Westmount Dietitian: Holiday Eating

It’s time for a new approach to holiday eating!

Every year at this time a succession of health experts tells us what we should be eating in order to maintain our weight and our health during the winter eating extravaganza we call the “Holidays”.  Many of their suggestions start with the words “do not”….do not eat this….do not cook like that….As my brother never tires of telling me we dietitians are taking all the fun out of life. 

It’s time for a new approach!  Let’s try one that is based on respect for food, our culinary traditions and the pleasure we receive when we consume a delicious meal while surrounded by friends and family. 

Here are a few tips to help make holiday eating less stressful and more enjoyable. 

1) Eat your favourite foods 

Holidays are associated with eating family favourite foods.  Evaluate which of these foods are your favourites and include them in your eating plans.  Skip the ones that you do not like or like less. 

2) Eat snacks

Holiday meals are often consumed at odd hours.  Arriving at the table when you are really hungry can lead to overeating.  Make sure that you eat a snack that is made up of some foods that will keep you full for a long time.  

3) Eat until you are full not stuffed

Many of us can remember eating a meal and then feeling so stuffed that we feel like we are going to “bust”.   Learn to stop eating when the first feelings of fullness hit.  Start practicing now, so you can be good at it by the time the first holiday dinners are on your schedule. 

4) Eat mindfully

Take the time to savour the smell, the taste, the texture, in fact the whole experience of eating a special meal. 

5) Eat Slowly

Take the time to chew the food, and enjoy the taste of it. Chewing and tasting more leads to eating less calories.  The act of chewing will help your body to feel full sooner.  

6) Hit the buffet table with 2 plates.  

Try putting smaller plate on top of your dinner plate.  Fill the small plate with some of your favourite higher calorie foods.  Then fill the outer edges of the larger plate with lots of lower calorie choices.  So the middle of the plate will contain some turkey and mashed potatoes with a bit of gravy, surrounded by loads of vegetables and salads. 

Kim N. Arrey, B; Sc., RD, Dietitian at Clinic Dr. Bita