Fatty and sweet

So Easter won’t be heavy on the stomach this year

Bring a lighter Easter meal to the table this year as an alternative!

(Bild: Markus Wenzel)

After the long period of fasting, it's now time to indulge again for Easter. But be careful! If you overdo it, you can expect digestive problems such as stomach ache, bloating or constipation. And often you will also put on a few kilos. How to "defuse" your Easter meal.

The hearty feast and too much chocolate can really put a strain on your digestion. Heartburn, stomach ache or constipation often occur as a result of overindulgence during the holidays. Likewise, too much food is often thrown away at Easter. But that doesn't have to be the case.

Better fish instead of fatty roasts
Enjoy cooked or smoked ham, salmon ham or turkey breast instead of fatty Easter roast or bacon during the holidays. Replace hearty dishes with turkey, chicken (skinless) or fish, for example. You can also save calories with side dishes: It's better to swap chips and croquettes for parsley potatoes and rice.

Fresh salads should not be missing.

(Bild: eflstudioart - stock.adobe.com)

Fresh salads and steamed vegetables also make the feast much lower in fat. Instead of rich sauces with cream, it is best to use milk, sour cream, yoghurt or low-fat processed cheese.

Herbal teas boost fat digestion
If the festive feast turns out to be a little fatty, you should drink herbal teas before and after the meal. Ideal here are varieties such as caraway, fennel or verbena, which improve the digestion of fatty foods.

Prevent food cravings!
Incidentally, if you "pounce" on the feast completely famished, you will end up eating a disproportionate amount. Therefore, always eat salad or fruit beforehand and drink plenty of water to prevent cravings.

Alcohol also has a lot of calories
Be careful with alcohol! A Prosecco has around 75 calories, a glass of red wine 160. The higher the alcohol content, the more calories. If you don't want to give up alcoholic drinks at all, you should "defuse" wine with mineral water or drink water in between.

Booze delays the transportation of food
After sumptuous and fatty meals, many people reach for schnapps to speed up digestion and relieve the feeling of fullness. But these assumptions turn out to be mistaken: hard alcoholic drinks such as cognac, schnapps or whiskey slow down the processing of food. The body is primarily occupied with breaking down the alcohol instead of breaking down the food.

"Leftover cooking" helps to save money
When Easter is over, you can still conjure up delicious dishes from leftovers. This also reduces food waste. Here are some tips from "umweltberatung":

• If there is any leftover Easter ham, ...
  ... can be used in classic Gröstl, simple Schinkenfleckerln and spicy potato casserole.

• Easter Striezel and Pinzen left over?
  These can be used together with apples and/or raisins to make a pyre as a main course or dessert.

• What to do with too much chocolate?
  The good thing is that it keeps for months. However, it is advisable to process it before it turns gray and crumbly. The easiest way to do this is to heat milk and dissolve chocolate in it as desired. Sweet Easter eggs or Easter bunnies can also be used as a substitute for cooking chocolate in cakes and cookies or as chocolate sprinkles.