The holiday season is here and whether you live in the Northern or Southern hemisphere, this is the season where food becomes the focus point of every discussion. What are we eating for thanksgiving? What are we eating for Christmas? Did you taste that delicious pastry from that pop-up Christmas shop? I don’t feel like cooking tonight, let’s get takeaways. It becomes more and more difficult to say yes to the healthy options and no to the “holiday” foods.
The difficulty, in my opinion, originates from the eyes. A burger and fries look a lot more appetizing compared to a burger and salad. The second obstacle to healthy eating is that most people are underprepared when leaving the house. This leads to bad decision making rather than healthy ones (packing healthy snacks from home versus stopping and buying a chocolate and fizzy drink for lunch). How can one be more prepared? For example, when you go to a braai (a barbeque), take some healthier options for the group to enjoy as snacks or offer to take a salad to ensure you balance your plate with some greens.
Whether you find yourself in winter or summer this holiday season, try to avoid those extra kilograms to ensure that this is truly the season to be jolly! This will also mean that your 2021 resolution doesn’t need to be “losing my holiday weight” but can be something more exciting like “I want to run 10km extra per week”.
Summer-Loving
Healthier options to consider for summer:
- Replace your salty crisps with cucumber, small carrots, celery sticks and raw peppers that you dip into hummus.
- Try new summer dishes by googling interesting salads to enjoy at the barbeque or invite some friends over for breakfast and try your hand at making beautiful smoothie bowls. This will help to keep healthy food interesting. I am sure you will impress your guests.
- Pack some fruit for the beach and replace ice-cream every day with the sweetness of summer fruits. Of course, you should still eat ice-cream, but the balance is key.
- Summer is the time for enjoying drinks and being in the sun. Make sure to have enough water in between alcoholic beverages. This will also help to stay hydrated.
Winter-Wonderland
Healthier options to consider for winter:
- Hot cocoa instead of sugary hot chocolate. Also try different types of milk (almond; oat etc.) for some delicious alternatives. Try to avoid adding sugar to your drink.
- Buy different flavored teas (with sweet infusion) and enjoy after dinner instead of eating something sweet. My favorite is fresh mint leaves and honey.
- Have a hot bowl of oatmeal to warm up in the morning. Use some toppings (coconut flakes; nuts; seeds; honey etc.) in moderation. For extra protein mix 1 teaspoon nut butter into your oats.
- Not feeling like salad in the cold? Chose a healthier and warm lunch option. Make yourself an omelet or scrambled eggs. Cook a little extra at night and enjoy leftovers for lunch. Try some healthy homemade soup recipes.
All around the world
Healthier options to consider:
- Eat popcorn, nuts or vegetable crisps instead of regular crisps.
- Cut out sugar from your warm beverages (Consider this example: 5 cups of coffee a day with 2 spoons of sugar. This equates to 42 grams of sugar daily. To put this into perspective – a small chocolate bar is between 38 – 48 grams of sugar).
- Try to avoid keeping temptation in the house. Don’t buy things you don’t want to eat!
- Hard work pays off. Rewarding yourself with guilty pleasures is key for maintaining a healthy and balanced diet.
My guilty pleasures on holiday in the past:
You are such an inspiration I love this blog!