Healthier Holidays

Written By Kate Peterson

The holidays are in full swing and you know what that means…FOOD.

And not only food, but many foods that you don’t get any other time of the year other than the holidays.

Now if your holiday season survival plan includes trying to be really good this holiday season and avoiding many of your favorite treats, then listen up.

You can still eat all the foods you love without totally going off the rails over the next month.

Here are some of my top tips for a healthier holiday season!

Make healthy recipe swaps when possible

Listen, there are just some recipe swaps that don’t make sense. I’m not telling you to swap out mashed banana for butter in your great grandma’s super secret sugar cookie recipe. That would just be sad! But whenever possible, think about swapping ingredients into dishes that lighten the dish up on saturated fat and sugar without completely changing the taste and the joy of the dish.

Some of my favorite simple swaps are:

  • Oil > applesauce

  • Heavy cream > half and half or 1% milk

  • Cream cheese > Greek yogurt

  • Sour cream > Greek yogurt

  • Butter > mashed banana or pumpkin puree

  • Sugar > cut back by ¼ or ⅓ cup

Try a lightened up recipe swap in one of my favorite party appetizers, spinach dip!

Greek yogurt spinach dip

  • 8 oz frozen spinach, defrosted and drained

  • 2 c full fat greek yogurt

  • 4 oz cream cheese, room temperature

  • 8-oz can water chestnuts, drained

  • 1 tsp kosher salt

  • ½ tsp onion powder

  • ½ tsp garlic powder

  • ½ tsp dried parsley

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Dip veggies or crackers or use as a protein-packed sandwich spread!

Aim for 5 fruits and veggies per day

Getting enough fruits and veggies in throughout the day is hard enough for most people on a regular day, let alone a day packed with holiday parties and goodies. Make it your goal to get at least 5 servings of fruit OR veggies in your day (your fist is a good guide for one serving size). Including one fruit or veggie with each meal and each snack is an easy way to boost your veggie intake.

Try this spin on a boring old lettuce salad:

Beet salad with orange yogurt dressing

4 large beets, roasted or 2 cans of beets

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 orange, zested, peeled, and segmented

¼ cup olive oil

¼ chopped parsley

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

2 Tbsp fresh orange juice

2 Tbsp honey

Flaky sea salt

Ground pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Toss beets with orange segments, olive oil, and parsley.

Whisk together vinegar, orange zest and juice, yogurt, and honey.

Spread yogurt dressing on a serving platter and top with beet mixture.

Sprinkle flaky sea salt and black pepper over top.

Bring a healthy dish to pass at parties

Whether you’re heading to a work party or a holiday bash, bring a dish that you would enjoy eating and fits your healthy holiday goals. Think about dishes that include fruits or veggies as the star.

If you’re looking for something sweet, try my go-to Pomegranate Dark Chocolate Bites! I’ve been making these for years and they’re always a hit. And as an added bonus, they take less than 10 minutes to assemble with no cooking!

Pomegranate Dark Chocolate Bites

2 ½ cups pomegranate seeds

A heaping ½ cup of dark chocolate chips

1 Tbsp sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS

Melt chocolate in microwave. Across 12 muffin cups, drop a dollop of chocolate then sprinkle a single layer of pomegranate seeds. Add another thin layer of chocolate, then another layer of pomegranate seeds. Sprinkle sea salt over top of each of the bites. Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving. Serve immediately after removing from the fridge and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Move your body

I’m a big believer in moving your body because it feels good, not because you’re trying to earn your meal or burn off a night of party food. Movement or exercise helps release endorphins which make you feel happy! Here are some simple ways to get movement in over the holidays:

Grab your pup or a family member to join you for a brisk walk around the block

Play a game of flag football in the backyard

Head out on a neighborhood walk to check out holiday decorations and lights

Join a holiday walk/run event, such as a turkey trot

Turn on your family’s favorite songs and have a dance party

Enjoy everything in moderation

Holiday traditions and foods are tied to SO many memories and emotions and I want you to be able to experience that! Remember that you can enjoy all foods throughout the holidays and you should not feel one ounce of guilt for doing so.

One thing that can really help is bringing mindfulness to eating times. Try to enjoy treats as distraction free as possible. Really allow yourself to be present with that food and enjoy every last bite. Research shows us that mindful eaters typically eat less food and are more satisfied than distracted eaters!

And remember, the holiday season is not the only time you can enjoy your favorite treats. You can make Thanksgiving dinner in July! You can make Christmas cookies in March! Remembering that you can and will enjoy these foods again can help take some of the urgency around eating allllll the foods right now.

Here’s to a healthy holiday season!

Kate

P.S. I’m running a 3 week mini course to help teach you how to ditch all the guilt and anxiety that comes with holiday eating! Beating Holiday Eating starts December 9 and costs less than you’ll spend on holiday drinks at Starbucks this year ;) Check out this page for more information and to get signed up!

Psst…if you sign up before Dec 4 you get a bonus 1:1 call with me!

Kate Peterson