Nutritional Concepts Healthy Holiday Tips

Nutritional Concepts Top Ten Tips
for a Healthy Holiday from Nutritional Concepts

1. Alcohol is loaded with calories. Try substituting with sparkling water or club soda (an added benefit is feeling more full with water so you won’t eat as much). Add a small amount lemon, lime, or other fruit juice to your water for added flavor. Another great alcohol substitute is a festive virgin “bloody mary” with a celery stick.

2. Eat healthy foods before you go to a party, especially protein foods. Your blood sugar will be more stable so you won’t eat as much. At the party, eat plain fish or lean meats first (i.e. cold shrimp, smoked salmon, turkey breast). You may then be too full to eat a lot of the other foods.

3. At a buffet, graze to take a taste of enticing items, but spend most of your time with the raw vegetables and heart healthy guacamole and humus dips.

4. If you want a rich dessert, keep your fat and carbohydrate intake low the rest of the day to compensate.

5. Watch out for raw foods (raw fish, steak tartare and eggnog made with raw eggs) or foods left out too long at room temperature. They could harbor harmful pathogens such as salmonella, shigella, listeria, or e coli.

6. Avoid foods high in saturated fat. These are typically very high in calories. For example: 8 oz. eggnog = 340 calories, 1 slice pie with whipping cream = 520 calories; 1 cup standard poultry stuffing = 500 calories.

7. Exercise more to burn more calories during the holidays. Cycling, fast-walking, and cross-country skiing are great ideas. Even shoveling the snow off of your driveway and sidewalk counts.

8. Offer to bring your favorite healthy recipe to the party and spend most of your time eating it. That way, you won’t have to worry about leftovers.

9. If you have food sensitivities or allergies, call your host before the party to determine what foods would be safe. There is nothing worse than having an allergic reaction or digestive distress when you are trying to have fun.

10. Don’t begin a diet during the holidays or become obsessive about avoiding tempting holiday fare. If you restrict yourself too much, you’ll either be depressed or “pig out” later. Remember that the average adult gains 6 lbs. from Thanksgiving Day through New Year’s Day. If you can even maintain your weight during the holidays, you’ll be one step ahead when it is time to make your New Year’s resolutions.

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