Healthy Eating During the Holidays
The holiday season is filled with delicious and comforting foods. But do you ever feel conflicted or guilty when making food choices? Let’s change that mindset!
There are many ways to stay healthy during the holidays and still enjoy your favorite holiday foods. Below are a few tips to encourage mindful eating.
- Use a smaller plate. By using a smaller plate, you don’t have to worry about overfilling it or feeling like you have to finish everything on your plate.
- Take small portions. If you take small portions of each option, you will still be able to enjoy a little bit of everything and not feel too full afterwards.
- Drink water! Keep yourself hydrated before, during, and after meals. Try replacing sugary drinks with water or for every sugary drink or alcoholic beverage, drink a glass of water with it. This can help decrease your hunger and quench your thirst.
- Don’t fast before dinner. Many times before a big meal, we might delay eating. Instead, try eating something healthy and small before dinner such as fruit or veggies. This will decrease overeating or eating too fast due to being ravenous.
When creating your favorite holiday meals think about what you can substitute out that will make it healthier and less filling. Below are a few easy and very tasteful substitutions for common holiday meals!
- Try using Greek yogurt or chicken broth instead of cream. This will make the recipe less filling and cut out excess calories.
- When cooking, use oils (olive oil, coconut oil, or avocado oil) to incorporate your healthy fats and decrease any excess butter.
- Love to bake during the holidays? Try using applesauce instead of oils or butter. This adds some natural sweetness and decreases your use of unhealthy fats.
Finally, the most important way to stay healthy during the holidays, ACTIVITY! Plan an after dinner walk or outdoor activity. Not only will you get your steps in, but you’ll digest your meal better too! Get creative this holiday season and see what fun activities and new meals you come up with!
About the author
Ms. Alexandra Bollinger is a Health and Wellness Coach on the Slainte Fitness team at USLI. She enjoys staying active by strength training and going for daily walks and runs. Ms. Bollinger also enjoys working one-on-one with community members and customers to ensure they are on the right track to living a healthy lifestyle!