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Healthy Holiday Eating Survival Guide

10 Easy Tips to Help De-Stress & Keep Your Weight Stable
From indulgent foods to multi-course meals, party prepping
(for two to a crowd), and last-minute shopping, when it’s time to refuel, try these ten easy tips to help de-stress and keep your weight stable this holiday season.

Has eating healthy during the holidays got you feeling more than a little anxious?

From indulgent foods to multi-course meals, party prepping (for two to a crowd), and last-minute shopping, when it’s time to refuel, try these ten easy tips to help de-stress and keep your weight stable this holiday season.

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 crazy busy during the holiday bustle with errands and shopping, be sure to make time 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 that 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!

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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’m able to work at home, to cook, and to write in a job I love that I believe in some little way 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 so many struggles 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 own 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.

I look forward to your visits to my kitchen and my blog in the year ahead.

Merry Christmas,

XXO

Kymberley

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Where there's a whisk, there's always a way to enjoy it gluten-free...

Kymberley @gfreedeliciously

Kymberley @gfreedeliciously

Hi, I'm Kymberley, the creator of GfreeDeliciously and the Amazing, Glorious Journey Programs. I pray that my work will inspire you to honor your body through God and Good Food from the inside out, all while enjoying your Amazing, Glorious Journey!

Take a peek at the behind GfreeDeliciously

Being creative, cooking, fresh veggies, the violin, decorating for holidays, sewing, hand-quilting, cowgirl boots, country music, fresh herbs in pots, blowing dandelions to the wind, walking barefoot in the grass, hanging out with eclectic interesting people, reading, writing, warm lazy summer days, and yoga!

Gluten, cilantro, mixed vegetables (the frozen kind I grew up with), negativism, rudeness, narcissism, overstaying a welcome,
not helping out, liars, promiscuity, cockiness, know-it-alls, being overly-dramatic, goal-less-ness, poor hygiene, chauvinism, lacking a sense of humor, excessive competitiveness, Laziness, horrifying spellers, people-bashing, criticism and mockery of others and their beliefs, flakiness (because flaky people are really unappealing), more swagger than substance, people who constantly manage others (those folks who think they have all the answers…)

Lambrusco, my iPad, popcorn suppers, dark chocolate, cookbooks, Almond-Rocca, historical romances, sun-bathing, weekend coffee with a good book in bed, PBS cooking shows, romantic comedies, cozy sweaters, fuzzy socks, and fragrant bubble baths with soft music and wine…

Say please and thank you, LAUGH, Pray often, ENCOURAGE others, Be KIND, HONEST, HAPPY, Keep your PROMISES, Be GRATEFUL, Wash your hands, FORGIVE yourself and others, LISTEN, Have FAITH, Be CONFIDENT, Honor your parents, CHERISH your children and grandchildren, TREASURE your family, ABIDE in GOD’s love, Be POLITE, Guard your HEART, SEEK your purpose, FEED your mind, body and soul, Be HOPEFUL, Resist temptation, Lay your burdens down, TRUST your gut, CONNECT with nature, Know that GOD made you perfect just the way you are, SERVE others, LIVE to love, Be COURAGEOUS, Shine bright, OPEN your mind, RESPECT differences, HONOR your inner hunger, SING loud, Be PROUD of who you are, Practice PATIENCE, Never give up, WEATHER the storms of life, Say I love you, LOVE one another

  • I’ve traveled to 32 states in the USA where I’ve enjoyed the food, history, people and the local culture while visiting.
  • Among the states, I’ve lived in are Arizona, California, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
  • My favorite island is Maui.
  • I’ve also been to Canada and Mexico.
  • I rode horses as a kid, and barrel-raced.
  • I broke my neck when I was 18 and went to senior prom in a neck brace.
  • As a little girl, I grew up living next door to my grandma and grandpa on a small lake in rural southern Michigan.
  • The first thing I learned to cook was pancakes.
  • The craziest thing I ever made was mint-flavored green cupcakes when I was 13. My family didn’t like them much…
  •  

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Kymberley @gfreedeliciously
Coach | Cook | Creator | Publisher

Meet Kymberley [Upson] Pekrul

A professional writer and self-taught Gfree lifestyle expert on [most] gluten-free things, I’ve always loved cooking and creating delicious foods from scratch for myself and those I love.

My journey began when everything I thought I knew about cooking and eating suddenly changed one day when I discovered I was celiac. So, I re-learned how to eat, cook, and navigate through life gluten-free – trusting God and His plan for me.

I live in what’s known as the Holylands of Central Wisconsin. All the recipes you’ll find here are gluten-free and inspired by the people and places I love most. Whenever possible, I cook with seasonal ingredients using whole foods – Making dishes suitable for everyday life and all food lovers gathered at the same table.

Gfree cooking, health, and wellness ARE my life. And this little corner of the internet is where I share what I’ve learned – Where my passion IS to nourish everyday GfreeDeliciously!

Thanks for stopping by!

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Simple and delicious gluten-free recipes, family-friendly meal ideas, healthy cooking, encouragement, and easy-to-implement lifestyle strategies to live fully nourished from the creator and publisher of GfreeDeliciously.com Kymberley Pekrul.

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