Hope you had a Merry Christmas!

Here are some of the foods I’ll be eating this holiday season (or will have eaten) and some good nutrition news about them.

Christmas charcuterie

decorative plate with various foods arranged artfully on it — Our Christmas charcuterie from a few years ago

Cheese: good source of calcium, potassium, some satisfying fat and protein
Sausage (or sausage cheese puffs): satisfying fat and protein
Crackers: fiber, B vitamins
Various fruits: fiber, water, hydration, vitamin C, vitamin A, various antioxidants
Nuts: satisfying and heart healthy fats, minerals like iron and calcium

Also, no cooking required. This is what we’re having after Christmas Eve service so nobody gets hangry while waiting for a meal to cook

My grandma’s applesauce

Carmelized cooked apples in a jar — Click the image for the recipe. Not the prettiest applesauce, but certainly delicious

Because it’s made with the peels, it’s higher in fiber than the applesauce you get in a jar
Fun fact, my grandpa says applesauce made without peels is babyfood
A delicious way to get a serving of fruit
Includes lots of cinnamon, a powerful antioxidant and delicious flavor enhancer

Donuts

A donut with red white and green sprinkles — This one is from last year too – it’s just so festive!

This is one of the first Christmas traditions that is just me and my husbands
We usually have it the day we leave to visit family, or the first day off.
Donuts are energy dense – rich in carbohydrates and fats!
I always try and have scrambled eggs with them (protein) so I don’t get a sugar crash later

Tri-tip/Steak

yummy cut steak served on table in light restaurant — Photo by Geraud pfeiffer on Pexels.com

This is a new Christmas meal for me this year
Steak is high in iron and B vitamins
It’s also rich in protein

Salad

A serving of vegetables
Depending on the contents, provides water, fiber, iron, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K
Will probably use a dressing to add some satisfying healthy fats
And some seasonal fruit for color and texture
Probably the traditionally healthiest thing on this list, but just one part of my Christmas nutrition

Hope you enjoy some festive foods! Curious about what nutrition they might be providing you? Leave a comment!

December 21, 2022December 6, 2022

What this dietitian eats over the holidays – whatever I want

A donut with white, red, and green sprinkles

While I was in college, a friend said to me, “I know a lot of dietitians/nutrition students, and they all basically eat whatever they want.” This is mostly true for me. With some caveats. Keep reading to learn what they are.

My strategy for holiday is eating is pretty similar to what I eat the rest of the time. Of course regardless of what you celebrate or don’t, eating is often a little different this time of year. There are more treats and sweets and traditional foods to enjoy, not just at home, but at work, school, and gatherings.

This is what I do for “healthy eating” over the holidays. It’s not a prescription – what works for me might not be what works for you – but maybe you might find a few ideas helpful. Or you’re just curious what a dietitian eats for Christmas. Whatever!

If you want to skip the rest of the article, it can be basically be summarized as:

Focus mostly on what I do eat, less on what I don’t

How do I do this?

I make time to feed myself.

I feel best when I eat on a pretty regular schedule.

During holidays, schedules might be a little different due to parties or days off or traveling. I might not have my same schedule of meals and snacks, but I try to avoid both constantly snacking and going long stretches of time without eating.

Constantly eating can make it difficult to distinguish true hunger and lead to overeating – or undereating if I never feel hungry enough for a meal!

Going long stretches without eating makes me either hangry, anxious, sad (which isn’t nice for anyone) or just so hungry that when I am able to eat it’s hard to make a good decision. It’s easier to overeat, or choose a less balanced meal, or just be overwhelmed and not want to eat anything!

I don’t eat at the exact times every day, but I try to avoid both extremes. This might mean having a snack before a late holiday dinner or making sure to eat breakfast even if I wake up late. Or making time to have a snack even if I have a busy day.

Just like I make sure to feed my dog every day, I make sure I feed myself consistently too.

I get most of my food groups at most meals, most days

So we’re on the same page, I’m thinking of the food groups as: fruits, vegetables, protein foods, grain or starchy foods.

Dairy foods/calcium-rich foods or healthy fats could be considered their own groups, but enough of my protein-rich foods are from dairy that I don’t think of it separately and I rarely eat healthy fats on their own – mainly they get cooked with or come with other food groups.

I try to get at least 3 out of 4 food groups at most meals. Normal meals and “holiday meals”. For example at Thanksgiving, we had asparagus and salad (veggies), cranberry sauce and apple crisp (fruits), turkey and meat stuffing (protein), and my favorite: stuffing, bread, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese (grains/starches) – all the food groups.

Getting all the food groups helps provide a variety of nutrients, promote satiety and is a positive way to promote “balance” without prohibiting or restricting foods. (As humans know, if we’re told we can’t have something, we want it more) If most of the time I get most food groups, I will avoid filling up only on sweets, for example because I have to make room for the other food groups.

I also know I feel better energy and digestion wise when I get a mix of foods with protein, healthy fats, fiber, etc.

Of course, I also try and choose options from from each group that I enjoy. So you won’t see me eating beets for my veggie serving or olives for my healthy fats because I don’t like those.

That leads me to…

I enjoy the foods of the season I enjoy

Some of these foods we only eat at certain times of year, so I take this time to enjoy it! For example, my grandma’s applesauce (click for recipe) or my family’s Italian stuffing or Ferrero Rocher. I don’t worry about eating a little more than I normally would. I enjoy these foods as part of the celebration.

The other side of this is that I feel free to leave foods I don’t really enjoy. Ham? Nah. Mashed potatoes? I’d rather have bread. Pecan pie? that’s a pass, I’ll take apple.

Of course if I go to your house and you serve me these foods, I will eat them to enjoy your hospitality, but if they’re on a buffet or at a potluck, I can leave em.

I choose the foods I really want so I can enjoy them without feeling too full.

Food gives us more than nutrients. It is often a way for us to gather together, to celebrate traditions, and to enjoy life! These things are important to our overall health and wellbeing!

Now again, these strategies work for me. They might not work for you. I thankfully don’t have any food allergies or intolerance, I don’t have to manage my blood sugar or blood pressure, so I do have a little more freedom to eat whatever I want.

But even with food restrictions, there is probably some room for at least some of your favorite foods. Talk to your friendly dietitian if you’d like guidance on how that might work for you 🙂

What holiday foods are you looking forward to eating?

Read some Good Nutrition News about some holiday foods here

December 24, 2020December 17, 2020

Merry Christmas!

Donut with red, white, and green sprinkles on a paper napkin — Here’s a picture of a festive donut for you 🙂

Hope you get to enjoy some festive and special foods today and tomorrow! (Or some tasty foods regardless of whether you celebrate Christmas)

Also on my heart this year are those who don’t have access to enough healthy and nourishing foods. Recently, I have been learning more about how complicated and widespread this problem is as well as how much it can impact people’s health. I’m also seeing it firsthand in my work. While there is a lot of big work to be done and nothing will be solved tomorrow, these are some organizations that are working hard to get more good food to more people who need it.

No Kid Hungry – they work in different channels, including school meals, nutrition education, and public policy to make sure kids get fed. (It’s a sister organization to Cooking Matters which provides free culinary and nutrition education to families to get the most out of their food budget. I have volunteered with them before and they are awesome, but in the current season limited in their ability to do cooking classes right now due to safety and health guidelines.)

Feeding America – a country-wide network of food banks and food panties, that are also working to make sure more people have the skills to remain food secure or click here to find a local food bank near you.

Project Angel Heart or God’s Love We Deliver – both are organizations that provide free, medically-tailored meals to those who have life-changing diseases and can’t afford or have trouble preparing the type of foods they need. The meals they provide greatly improve the health of the recipients – if you like to see measurable results, both of these organizations have encouraging statistics about their work you can read on their website!

Samaritan’s Purse – provides international disaster relief, some of which includes providing food in various forms – supplies for refugees, hot meals to children, or farming or business assistance so poor families can more effectively provide for themselves and escape the cycle of poverty

These are just a few of the organizations working in this area. If you know of another one, feel free to share in the comments! If this is a cause that touches your heart, please consider donating your time, skills, or money.

If you need help with having enough food for yourself or your family, this page has a lot of great resources, and in the U.S., you can always call 2-1-1 to speak with someone who can help connect you with local community services!