These tips for staying healthy this holiday season will help you balance happiness and health so you feel great at the end of the night – and at the end of the season!
The holiday season is almost here
This time of year is known to be a time of abundant enjoyment. From holiday parties to cookie exchanges to having a boozy drink more often, ditching your usual healthy living habits can leave you feeling more than a little hungry in the New Year.
We all want to enjoy the best parts of the season, but not at the expense of our health or energy. If you’re reaching for extra drinks or going back for more cookies to manage your holiday stress, pause and ask yourself why. Are there other ways you could relieve this pressure?
The squiggly line effect is in full force this season. Of course we long for lighter weeks if our weekends are full of parties. If your weekends are full of social activities, make sure to focus on your green habits during the week. Stay active, feel good, enjoy your favorite fruits and vegetables, and make balanced food choices on the days in between.
Ways to stay healthy this holiday season
Here are some tips to stay healthy this holiday season while also taking advantage of her best deals.
Pre-Game For The Party
For healthy food – not drink! Grab a salad or a hearty, nutritious snack before heading to a holiday party. My goal is always to satisfy my appetite but not get so full that I don’t want anything tasty to eat. You don’t want to rely on cheese and crackers to satisfy your hunger, and crudités alone don’t make a dinner. A simple salad before you go will help fill you up. Then you won’t be hungry when you arrive and dive straight into the cheese (#speakingfromexperience!)
Sip Do not swallow
Instead of choosing a drink that you’ll drink and need a refill, tap into what you want most and what you’ll taste. My drink of choice – juicy red wine split into a few small pots.
I’ve also noticed that I drink drinks much more slowly if I don’t hold them. So my perfect storm for unconscious drinkers is standing around chatting at a party. I have a very loose rule that if I’m standing I have a mocktail or club soda (at least for drink #2). if it’s a sit-down party, I’ll enjoy a real drink. If you can, rest your drink on a mantle or table between sips. Or better yet – sit back and enjoy it with a meal. Also, sip a few glasses of water overnight.
Another tip my mom once told me: water down your wine. While I was a little apprehensive about the wine when he suggested mixing club soda into my white wine, this is actually a great way to get the taste of wine with half the results. I flipped the script and instead of putting water in my wine, I added a splash of wine to the club soda so I had wine flavored club soda!
Add additional green beans to the green bean pot
One of my all-time favorite tips for a potluck event is to bring a healthier dish to share. That doesn’t mean you show up with something blah that no one eats! There are so many delicious (and creative) takes on comfort food classics. Take something people recognize, like green bean casserole, and make a slightly healthier version. No one will ever know the difference. (Here is a good recipe to try!) Whatever you bring to the potluck, make it something you’ll love and enjoy too. My go-to is often a massaged kale salad or this fall harvest salad.
Drink more tea!
Not only does a steaming mug of tea warm you up on chilly afternoons, but tea counts towards your daily hydration needs and can help you stay hydrated when ice water sounds cold.
There are so many amazing holiday tea flavors – like Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride or Cranberry Vanilla Wonderland – and they have flavors that will satisfy your post-lunch sweet tooth instead of reaching for the cookie sheet. Add a teaspoon of honey for some natural sweetener if you need a little more.
And if you’ve overindulged, peppermint tea can help with digestion. These drops of mint tea they are my favorite for after dinner because they contain a little cane sugar and are easy to put in hot water. No caffeine either.
Think ahead and make a plan
Make a mental plan for the night (or the season!) Whether you’re balancing your sleepovers with home-cooked meals the next day or simply making a party plan in your head before you leave, the more mindfulness you can practice the better. Think of the events that follow: you’ll eat your mom’s famous pie at Christmas and enjoy bourbon eggnog on New Year’s. I love the phrase “You can have it all. just not all at once.”
“Try everything”
Of course you want to experience everything the dessert buffet has to offer, but you don’t have to eat a huge slice of every cake there to try them. Small portions of rich foods allow you to enjoy them without leaving you full and lethargic. Focus on how you want to feel at the end of the night.
Get out
Fresh air is good for EVERYTHING. And physical activity contributes significantly to improving your mood. Bundle up and remember why winter rides are the best. Whether you enjoy cross country skiing or just want to take a walk with family and friends, get out! I like to walk in the late afternoon when I tend to get sleepy. It’s as energizing as a power nap!
Do you know what an amazing workout is? SLEDDING! And snow wars. And building a snowman. Also pulling children on a sled.
Now if only we had some snow here….!
