It’s Never too Late to Start
Healthy Holiday Traditions
The holidays are a time to make lasting memories with family and friends, but why not up the ante by finding ways to stay fit while enjoying all of your seasonal traditions? Treating yourself is part of the holiday spirit – just be sure you’re still making room for wholesome activities like hikes around town or yoga classes in-between eggnog lattes!
Eating Healthy Doesn’t Mean Missing Out This Holiday Season
The holidays are a time for family, friends, and of course – delicious food! But with the abundance of unhealthy options out there, it can be hard to make the right choices for yourself and your loved ones. This holiday season, why not make a delicious change? Packed with fresh anti-oxidant power and full of flavor, the local plant-based options now available in nearly any grocery store provide an easy way to swap out fat for colorful treats. Eating healthy doesn’t mean you have to miss out on your favorite dishes this time of year – give yourself and your family the gift of long-term wellness without compromising taste!
Start With Colorful Fruits & Vegetables
The holidays are a great time to get creative with colorful fruits and vegetables that can be easily incorporated into your meals. From cranberry sauces to roasted squash, these nutrient-filled ingredients will help to keep everyone in your family feeling their best. Add some flair by using seasonal vegetables like kale, Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes or squash as side dishes – these options are both festive and nutritious!
Swap Unhealthy Ingredients For Plant-Based Alternatives
Nowadays there is an array of plant-based alternatives that make it easier than ever to enjoy classic holiday dishes while still keeping them light. Instead of heavy cream or butter in mashed potatoes or stuffing recipes, try non-dairy milk like oat milk or almond milk along with olive oil or vegan butter for added flavor. Use lentils instead of ground beef for tacos or chili; it’s just as flavorful but lighter on calories and fat. You can also use pureed cauliflower instead of dairy in macaroni and cheese recipes – no one will know the difference!
Make Healthier Desserts
No dinner would be complete without dessert! When baking cookies or cakes this season, use whole wheat flour instead of white flour for more fiber and nutrients. Swap out regular sugar for honey or maple syrup which is naturally sweeter yet still adds a delicious flavor. And try replacing shortening with applesauce when making pies or crumbles – you’ll cut down on fat while still getting all the same rich flavors you love. Whatever you bake this holiday season is sure to be a hit!
This holiday season, don’t let unhealthy eating habits stand in the way of enjoying special meals with friends and family. With so many tasty plant-based options now available at stores nationwide, eating healthy has never been easier -or tastier! Start by incorporating colorful fruits and vegetables into dishes throughout the day; then swap out unhealthy ingredients for plant-based alternatives such as lentils and non-dairy milks; finally finish off dinner with healthier desserts made from whole wheat flour and natural sweeteners like honey or maple syrup. Give yourself (and your loved ones) the gift of long-term wellness without compromising taste this holiday season – because eating healthily shouldn’t mean missing out on delicious food!
During the holidays it’s fun to gather with friends and family, so it’s natural to want to feel our best. But being fit is not easy when rich, tempting foods are as common as the Christmas carols streaming through the speakers at the mall.
If your family is like most, there are probably a few unhealthy treats that are part of your holiday tradition: cookies, cakes, pies, roasts, and creamy potatoes being just the start. But according to Dr. Cedric Bryant, Chief Exercise Physiologist with the American Council on Exercise, “A 160 lb. person would have to run at a moderate pace for 4 hours, swim for 5 hours or walk 30 miles” to burn off the typical holiday plate. Unless you plan on a 6 hour spin class the day of your feast, you might want to re-think your meal.
https://www.acefitness.org/about-ace/our-team/scientific-advisory/cedric-bryant/
As the holidays approach, it’s a perfect time to take stock of our culinary traditions and consider how we can ensure that future generations have healthier food memories. Making small changes such as revamping recipes with fresh ingredients or cutting out processed foods are great ways for families to come together in creating new healthy holiday customs. With December here, let’s get creative in developing scrumptious dishes that will delight us all!
A lot of the recipes we think of as the perfect holiday dishes are based on the dangerous and outdated traditional American diet, which is laden with animal-based, processed, high fat, high caloric foods. The good news is: It’s never too late to start new traditions. Revamping the holiday menu can be a great interactive project.
Give your holiday meals a major upgrade this year! Compile an impressive list of festive and nutritious recipes to get family and friends excited. Put together the perfect mix with mouth-watering whole foods, packed with color and flavor, while avoiding unhealthy fats, high sugar content or highly processed ingredients. You could even take some time for practice runs in the kitchen so you can nail it when the actual day arrives! And if that wasn’t enough motivation – don’t forget creating a document featuring all these amazing new dishes will really impress everyone around you 🙂
This holiday season, why not make a delicious change? Packed with fresh anti-oxidant power and full of flavor, the local plant-based options now available in nearly any grocery store provide an easy way to swap out fat for colorful treats. Eating healthy doesn’t mean you have to miss out on your favorite dishes this time of year – give yourself and your family the gift of long-term wellness without compromising taste!