Eating well during the holidays

 Halloween has come and gone, and the holiday season is right around the corner.  If you are like me and have children, you have a mountain of sugary tricks and treats staring you right in the face every day. Not only that, but Thanksgiving is right around the corner along with the holiday party season that just seems to have every sugary treat known to man. It might seem impossible to maintain a healthy eating style during this time of year, but it can be done.  

So what should you do with all the left over trick-or-treat candy? I suggest limiting yourself and your children to a few pieces a day for no more than a week and then getting it out of your house.  Donate it, put it away to make gingerbread houses closer to Christmas, or just toss it out.  The longer it is staring you in face, the more likely you and your children will eat too much.

The rest of the holiday season can be tricky, especially if you participate in a lot of family and friend get together’s.  I suggest trying to eat as well as you can in between holiday celebrations, especially on the day of.  If you know that you are going to be at party in the evening, try and have a really healthy breakfast or lunch in preparation for falling off the wagon a little in the evening.  I also recommend if it is a party where you are to bring food with you, arrive with something festive but also healthy, such as a meat and cheese tray, so you know you will have something good to eat.

I love the holidays.  The decorations, the change of weather, the get together’s, and just how it makes everyone feel.  I  love feeling good and eating healthy but also indulging a little over the holidays.

Maintaining a healthy eating style in between holiday celebrations will help keep yourself from carrying bad eating habits into the new year.  As Vinnie Tortorich says, “It doesn’t matter what you eat between Christmas and New Years, it matters what you eat between New Years and Christmas.” Happy Holidays!