For 8 days we celebrate with friends and family the miracle of Hanukah by lighting a candle for each of the days, and then eating traditional very fattening Hanukah foods such as oil-laden deep fried latkes and jelly doughnuts. At the end of this beautiful 8 day festival of lights we can easily find ourselves with an additional four lbs of weight, generally not wanted and not needed. This takes into account that the average latke (potato pancake) has 150-200 calories and we very rarely eat only one, while a jelly doughnut has 500-600 calories each. Though it is true that oil plays an essential role in a balanced nutritional diet and does not need to be completely avoided, it is dangerously fattening and unhealthy when used in excess and the type of oil is also an important factor to consider.
Here are some tips on how to try to avoid this excess weight and still enjoy Hanukah…

• If you must fry, use canola oil, which is taste free and is characterized by – which
• Deep frying  is recommended as the food absorbs less fat that during regular frying
• The oil should be very very hot before frying as this will decrease the amount of frying time and the foods will absorb less oil
• Oil should only be used once and should not be reheated for additional frying
• Put the fried foods directly onto  paper towels in order to absorb as much oil as possible and
• Always store oil in a dark cool place
• Most important is that latkes and Jelly doughnuts can be just as tasty, healthier and less fattening  if they are baked in the oven, brushed with some oil
• Another thing about Jelly doughnuts, big is better than small as larger doughnuts have more air space and therefore absorb less oil and best if you can manage to eat only 1/2 of a large doughnut instead of one small one
  And remember if you eat only one jelly doughnut instead of one every 8 days you can feel that you had a taste of tradition without the extra pounds.. and another suggestion do as much physical exercise as possible, be it walking, running, bicycling going to the gym etc..

Enjoy and Happy Hanukah… .