It’s that time of year where the temperature is cooler, the holiday drinks are out,  and warm desserts are calling your name! 

It can be difficult to stay on track of your goals during this busy time period as there are several planned dinner events, stress from christmas shopping lists, and lazy days you just want to cozy up in bed and watch holiday movies. For this blog post I want to share some important tips and tricks to help you be mindful during this time. 

Bake with whole ingredients: 

Baking is an integral part of the holidays and a great way to get involved with your friends and family. However, it may get difficult to manage the excess sugar and baked goodies and as a result make you feel sick and sluggish. To help satisfy those sweet cravings while optimizing your nutrition, a solution can be to bake desserts with whole and healthy ingredients. For instance you can incorporate ingredients like raw dates, unsweetened honey, applesauce or maple syrup as a sugar substitute. Additionally, rolled oats,  whole wheat flour, pumpkin, zucchini, unsweetened nut butters, full fat greek yogurt, or unsalted nuts can also be added for some additional protein, fat and fibre. Always keep your portion in mind when you are having rich foods.
Be mindful and take your time 

Dinner parties can get overwhelming with the copious amount of mouth watering dishes and drinks. It’s important that you don't binge and splurge on certain foods and suffer an intense food coma throughout the duration of the night. Before picking your foods, take your time and look around to see what appeals to you. Portion out the foods in moderation as there is always an opportunity for second rounds. By being mindful about what goes on your plate not only will you eat to your stomach's desire, it will prevent you from throwing away and wasting any extra food. 

Alcohol and Sweetened Beverages 

You may notice that your alcohol consumption increases throughout the holidays with more family functions and friendly gatherings. Likewise, the desire for warm holiday lattes and hot chocolate also increases. These drinks can be loaded with empty calories and sugar with low nutritional benefit. However, this does not mean completely avoiding these items as they are a part of what makes the holidays fun. Try adding a sprinkle of cinnamon to your regular latte for a more holiday feel. Just keep in mind that these drinks are not to replace your daily water or food intake. When it's not sunny out and we are sweating less it can be easy to forget to consume liquids to stay hydrated. 

Have Fun! 

With the stress from shopping, family commitments and the year ending, nutrition and health should not be another stress factor. Take time to relax and enjoy the time off surrounded by loved ones. If anything food should be a way for families to come together and celebrate.

Below is a recipe for a fun holiday treat, which is also a part of my meal plan program!