How to Enjoy Gluten-Free Holiday Meals Stress-Free
- PUBLISHED:
- UPDATED:
- 06/19/2020
- •
- BY KYMBERLEY PEKRUL
- •
- THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS
Stay Healthy with our Holiday Eating Survival Guide
Has eating healthy during the holidays got you feeling more than a little anxious?
Celebrations are part of this joyous season for a good reason: to help you enjoy the true reason for the season. So, to make it easy to navigate when it’s time to refuel, we’ve pulled together ten tips to help de-stress and keep your weight stable during this celebratory season with our holiday survival guide.
1. Eat Santa Eat!
Don’t skip meals just because you’re busy. Eat breakfast, lunch, and any of your usual energy boosters throughout the day. When you skip meals to reserve calories, you often end up overeating. If you’re attending a party held later in the evening, a small snack beforehand, such as raw vegetables or nuts, will help you manage your appetite.
2. Eat the awesomeness of nature’s bounty!
Identify healthy food options and what will be your big indulgences. Allow yourself to enjoy your favorite holiday foods without abandoning your healthy eating habits. Include fresh raw veggies, salsa, guacamole, chicken kebabs, salmon, and shrimp.
3. Slow down to eat.
If you’re eating your meal in less than 20 minutes, try slowing it down. Savor, smell, and fully taste each delicious bite to make eating an enjoyable sensory activity!
4. Eliminate potential digestive problems.
Chewing your food well allows you to absorb more nutrients from what you eat. Notice the texture of your food, and finish swallowing completely before taking another bite!
5. Focus on eating and breathing while chewing.
Inhale deeply between each bite, taking full conscious breaths to burn all those nutrients your body is absorbing. When you breathe more, you burn more!
6. Avoid grazing.
Wait for the food to come to you. At most parties, the more exciting options typically appear on passed platters; waiting for the staggered service will also slow down your eating and help you to eat less.
7. BYOHF (Bring Your Own Healthy Foods).
While you may not always have the option of contributing a dish, when or if the opportunity arises, bring the healthy foods you want to experience. Ease your party host’s burden by adding your healthy spin to the menu; volunteer to get or make a food item, especially if dietary restrictions present an added concern.
8. Let go of the guilt.
Embrace the season of desserts. Avoiding desserts during holiday parties is next to impossible. With a little mindful and intuitive eating, you can satisfy your sweet tooth without overeating. Maximize your holiday food choices by eating “ONLY” until you are 75% full, not stuffed. Consider the healthy dishes you want to eat while leaving room for your favorite treat, and you won’t be denying yourself the pleasure of including dessert while eating healthy.
9. Plan for when you get the munchies.
When you’re extremely busy during the holiday bustle with errands and shopping, be sure to take time to refuel your body in a way that serves your body well. Ditch the grab-and-go food court whenever you can. Choose a restaurant where you can escape loud sounds and distractions. Loud music and sounds can speed up the rate at which you eat and cause you to eat more. If you’re dead set on keeping a tight schedule, bring along a snack bag with nuts, dried fruits, or granola; these types of energy-boosting foods can fill you up until you find time for a healthy meal.
10. Give yourself gratitude.
Think about and appreciate the food you digest to become content and relaxed as you dine while boosting your metabolism while giving your stomach time to become satisfied!
A Christmas message from me, to you...
Thank you for being a part of my world and allowing me to be part of yours throughout the past year. Whether you’ve read my emails and posts here on the website, made, liked, or shared my recipes, or hung out with me on social media, it means the world to me, and I’m very grateful, so thank you!
Without a doubt, the past months have been stressful. 2020 has been anything but ordinary, given the COVID pandemic.
Despite the personal and professional hardships and losses that have touched our lives, I consider myself and our family very fortunate, very blessed, and thankful.
I can work at home, cook, and write in a job I love, and I believe in some little way that I might help others in their daily lives.
- My family has been in reasonably good health throughout the year.
- We have plenty to eat to fill our bellies while many struggle to feed their families.
- We go to sleep at night with the heat on and a roof over our heads while too many seek shelter in a vehicle or homeless shelter.
Our misfortunes and inconveniences do not compare to the millions of people hurt, hungry, and those who suffer far worse.
My heart goes out to the medical personnel and first responders who have worked tirelessly on the front lines for months, putting their lives on the line and sacrificing so much. I send my deepest sympathy to those who have lost a family member or a friend to the virus.
As we all bid a happy farewell to this challenging year, I send my wishes for a healthy and happy 2020 holiday, a very Merry Christmas to share with those who are special to you, whatever that looks like, a New Year and 2021 filled with every good thing!
Stay hopeful and strong. Embrace and appreciate all the times you’re able to spend with loved ones gathered around your table.
If you can travel this holiday season, check out this article before heading out on your travel adventures.
I look forward to your visits to my kitchen and my blog in the year ahead.
Merry Christmas,
XXO
Kymberley
