5 Tips for Healthy Eating During the Holidays
Consider these tips to leave guilt behind and feel great from the inside out this year!
By Guest Contributor Rebekah Loper, CNC, CPT, CNHP
Well, it’s that time of year again! The holiday season is revving up and so is my appetite!
Every year, it seems like by the time my family and I get back on track with eating healthy after summer vacation, we are being catapulted right back into a season full of sugary, processed, unhealthy foods. It can be so hard! I am still trying to find that healthy balance between being Buddy the Elf …you know, scarfing down rich, sugary carbohydrate as fast as I can shovel them into my mouth…and Ebenezer Scrooge- a wretched old crabby pants ruining everyone else’s good eatin’ time while riding my nutrition high horse.
Somewhere in the middle, there is a sweet spot where we can maintain a healthy eating lifestyle and still indulge every now and then with the ones we love.
So, if you’re anything like me, feeling the anxiety rising in your throats just thinking about how you’re going to navigate your family’s holiday season eating habits, let me help put your mind at ease with a few simple pointers…
5 Tips for Navigating the Food Frenzy
1. Everything in moderation.
We all know that the more we tell ourselves we can’t have something, the more we want it. And the same goes for our kids…times 1,000!
I have found from personal experience that allowing myself and my kids to have a reasonable serving of not-so-nutritious foods that we love is a much better strategy than trying to avoid them. There’s no need to panic when you know you’re going to be in a room with all of your favorite things…take a little scoop of each and show yourself that you are capable of self-control. But parents…your kids will need you to make their plates.
2. Do what you can.
When I know we have a big holiday weekend coming up, I always try to load my family up with nutrient-dense meals at home during the week. I make sure we have a protein, healthy starch, and one to two veggies at dinner every night and try to fix my girls well-rounded meals for breakfast and lunch. If they want something sweet, they’re most likely going to get berries with a honey drizzle. Then when the weekend comes, I don’t feel guilty about letting them indulge. Think 80/20. If we can do it well 80% of the time, we are doing a great job.
3. Let the rest go.
When it comes to that other 20%, just let it go.
Do you really need two plates full of Thanksgiving food? No. But do you love it? Yes. Then do it! It’s not going to kill you. But you may pay for it later if you know what I mean…Will your kids probably eat 200 grams of sugar at the Christmas parade? Most likely. But with proper hydration and a spoonful of nut butter for their blood sugar, they will survive. My oldest daughter has finally learned from experience that when she goes overboard, her stomach always regrets it.
Kids eventually learn that too much of a good thing can come with some very unpleasant consequences. So be patient, parents. They are learning.
4. Find healthier versions of your favorites.
Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. I bet you can guess why. Yes, I LOVE food! Once I found out my daughter and I had a gluten and dairy intolerance, it sort of ruined my life and I thought I could never enjoy Thanksgiving again. NOT TRUE! Every year, I recreate my favorite dishes-sweet potato casserole, broccoli and cheese casserole, and of course, pumpkin pie -thanks to some amazing recipe bloggers and food companies.
There is usually a recipe or product out there that can give you the same great taste without all of the empty calories and unhealthy ingredients. Who doesn’t love decorating cookies at Christmas?
Instead of Betty Crocker icing, go for Simple Mills vanilla and chocolate frosting. It has much cleaner ingredients, less sugar, and is safe for kids with gluten and dairy allergies! WIN!
And if you haven’t discovered Sweet Loren cookies yet, this holiday season is the time. Sweet Loren’s are plant-based cookies that have minimal ingredients-also gluten and dairy free-and come in four amazing flavors-chocolate chip, sugar, double chocolate chip, and cranberry oatmeal. Trust me, your family will never know the difference and “Santa” will appreciate the healthier selection come Christmas Eve (wink, wink).
There are so many great brands and recipes out there for all kinds of holiday sweets-from pumpkin bars to peppermint pie, that will have your family drooling without the junk. Check out Easy Healthy Gluten-Free & Paleo Recipes - Organically Addison and The Big Man’s World ® | Healthy Delicious Recipes (thebigmansworld.com) for some mouth-watering ideas. I personally like to put WHOLE30 in front of whatever recipe I am looking for and see what recipes sound the best to me.
5. Relax and trust God.
If you take nothing else away from list, take this. No matter how bad we eat, no matter how unhealthy we think our kids might be, and no matter how much extra weight we put on this holiday season, HE IS STILL GOD. And He has a good plan for our lives and our children’s lives.
Sometimes, when my food OCD gets out of control, I have to take a deep breath and surrender my anxiety to my Abba Father, who tells me not to worry about tomorrow and promises to supply all my needs. I can plan ahead and do all of the things to make sure my family is staying “healthy”, but at the end of the day, I am not in control. He is. I can’t carry the burden of my health and my family’s health -it’s just too heavy. So, I cast it on Him-over and over and over.
“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.”
1 Corinthians 10:31
Our Creator must love food, or He wouldn’t have given us such a love for it! Let us not turn His gift into an idol OR a fear.
Whether we are eating a salad or a massive piece of apple pie- we can do it for His glory and know that HE delights in His children enjoying their food and family.
Enjoy!
Rebekah Loper is a Certified Nutrition Coach, Certified Personal Trainer and group exercise instructor and Certified Natural Health Professional as well as a presenter and workshop leader with Business and Professional Outreach International (BPO). To Contact Rebeka: thecrunchychristian22@gmail.com
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