High-calorie meals and desserts are common at holiday parties and family get-togethers. This, coupled with the fact that people are less active during the winter months makes it difficult to avoid adding a few extra pounds during the holidays. Here are a few tips and recipe ideas to help maintain your mindful eating during the holiday season.
Holiday Breakfast: Many holidays start with a traditional holiday breakfast. Instead of the high fat and sugar containing breakfasts such as cinnamon buns try this:
Starters: Traditional onion dips can contain excessive amounts of fat and calories. This recipe replaces the high fat cream cheese, mayonnaise, and sour cream with Greek yogurt for a healthier alternative. Serve with fresh vegetables such as cucumber, celery, carrots, pea pods or bell pepper slices.
Healthy Eating Tip: Mindlessly snacking on appetizers before the main meal can add up. Have a healthy snack like fruit and yogurt before you leave your house. That way you aren’t as tempted to snack at the party.
Sides: Although sides such as candied sweet potatoes can be delicious, they can also contribute plenty of empty calories to a meal. Roasted or sautéd vegetables like squashes, peppers, and onions can add beautiful color as well as nutrition to a meal.
Healthy Eating Tip: Trim back on the trimmings! Say no to added butter, gravy, nuts, whipped cream and cheese sauces that add little nutritional value to the meal.
Desserts: No holiday meal is complete without the sweets! However, you don’t need to ruin all of your hard work by consuming a heavy dessert. Try these peppermint meringues for an easy and light treat. Meringues are also able to be stored in a cool dry place for up to 2 months.
Remember to make it a holiDAY not a holiWEEK. Focus on family and friends rather than on food. Also remember that slip-ups do happen. Don’t punish yourself for one or two bad days. Jump right back in as soon as you can! 🙂
Happy Holidays!
– Carly
Leave a Reply