Shared meals and elaborate feasts often become the main focus for holiday celebrations. The traditional holiday meal with cheese and crackers, turkey and stuffing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie contains more than 75% of your daily calories, nearly twice the amount of fat and contains all of the sodium you should consume in one day…and all of this if you eat recommended serving sizes without having seconds.
Fortunately your holiday celebrations do not have to derail your health goals or leave you feeling tired and bloated. Follow a few of these helpful hints to take your holiday meal from bland to grand.
• Add color to your plate. Traditional holiday meals come in varying shades of brown and beige, which are typically the colors of added fat and starchy foods. Fruits and vegetables add a variety of colors and flavors to any dish. The more colorful your plate the more fruits and vegetables you consume, which means you get more fiber, fewer calories and less added sugar and fat
• Use smaller plates for your entrees. Smaller plates hold less food and prevent you from dipping a supersized portion
• Make bite-sized desserts such as crust-less pumpkin pie in muffin tins, chocolate mousse made in ice cube trays or bite-sized cookies cut from holiday-shaped cutters
• Put down your eating utensil between each bite. Focus on eating slowly and actually tasting each morsel of food you chew. This will lead to better digestion with less gas and bloating, while also giving your body time to signal when you actually become full. People who eat slower tend to eat less, even if they take longer at the table
• Follow the "one and done" rule. Take a single serving of each item, then clear your plate and leave the table. Take a 15-minute break before considering second helpings
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