If you’re like me, you’ve already ordered your turkey and are starting to fill the cupboards with your usual holiday treats.
Goal STOP! Hang on a minute.
Remember, this is the time of year when you always pack on the pounds. The time of year when you end up eating way more than you need and then feel guilty.
Every Christmas day, I bet you leave the table feeling as full as turkey a few hours early and then you’re eating again before you know it.
Nuts, figs, chocolates, cookies, mince pies, Christmas cake. Whatever it is, you’re eating it because it’s there and because you always do it at Christmas.
Well, it doesn’t have to be that way. You can change the habits of a lifetime!
So here are 10 top tips for creating a healthy Christmas menu:
1. Think twice before filling closets with things you would normally never buy.
Do you really need that huge tin of Quality Street or Roses chocolates?
Do people really mind if you have Belgian waffles in the house?
Do you really want such a big Christmas cake? (We used to end up throwing ours away at Easter every year before buying smaller ones!)
2. Resist all the buy one get one half price and BOGOF (buy one get one free) offers right now.
We all love a bargain and can easily fall into this trap, especially since we tend to be generous in spirit this time of year.
Supermarkets know this and they trust that so you can spend more money with them.
3. Treat Christmas as two or three days, not a week or even two weeks.
Eat your normal healthy diet before Christmas and after Boxing Day.
Then have the family member take home all the unhealthy things, so there are fewer temptations once Christmas is over.
4. On Christmas Day itself, for a cooked breakfast treat, go for poached eggs on a whole-grain muffin with roasted tomatoes and mushrooms. delicious!
5. At Christmas lunch, portion size is the killer.
Somehow, we always feel like we have to pile on our plate and/or have that second and third serving, no matter how full we are.
Eat slowly and stop when you are full. That way, you can enjoy the rest of the day instead of feeling bloated or suffering from horrible indigestion!
6. No matter how large the portion, make sure that 50% of your plate is made up of vegetables.
Minimize roasted vegetables, such as potatoes and parsnips, and increase steamed or boiled vegetables, such as carrots, Brussels sprouts, and peas.
7. Traditional turkey is the best meat choice. It has less fat and more protein than goose or duck, just be sure to avoid the skin.
8. Watch out for all the extra calories: Stuffing, bread sauce, cranberry sauce all add up.
Either you only have one side or very small portions of each.
9. Similar to the likes of Christmas pudding (my downfall!) and Christmas cake.
Do not deny it, if you love it. Just taste a little to really taste and don’t take too much of the brandy cream and butter!
10. Last but not least, alcohol.
The best to drink is champagne or dry cava so you can celebrate in style!
However, as always, remember that everything is in moderation.
Otherwise, drink long drinks like vodka or low-calorie gin and tonic and always alternate with large glasses of water.
So, top 10 tips for creating a healthy Christmas menu and you don’t need to feel like you’re missing out on anything.
The good news is that the usual success strategies apply. Christmas does not have to be any different. Keep enough healthy foods in the house so you always have healthy options, watch your portion sizes, and eat/drink more of the healthy options than the unhealthy ones! Enjoy!
