My husband and I divide the holidays between our families. Thanksgiving we share with his family, Christmas/KWANZAA with mine and Easter we alternate. The family dynamics are the same, but the spread of food is totally different (For the sake of peace, I won’t elaborate on that, but readers…you know what I’m talking about!)

Healthy Eating

Soul food is an African American family tradition across the country. Greens, macaroni and cheese, fried chicken, and parts of the pig that are too numerous to name usually sit on the table waiting to be devoured. Only to get back to your normal routine and find that your blood pressure and blood sugars are higher than normal and your clothes are fitting a little tighter than they were before the holidays. Does this sound like your holiday experiences? Well it doesn’t have to be a part of your holiday tradition.

Let this holiday season start with good health on the forefront of your mind, for you and your loved ones. 

Try incorporating these four (4) simple principles into your family feasting, and watch how easy you slide back into your pre holiday attire!

       1. Add more fruits and veggies to the mix!

If your holiday meals usually occur mid day, encourage your family to have a light breakfast. As they start to drop in, have fresh fruit baskets and pre cut vegetable trays available in numerous common areas around the house, especially near the television. Throw some shelled pecans, walnuts, Brazil nuts and almonds in the basket and you have a healthy mix for pre- and post- meal snacks. 

       2. Make healthy ingredient substitutions!

What are the holidays without home cooked greens, yams and cheesy baked casseroles? These are all delicious, mouthwatering comfort foods that can be enjoyed by all, but the traditional recipes call for fattening, sodium laden, artery clogging fats. These fats are what usually provide the flavor in these and other popular holiday dishes. Instead of adding salted pork to flavor vegetables, try substituting with smoked turkey wings or broth. Cut back on the number of whole eggs, and use egg whites. And try using low fat or nonfat milk in place of the heavy cream or whole milk added to dishes. Two soul food recipe books that I use religiously and highly recommend to assist you with this challenge are: The New Soul Food Cookbook for People with Diabetes by Fabiola Demps Gaines and Roneice Weaver, (Demps-Gaines & Weaver), both African American Registered Dietitians and At Home with Gladys Knight (Knight & Ogden, 2001). Both cookbooks are published by the American Diabetes Association. I’ve tested 90% of the recipes and they don’t skimp on tasty flavor.

       3. Moderation, Moderation, Moderation!

Don’t pack your plates full this season just because you see all your favorite dishes. If table spread consists of various foods for the tasting, place regular table spoons in each dish. This will promote ACTUAL serving sizes and leave room on your plate for enjoying moderate portions of all your favorites without the guilt and bloat later.

Today’s plates are twice the size of the plates our grand parents used. If you have old china plates dating back to the early 1950’s, 1960’s, and 1970’s take a good look. The dinner plates look like bread plates to us now. Ask your grandmother if you can have holiday dinner on her fine china. That’s a good way to cut the extra calories.

Another rule of thumb for the meat lovers… for turkey, baked chicken, ham remember that an actual serving is a 3-5 ounce serving. This is about the size and width of your palm (3 ounce) or your hand (5 ounce).

       4. Move more!

I have 3 words for this…Soul Train Line!!! What’s a family gathering without music and dancing? Instead of sitting back and feeling sleepy and miserable because you ate way too much, get up and “moooove” those hips to the music! This is a great way to include the youngster’s music with the music that made us “Shake Your Groove Thang!” back in the day. Make it multi generational and fun. 20 minutes of hip swaying and rump shaking (you know that’s how we do!) burns approximately 180 calories (Kirby, 1998).

With all that fun you’ll be ready for a game of family football. This year, our families are going to be reintroduced to a good old fashioned game of kick ball!

I hope that this information is useful to you this holiday season! Please enjoy your families, your food and the fortune that is bestowed upon you by the almighty Creator. Have a healthy holiday! Tonya ☺

References

Demps-Gaines, F., & Weaver, R. (1999). The New Soul Food Cookbook for People

      with Diabetes. Alexandria, VA: American Diabetes Association.

Kirby, J. (1998). Dieting for Dummies. Foster City, CA: IDG Books Worldwide.

Knight, G. & Ogden, A. (2001). At Home with Gladys Knight. Alexandria, VA: 

      American Diabetes Association.