Your Survival Eating and Stress Roadmap for Holiday and Social Gatherings
Next week is Thanksgiving and this year will look very different than past years. We are going to be hosting Thanksgiving I think the only other guests may be my brother in law, sister in law, nephew and my mom Even though we have the small gathering we are still going to make the full meal. To be honest I tried to pare down the menu but that got vetoed by the kids. The good news is that my son will make potatoes, stuffing and turkey and I’ll make a pie, couple of vegetable dishes.
Holidays are wonderful occasions but I want to load you with 10 strategies to make sure you don’t over indulge and really enjoy this year. We’ve had so many challenges this 2020 and I want to help you enjoy this season as best as possible to end this year on an up note leading into 2021.
10 Tips to Handle Holiday Eating and Gatherings
1) Don’t eat everything on the buffet table, check out what the choices are and determine what you really want to eat. Check out all the options before you put anything on your plate
2) Take 10 seconds or a couple of breaths before taking seconds. And don’t take seconds just because you see others taking seconds
3) Distance yourself from buffets. If it’s out of reach-it’s harder to access the food. You’re less likely to grab just one more cookie/meatball/slice of cheese
4) Don’t go hungry to a gathering. Some think if they don’t eat breakfast or lunch then they can eat more at the holiday party then that’s a great idea. So wrong-first of all I never encourage skipping meals; second you get cranky and irritable; when you’re very hungry you never make good choices. Make sure you have healthy choices the day of the function/gathering
5) Watch out for drinks-egg nog or other festive drinks can be very calorie dense, aim for water or sparking seltzer for better more refreshing choices
6) Make room for veggies-ideally ½ your plate should be filled with vegetables! So when you’re checking out the buffet table-fill that plate with healthy nutrient dense vegetables. This results in less room for other foods
7) Offer to bring a healthy dish. And make sure this is something that you like and enjoy. I’m known to bring a fruit platter or veggies and hummus to gatherings. My work friends always ask me to bring this kale and sweet potato dish that obviously is a healthy choice
8) When you go shopping, go with a list and a contently full belly-if you shop hungry you’re more likely to make impulse purchases and not healthy choices
9) Pay attention to what really matters-spending time with friends, coworkers or loved ones. Enjoy their company, conversation, maybe play a game
10) Enjoy yourself. This is not the time to beat yourself up or guild yourself because you ate 3 cookies! Celebrations should be celebratory and we don’t want to rack ourselves with guilt
Transcript of this Episode
Andrea Heyman 00:00 Hi friends, it's Andrea Heyman here with another episode of Adventures In Feeding My Fam. Next week is Thanksgiving. How many of you are Thanksgiving lovers? I feel like so many people absolutely love this holiday. And it kind of kicks off the holiday season in general. But I know that this year is going to look very, very different than past years, we're actually gonna be hosting Thanksgiving, this here. I think the only other guests maybe my brother in law's sister in law, my nephew and my mom. And then the four of us because my one son is overseas right now for doing a gap year program, so he won't be with us, even though we're gonna have a smaller gathering, compared to last year, which was with my extended family out in Oregon. And it was tons tons tons of family members. Because I have 33 first cousins on that side. Most of us already have our own kids. So it's just a huge gathering. Anyway, this year is going to look so much different than that. I tried to pare down the menu, but that really got vetoed by the kids. The good news is that my one son is going to make stuffing, potatoes and Turkey. So I'll make pie a couple of sides and my sister in law will do a little bit to the holidays are wonderful occasions. But I want to prepare you with some 10 strategies to make sure that you don't overindulge this holiday season. We've had so many challenges in 2020. And I want to help you enjoy the season as best as possible and end this year on an up note eating into 2021. But first, I wanted you guys to get excited because next week I'm going to be releasing my pantry cooking mini course. So I had the pleasure to work with a professional group recently, and they wanted to hear about tips for making meals from pantry staples. I took that talk their feedback and incorporated their questions and created this mini course for you. I'll have A 017 Final Copy AIFMF Page 1 of 4 Transcribed by https://otter.ai several bonuses including the best ways to use the beans and lentils, and five ingredient pantry meals as well. And then I'm also going to include some pre loaded instacart shopping lists so that you can get all the ingredients for my specific ideas sent directly to your home without any fuss. I'll tell you more about it, but it's going to be super convenient and a fantastic resource for you. And as always, if you guys are interested in working one on one with me, you can sign up for one of my discovery phone calls, which are free and we can talk about ways I can help you. There are only a few spots available in the next week or so. So check out the website adventures in feeding my fam.com backslash work hyphen with hyphen, mi ventures and feeding my family is a weekly podcast discussing the challenges and fun around feeding your family healthy meals. I'm Andrea Heyman, and I've been a registered dietician for over 25 years. So I know the importance of good nutrition. But I'm also a mom of three so I understand the challenges in tumor that comes along with trying to make this happen. In this podcast, I'll share my tips, tricks and menus, but also share the stories and food prep failures that come along the way to interview guests. We'll discuss family food traditions, how to strengthen bonds around the family table, as well as their favorite family recipes. There isn't one right way to feed your family. But there are countless stories, you can take bits and pieces and learn from all of them. It is that time of year again with the holiday parties and treats available everywhere you look. I swear the days that I go into the office now. There are always in the kitchen, platters of leftovers, cookies, cakes, all kinds of treats candies, of course. And then clients friends and co workers like to gift us or share their favorite cookies and chocolates, and they all look so good. I always wanted to try all of them. But all of that makes healthy eating really, really hard. And it's easy to get swept up in the holiday season. While this year's festivities are going to look quite different. I don't even know if my department at work is going to have a holiday party this year. And I actually really love our holiday party because we are a small department of eight people and we get along really well. And I love these annual gatherings and I don't even know what that's gonna look like this year. However, All the feasts and parties that mark this season can really tax the waistline. And if you want to hear why it's important to help that weight gain, then you can go back and check out Episode 14 where I talk about that holiday weight gain and why it's important to put a stop to it. Anyway, I've got 10 tips here to talk about how you can kind of approach holiday eating so that you don't deprive yourself so that you don't only eat boring foods. And I also don't want you to take the holiday season enjoying those treats with guilt, we want to avoid that. So having a plan beforehand can prevent making go on a diet, one of your New Year's resolutions. All right, so let's dive into this. Tip number one, don't eat everything on the buffet table, I recommend checking out what is on the buffet table, and seeing what all the choices are. And then determining what you really want to eat. You don't have to eat everything, you can select your favorite. Check out all the options before you put anything on your plate. Strategy number two, take 10 seconds or a couple of breaths before taking seconds. I know that when I see others, especially if we're sitting at 017 Final Copy AIFMF Page 2 of 4 Transcribed by https://otter.ai a family table, and people are taking additional portions, I kind of without even thinking about it always go and take a second portion. But if I were to take 10 seconds, or just a couple of deep breaths, I could really have some space to think about Am I really hungry? Do I really want that second portion or am I just doing it because I'm seeing others taking it or because it's out of habit. Tip number three, distancing yourself from the buffets. So if you're at a function where there is a base base set up, definitely either sit far away from it or stand far away from it. If you are within arm's reach of that buffet table, it's so easy just to pop another chocolate or another cookie into your mouth. Or whether it's a meatball or a slice of cheese. And that's a little bit of not being so aware of what you're eating. But it can help minimize that. Strategy number four, don't go hungry to a gathering. Some people think it makes a lot of sense. If you don't eat all day before a function because you know there's going to be a lot of food there. That is probably in my experience. Not a good idea. Because first of all, I never encouraged skipping meals. Second of all, you get super cranky and irritable and then the day's not that much fun. And when you're hungry, you never really make good food choices. If you go to a holiday function or meal, super super hungry, you are probably going to pile on your plate with food because you're going to justify it in your mind. Oh I haven't eaten all day so I can eat all these things. Now. Tip number five Watch out for the drinks, eggnog or other festive drinks can be really calorically dense. So aim for water or sparkling seltzer for better or more refreshing choices. Number six, make room for veggies. Ideally, half of your plate should be filled with vegetables. So when you're checking out the buffet or what the choices are, filled that plate with healthy nutrient dense vegetables, and then obviously if half your plate is filled with vegetables, you are then going to have less room for other foods on your plate. Tip number seven, if you are going to a friend or family member's house offered to bring a healthy dish. I am notorious for offering to bring a fruit platter or a vegetable and hummus dish. Because I know as long as there's something there that I really enjoy eating, that's a healthy choice. I've got that to fall back on. My work friends often asked me to bring this sauteed kale and sweet potato dish that I've made in the past and obviously that's a good healthy choice. So anything that you know that you will eat that you enjoy, that's a good healthy dish. That's what you should offer to bring. Tip number eight when you go grocery shopping go with the list and a full content belly. I find that when I shop with an empty stomach, I make all kinds of impulse purchases. And not that it's typically not the best choices. So definitely do not go shopping on an empty stomach. And secondly, go with a grocery list. Again, a list is gonna keep you nice and efficient and keep you from wandering around in the store and stumbling upon those holiday decisions. glaze of yummy looking things. Tip number nine. Pay attention to what really matters. Spending time with friends, your co workers, your loved ones, enjoy their company, enjoy their conversation, maybe play a game, put less emphasis on the food, and focus more on the company that you're keeping. And finally, my final tip, enjoy yourself. I want you to enjoy treats on holidays and special occasions. I just want you to do it mindfully, I do not 017 Final Copy AIFMF Page 3 of 4 Transcribed by https://otter.ai want you to beat yourself up. Because you ate three cookies. Celebrations should be celebratory, not punitive, or an opportunity to start the negative self talk in our heads. We don't want to rack ourselves with guilt. So there we are. Those 10 tips can really help you eat better at family functions and holiday gatherings. Thanks for listening to today's episode, I hope it was helpful. Sometimes just talking about these ideas is super helpful and we can all help support each other with our ideas, tips and advice. The best place to do that is on my Facebook group called Adventures of eating my fam. I'll post over there just asking for everyone's strategies for eating healthy around the holidays, and really get the conversation going. If you liked this episode, it would mean a lot if you took a minute to leave me a review and share this podcast. That way other busy moms like you can be encouraged by the episodes I have to share. I would love to connect with you on social media on Instagram and adventures in feeding my fam. Again, my facebook group is called adventures and feeding my fam. And as I mentioned before, if you're interested in hopping on one of those 30 minute free discovery calls, they are available and the link is also going to be in the show notes. Until next time, take care