your workout can take as few as 15 minutes), but it will also tone your arms, legs, and everything in between!

And the best part is: all you need to buy is a yoga mat. No special shoes, socks, or clothes. You can even do your yoga routine in your pajamas, right before bed.

The poses are easy to learn, too, and you can make up a routine that suits your personal needs. Routines can be short, if you just need a quick escape, or longer, depending on how you feel. Make up a few personal routines that you can easily choose from.

If you’ve gone to a few classes at Ping, like I have, then that’s great; use those poses to create your routine, or just use the same routine your instructor did. If not, check out these video tutorials from Fitness. Also, check out Shape‘s tips to yoga success, and start your winter off right.

According to WebMD, sinusitis is an inflammation, or swelling, of the tissue lining the sinuses (which are located in your nasal passage, if you didn’t know!). I recently had a bout of sinusitis and believe me, it wasn’t pretty. I felt congested all the time, but couldn’t blow my nose. And having to breathe through your mouth all night can leave you with a pretty dry throat, let me tell you. What I didn’t know, though, is that sinusitis can be prevented, and (even better) through simple everyday changes.

As many of us know, vitamins – especially vitamin C – work wonders when curing as well as preventing illnesses. This includes sinusitis. You can get your ideal vitamin intake by eating citrus fruits, like oranges and grapefruits. Don’t like these? Well, do what I do in a rush: grab a juice drink. My personal favorite is V8 Splash (Tropical Blend). What’s yours?

Prevention has other recommendations, too. Apparently one of my favorite scents from Bath and Body Works – eucalyptus – comes in an oil that works great for reducing mucus levels, which are associated with sinusitis. Check out the Natural Remedies article for more great tips.

This last one comes from my dad, who has suffered through more than his fair share of sinus infections. It’s so simple, you’ll probably think it’s too good to be true – but it’s not. What is it, you ask? Crank up that hot water, turn off that fan, and take a soothing, steamy shower. Then, before jumping out to carry on the rest of your day, tilt your head back and let some warm water run into your nose (not into your lungs!). This also helps to clear away any excess mucus.

I hope I don’t get another sinus infection, but with the way the weather in Athens has been changing lately, you never know. So drop me some of your tips, just in case.