Parties, dinners, family get-togethers…’tis the season
to overindulge. But before you fall off the health wagon, we asked three
experts in nutrition and healthful living to share their top tips for
navigating the holidays. (We bet you never thought of doing a
post-Thanksgiving family yoga session in your living room.) Read on for
some sage advice.
- Start each morning with lemon water. It’s high in vitamin C
and immediately boosts the immune system as well as cleanses the mouth,
stomach and liver. Also, drink lemon water after a heavy meal to aid
with digestion. Don’t deprive yourself! When you feel like eating
desserts, eat them, but make sure it’s as natural as possible. If you
aren’t getting nutrition and antioxidants from your desserts, don’t eat
them! Replace all junk foods with natural alternatives, including raw
chocolate, cashew cheesecake, gluten-free cookie dough balls made with
almonds, ice cream made with nuts or apple crumble. Desserts should
nourish your body — have your cake and eat it, too.
- Eat as many raw whole foods as possible. Whole foods are
extremely nutrient rich and help us to feel light and positive. Add raw
whole elements to your cooked meals like fresh parsley, cilantro,
cucumber, celery and avocado to soups, pastas, rice, quinoa and curries.
- Commit to staying away from refined white sugar. Go for natural
sugars instead like dates, honey, maple syrup and fruits. White sugar
can create anxiety and stress on the body, especially the digestive
system.
Tara Stiles, celebrity yogi and the author of Make Your Own Rules Diet
- Time can get sucked during the holidays while lazing around with
friends and family. Take advantage of the together time by getting
everyone involved in an energy-boosting activity. I have loads of
routines you can practice with on YouTube right in the living room.
- Get in the kitchen. Make it a group effort to cook, clean and
celebrate being together. When more people have a hand in helping with
the process, it helps to enjoy the meal more. Helping with cleanup gives
everyone something to do besides post-meal grazing.
- Start the day right. Take time for yourself in the morning to go for
a walk, do a simple meditation or journal. Whatever your favorite thing
to do to center yourself is, do it. You’ll feel more spacious during
the day, even when the house gets filled with everyone.
- Set up your day for success: You are 30 percent more likely
to eat right all day long if you start the day right. Especially in the
holiday craze, I recommend you enjoy a blended superfood smoothie for
breakfast and ensure all of your nutritional needs are met. Here is the
Daily 5 smoothie recipe (30 seconds in any blender and you are out the
door): 1 cup seasonal fruit (try a banana and frozen berries), 2 leaves
of kale or a handful of spinach, 4 ounces water or coconut water, 1
tablespoon spirulina or hemp seeds, 1 tablespoon almond butter. Blend and enjoy!
- Two bite rule: Two bites is enough to “taste” and
“experience.” Remember that sugar and runaway carbohydrates can impact
your health on many levels, so it’s best to keep food devoid of
nutritional benefits to a two bite maximum.
- A salad a day provides balance: Much like a morning
smoothie can catapult your health for the day, a fresh plant-powered
salad can provide you with extra minerals and enzymes benefiting how
your body responds to your entire meal. When you combine foods on your
holiday plate, try to remember this idea for balance and instead of
combining carbohydrates and denser proteins (like turkey and potatoes),
try instead the protein and a salad.
- Food forgiveness: If you find that you have a slip-up where
you really don’t feel good about your food choices during the holiday
season, quickly forgive yourself and start your healthy lifestyle again
at your next meal, don’t “wait until Monday.” Your health is cumulative
and you want to start Monday off with a bang!
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