Happy Holidays!!  Celebrations, family get-togethers and holiday parties abound. Along with all of the festivities we need to remember to enjoy ourselves while maintaining our wonderful habits and health during the holidays. Here are ten tips to staying healthy over the holidays.

1. Remember to eat every 4-5 hours or have a snack in order to not skip meals or eat at irregular meal times, which can result in the risk of overeating.
2. Share portions when eating out at restaurants. It makes the occasion more intimate and special.
3. Carry appropriate snacks such as 5 dried apricots, 6 almonds, and 1 Babybel lite cheese in a plastic bag so that the desire to grab those holiday sweets is diminished.
4. Eat slowly at the festivities. By enjoying one another’s company, it takes longer to chew and digest the food. After about 20 minutes, our bodies recognize satiety which will assist one from over-eating.
5. Bring a healthy dish to the holiday festivities. Not only will others enjoy the dish, but you’ll have something light and healthy to eat, too.
6. When at the party, don’t deny yourself the pleasure of tasting food. Instead, choose a few favorite dishes you’d like to try and take small portions of each. A good portion size is about the size of your palm.
7. Determine your goals for the holiday season.  For example, do not make food the center of attention. Instead, focus on enjoying other activities. Mentally go through the event, picturing your self as a success.
8. Stick with your plan. By maintaining and planning, we can be prepared for times when we might be hungry or tempted.
9. Believe in yourself. Remember your commitment to strive towards your goals and you can stick with it.
10. Remember to relax and enjoy yourself this season! Take a breath! Take a quick stretch. Stress can lead to imbalance and that can result in excessive eating. By sticking with these healthy holiday habits and protecting yourself from stress overload you can treasure the moments and stay focused on your goals.

Spacing meals and snacks three to four hours apart helps keep the body fueled. Choose foods that are high in complex carbohydrate and add a small amount of protein and heart-healthy fat to stay fueled longer.

For example, snack on Ak-Mak whole wheat stone ground sesame crackers and some turkey deli slices. Four Ak-Mak crackers is one allowance of carbohydrates and an ounce slice of turkey is one allowance of very lean meat.

Ak-Maks are available at your local Trader Joe’s.

This snack is equivalent to 2 allowances of fruit and 1 allowance of lean meat.  Note that the serving size of a pear is 4 oz, which is usually half a large pear.

Since satsumas are in season, add some orange slices to your favorite fat-free or low-fat cottage cheese for a healthy snack rich in calcium, vitamin C and fiber.

Note that a serving of fat-free or low-fat cottage cheese is 1/4 cup, which is equivalent to one very lean meat allowance.   A 4-oz satsuma is equivalent to one fruit allowance, which contains 60 calories.

Satsumas belong to the mandarin orange family, which also includes tangerines and clementines.  They are a Japanese variety that were first introduced to the United States in Florida.  Today most American satsumas are grown in California and some in coastal Louisiana and Alabama.

Fresh satsumas are those with firm and tight peels, with no dented spots, and with bright green twigs and leaves still attached.   They will keep at room temperature for several days and a week or more if refrigerated.

Satsumas are an excellent source of vitamin C and a good source of fiber and folate.  Sweet and seedless, they are great in fruit and green salads and they make convenient and healthy out-of-hand snacks.

A 4-oz satsuma is equivalent to one fruit allowance, which contains 60 calories.  Enjoy a satsuma orange with some cottage cheese for a healthy snack.

Photograph courtesy of Jun Belen.

Yes, you read it right.  A serving size is 20 pieces, which is equivalent to one allowance of grains and starch or roughly 15 g of carbohydrates.

You can enjoy 20 crunchy and tasty toasts with some bruschetta or vegetable tapenade.  These Trader Joe’s low fat rye mini toasts are also great for soups and salads.

Always remember that eating small but frequent meals is a good way to help you keep food cravings in line and help you lose the weight.

Photograph courtesy of Jun Belen.

Choose snacks that are high in complex carbohydrates and add a small amount of protein and heart-healthy fat so that you can stay fueled longer.  For example, put together 6 almond pieces, 5 dried apricots and a Babybel light round cheese for a filling and healthy snack.

This healthy snack combo is equivalent to one allowance of fruit, one allowance of lean meat, and one allowance of heart-healthy fat.

Photograph courtesy of Jun Belen.

Snacks are a very important and often underrated part of the day.  With work, family, errands, obligations, it can be tough to take the time to pack a lunch much less multiple snacks.  But when it comes to weight loss, snacks really make all the difference.

When I got serious about losing weight, snacking was a hard habit to learn.  Eat more, lose weight: it just seems so contradictory!  But when I wrote a journal of my foods for the days that I snacked, I actually ended up eating less calories.  I realized that snacking kept me from overeating when it came time to break for meals.  Plus, because I wasn’t starving I made better choices.

Snack Tips:

1. Over the weekend, pre-portion snacks into little baggies or plastic containers.
2. Pack snacks that you like and look forward to eating.
3. Leave snacks out on desk so you don’t forget to eat them.
4. Eat snacks at a specific time (e.g., 10:30am and 3:00pm) – before you get hungry so you aren’t tempted by a better looking/unhealthy snack.  Set an alarm or computer reminder (I put a snack reminder in my calendar).
5. Leave multiple snacks at work so you can choose what you are in the mood for.
6. Keep an “in case snack” in your bag, purse, car and/or desk drawer, so you will always be prepared when hunger strikes.
7. Don’t eat out of the bag or container – it is too easy to overeat!  Take a portion size out and place it on a napkin/plate, etc. and eat from there.
8. Mix and match allowances, a.k.a “Food Combining” – you will stay fuller for longer.

Ideas for Snacks:

Salty

•    Low-fat microwave popcorn
•    Pita chips
•    Whole-wheat crackers
•    Baked chips
•    Pretzels/pretzel nuggets
•    Beans
•    Low-fat cheeses (laughing cow, baby bell, string cheese)
•    Nuts (watch portion size)
•    Turkey Jerky
•    Dried soy nuts
•    Wasabi peas
•    Seeds (watch portion size)

Dips and spreads

•    Hummus
•    Salsa
•    Canned refried beans
•    Fat-free ranch/blue cheese
•    Jam/jelly
•    Spreadable cheese (Laughing Cow)
•    Guacamole
•    Sweet mustard
•    Bruschetta topping

Sweet

•    Fruit
•    Dried fruit (watch portion size)
•    Flavored low-fat/fat-free yogurt
•    Frozen yogurt bars
•    Frozen fruit bars
•    All fruit roll-ups
•    Cereal bars
•    Skim milk latte with 1/2 tbsp sugar, topped with cinnamon
•    ¼ oz dark chocolate
•    Fat-free hot chocolate
•    Cereal

Other

•    Veggies (carrots, celery, bell peppers, green beans, cucumber, jicama, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, radishes, broccoli, cauliflower) with dip
•    Canned soups
•    Deli Slices (turkey, chicken, ham, roast beef)
•    Tuna, canned in water
•    Whole wheat breads, pita breads, tortillas

Kate’s Favorite Snacks:

Morning

•    1 apple, 4 walnut halves
•    1 Kashi granola bar, 2 tbsp raisins
•    ¼ c dry soy nuts, 1 all fruit roll-up
•    Cereal bar, ¾ c berries
•    1 hard-boiled egg, 1 orange
•    ¼ c trail mix
•    Celery with 2 tbsp low-fat peanut butter (Better than Peanut Butter), 20 mini rye toasts

Afternoon

•    6oz low-fat yogurt, ½ c high fiber cereal, 1 tbsp sunflower seeds
•    ½ c pinto beans heated with 1 slice low-fat cheese (Jarlsberg Lite), topped with ¼ c salsa (or fat-free sour cream)
•    Veggies dipped in 1/3 c hummus, 6 almonds
•    5 dried apricot halves, whole-wheat crackers (Ak-Maks) with low-fat spreadable cheese (Laughing Cow)
•    8 mini-rice cakes dipped in salsa, 15 pistachios
•    ½ c low-fat cottage cheese topped with sliced fruit, 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
•    1 oz deli turkey slices wrapped around cucumbers sliced lengthwise and dipped in sweet/spicy mustard