Holiday Tips

When I think about the holidays, nothing says home like the smell of baking. There is something so comforting and festive about holiday baking. Perhaps it’s the smells associated with baking or the thought of spending time in the kitchen with the people I love. However, with holiday baking comes additional calories, sugar, and fat added into our diets. There are several easy baking substitutions that can help reduce the amount of calories, sugar, and fat in baked goods without compromising taste. Festive, healthy and delicious are possible when you make smart substitutions.

Across cultures love is shown through food. The making, cooking, serving, and eating of food can bring people together and provide an expression of love… such as when I walk into my mom’s kitchen and she asks “Are you hungry? What can I make you to eat?” or when college students across the world receive care packages of comfort food from home. These are just a couple examples of how love is shown through food, and there might be specific examples you can think of in your own life.

No bones about it… the holidays and healthy eating can be a challenge. Halloween is the start to the fall and winter seasons of sweets and treats, and finding balance now can help you navigate the upcoming holiday season. The focus of Halloween is often candy, but with a few helpful tips you can find ways to enjoy other fun aspects of the holiday while making healthier choices.

One of the scariest parts about cooking or baking during the holiday season is the expectation that being healthy means sacrificing taste or flavor; but that really doesn’t have to be the case! You can have the best of both worlds and create yummy dishes that you and your friends and family won’t even realize are “healthy”.

Tasty desserts made using wholesome ingredients are not only delicious, but easier on your waistline and leave you feeling fuller, causing you to eat less. Win!

Here are some healthy ideas for yummy desserts, perfect for your holiday meals:

Thanksgiving is a fun-filled holiday that’s known for big eating and those pesky pounds that go along with it. But you can actually enjoy the holiday season without weight gain if you learn to avoid overindulging on and around the holidays leading up to the New Year.

This doesn’t mean you can’t still have fun and enjoy the holidays with your family and friends – naturally you’ll be eating richer, higher calorie foods over those three or four days. But you can do it in a healthier way by incorporating a few of these tips: