With the holiday season in full swing, eating healthy may seem impossible.
With that in mind, for two days at Patch, we have five pros who will answer your questions and offer some advice about avoiding gastric-gluttony during the holidays.
This week, our pros are:
- Jeannemarie Beiseigel, PhD, RD, is a registered dietitian with a doctorate in human nutrition, foods, and exercise. She shares her knowledge as Zestar's Director of Nutrition. You can find more of Jeannemarie's blog posts at zestarapp.com.
- Also joining the discussion is Gina Love, deli, meat and cheese manager for Just Food Co-op in Northfield.
- Brian Coleman and Ramar Harper own Derived Beings, a gym in Oakdale that offers nutrition consultation, CrossFit, yoga and mental toughness.
- Barb Miller of Oakdale who blogs about recipes in her blog, "Cooking with the Kitchen Diva" on Oakdale Patch. Miller is a Blue Ribbon award winner on Just A Pinch Recipes for her innovative recipes and cooking tips. Miller has also authored several cookbooks.
- Last, but not least, Deb Preachuk, BRS, BPE, Certified Posture Alignment Specialist, and ACE Group Fitness is a 20+ year veteran of the fitness, health and wellness field. The owner of Pain Free Posture MN in Lakeville and 5 Star Group Fitness Instructor for LifeTime Fitness, Deb has a passion to motivate and encourage people to take ownership of their health and fitness in mind-body-and-spirit. You can find more on Deb's blog at Achieving a Pain Free Life and Living
On Tuesday, Dec. 11, and Wednesday, Dec. 12, our experts will take questions from Patch users about healthy eating during the holidays.
So go ahead and ask away! Leave your questions in the comments area below and they’ll check back regularly through Wednesday to answer your questions.
Editor's note: The contents of this post and comments are for informational and educational purposes only and not intended to be a substitute for professional psychological, psychiatric or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
I have several thoughts on this that I can share with you: You have already told me that you are a grazer ... and since you are a grazer, initiate a plan! If your Christmas dinner is at 3:00 P.M., graze the morning and early afternoon away on high fiber, low calorie tidbits such as fruit and veggies and drink lots of water! By 3:00 in the afternoon I guarantee you will cut down on your intake of those dubious little holiday high calorie morsels. Here is another one Derek: Stay away from the holiday cheer (alcoholic beverages) until AFTER the Christmas meal. Alcohol generates a ravenous fake appetite in most people and that is a train wreck during the holiday season. Try not to fall asleep in one of those holiday induced "power naps" before the meal. Not all, but most people will be on the search for something to devour the minute they wake up... blame the lower blood sugar! Last but not least.... here is a little humor! Keep the chewing gum in your mouth... no one wants to mess up their chewing gum with food for goodness sakes! I hope I have given you a couple of good tips for controlling the holiday food intake Derrick. Blessings and enjoy the holiday!
Bruschettas... Greek, Italian or any other ethnicity, these are in demand at parties. I am a huge fan of Greek Shrimp Bruschetta, made with tomatoes, onion, feta cheese, cilantro, shrimp, Greek seasoning and olive oil... all on a little baguette slice. Here you go... light, healthy and tasty! Meat skewers with a dipping sauce... hugely popular and healthy at the same time. I love chicken skewers with a peanut dipping sauce. I will blog some "take along to party" recipes, so look out for them in my blog on this site called "Dining With The Kitchen Diva". There are literally dozens of ways to make these skewers and they are all light, easy to make, even ahead of time, and healthy ... all at the same time. Coconut Shrimp on cocktail toothpicks with a marmalade or a pina' colada dipping sauce is also one of my favorite things to bring. Hope this helps Becky! Have a great holiday! Be sure to watch for my blog on easy to bring dishes!
Great question! Holiday parties are set up for grazing - there's always lots to choose from and usually in smaller bite-size portions so there's enough to go around. Unfortunately, there's a lot of calories that come with them and they tend to stick around! My suggestions: grab a small-sized plate and survey the food layout to see what's there. Add to your plate only items you really, really want and that you don't get often - even if it is higher in calories and fat, take a small serving and enjoy it. Skip anything that you aren't strongly desiring or that you can have any 'ol time (like crackers, rolls, summer sausage, cheese slices, etc.). Fill any remaining space with fresh veggies and then move away from the food table to enoy your goodies!
Good question! I'm big on bringing something a little sweeter so I often rely on chocolate-covered strawberries. I know strawberries aren't necessarily in season right now, but you can still find them in most grocery stores. You can make these with almond bark, but since most has a lot of trans-fat, I suggest looking for a variety that doesn't have hydrogenated oils or simply melting some chocolate chips of your choice. I like use a double boiler to prevent the chocolate from burning. Then you can dip the strawberries and leave them dry on a sheet of wax paper. You can get craftsy and drizzle with melted white chocolate or roll them in sprinkles. They are always a big hit. I also will add some chocolate-covered pretzels to the plate too. Other options are to make traditional recipes healthier by substituting in lower-fat ingredients, using less oil and butter than a recipe suggests, and cutting sugar by about 1/4th. If you're bringing hummus or a dip, bring fresh cut veggies along and not just crackers or chips. And check out the Zestar page on Pinterest where we are constantly posting new healthy recipes that we love!
Next step is to find what IS healthy AND what you like. This is usually the more difficult challenge. I think on this post you will find some different perspectives. Our approach is try to eat good protein (lean meats, fish, eggs), good carbs (veggies, some tubars and fruit) and good fats (nuts, seeds, avocados, olive / coconut oils). Areas of difficulty, especially during the holidays, are sugar, alcohol and high saturated fat foods. Try to avoid in your grazing! I can give some perspective on grazing too if you'd like! Would need to know a little more about your grazing tactics Take Care, Brian - Derived Beings / CrossFit Initium
Take Care, Brian - Derived Beings / CrossFit Initium
The first way is to enjoy every minute of the holiday season and hit it hard in January ... or..... Your best line of defense is knowledge. There are are a lot of tasty, healthy foods to eat through the holidays that won't leave you feeling like you have been shorted anything or couldn't join in on the fun. Here is a list of the good: Green beans, turkey, cranberries, sweet potatoes (plain that is), veggie trays, fruit platters, all lean meats, fish, seafood, shrimp cocktail, scallops, salads and there are a host of flavorful desserts made with *splenda with reduced fat and calories. Worst holiday food offenders: Foods to totally avoid unless using sensibility! Ooooh nooo.... ranking #1 on the "no-no" list... PECAN PIE... so sad but true ... Mashed potatoes marshmallow and sugar laden sweet potatoes Gravy Eggs Benedict Breakfast casserole Eggnog Muffins, cinnamon rolls Cheese cake, cakes, bars ... pretty much all sweets Biscuits and gravy Cream pies, berry pies I hope that this list helps you navigate through the holiday eating "goods" and "bads". Blessings and have a great holiday season.
While there's no short list of foods that we can blame for holiday weight gain, there are a few you may certainly benefit from skipping. Pecan pie is one. Despite the health attributes of pecans, the high sugar, fat and calorie content of this pie makes it a disaster (have a sliver of pumpkin pie or a baked apple instead). Egg nog is another one that is extremely high in calories and fat, whether homemade or store bought, egg nog is not a diet-friendly drink. Cinnamon buns and caramel rolls, commonly served at holiday breakfasts (or at the mall food court), are calorie, sugar and fat disaters. And of course, alcohol. Keep alcohol consumption to a minimum and stick with wine (red, white or blush) or beer (preferably light) instead of mixed cocktails that carry a lot of calories and slide down easier as the night continues.
I am not a physician or a nutritionist so that leaves me out of the medical loop, but I can give you a few no brainers... Too much sodium is not a good thing. This can cause water retention in a big way if you are sensitive to it. You can easily triple your daily intake during holiday feasts. Eating the unhealthy refined carbs in abundance can leave you feeling bloated and lethargic. Not consuming enough fiber in healthy unrefined carbs and not drinking enough water during the holidays can leave you.... well.... constipated and wishing you had done things differently. On a side note, if you are young, healthy, active, and you have no medical concerns such as diabetes... I am going to guess you will do just fine during the holidays.
Great question. For some people, relaxing a little of their diet and exercise routine for a week or two around the holiday won’t have a lasting negative impact and may even revive their healthy routine come New Years. And then there’s rest of us who use the “it’s the holidays” excuse anytime between Halloween and New Years (or Superbowl, or Valentine’s Day) as a reason to over indulge. Believe it or not, many people find themselves 5 lbs heavier come spring, and those pounds are still there come next Thanksgiving. So my best advice is to “relax” your diet and possibly your exercise routine during the holidays by allowing yourself to enjoy some of whatever treats are available (that you truly desire) while at social gatherings but keep it healthy at every other eating occasion. Remain active. This will not only help negate some of the excess calories you consume but believe it or not, it will help you be more in-tuned with your hunger cues and keep your stress level low, which often triggers us to over eat. By sticking with your healthy eating and exercise habits as much as possible throughout the season, it’ll be easier to keep the habits going past the New Year when everyone else is struggling to adapt new health habits.
1. Am I still hungry? 2. Am I eating just because it's available? 3. Is this food giving my body nutrient dense calories, or is this empty nutrition. Depending on your answer you might choose one way or another. It's important to understand that you can easily undo a year or mores worth of good habit instillation by letting it all go over the holidays (or any other time for that matter). When we eat super-abnormally charged food items that trigger our brain into that easy sugar and fat dependent trap it's much like a drug addict or alcoholic who takes just one drink and ends up back at square one again. Ask yourself if you're willing to go through all that again. And if you are gluten sensitive for example, it can take weeks for your body to recover from the damage caused to your intestinal wall and autoimmune response. My advice? Go into the holidays with a plan of eating mindful of your goals.
My advice to you is this: 1. Stay hydrated throughout your day. This helps with decreasing hunger dramatically. Best choice is always water, or water with slices of lemon or lime. 2. Maintain a regular meal plan if possible. Instead of skipping meals only to gorge at a buffet or party platter line is a dangerous practice. Your insulin level take a serious hit throughout the day, and you're more likely to over-indulge and eat way past the point of satiation. By eating your regular meals throughout the day, you're less likely to over eat period. 3. Ask yourself if you are actually hungry. Before you open your mouth to swallow "just one more bon-bon" stop and check if you are really hungry. If you could eat a steamed fish and broccolli, then go for it! But if you think again, you're eating just because it's available. Put the chocolate down, pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself on noticing and practicing the difference between eating for hunger and eating just because you can. There's a big difference. 4. Fill up on veggies and protein first. With the higher nutrition and fiber content, your much more likely to experience satiation and satiety than if you eat nutrient poor processed foods. Hope these little tips help!
I tend to agree - the holidays are about enjoying time with family & firends and they often involve unique, enjoyable, albeit less-than-healthy, food-related customs, traditions, and events. The trick is keeping holiday food indulgences to a few separate, memorable occasions scattered throughout the season and not a month (plus) string of over-the-top meal-to-meal excessiveness. So go ahead and enjoy and get back on track at the next meal. Happy Holidays!