holiday diet survival – After The Goal Line…

Some Healthy Holiday Dishes!

Staying on track with our health and wellness goals can be HARD during the holidays! Busy schedules, exhausting to do lists, travel, and social events revolving around food can make it hard to stick with-or build-our healthy habits this time of year. I thought that offering a few healthier versions of some favorite holiday dishes could be helpful as we head into this incredible season!

As you plan ahead to the new year, consider adding health coaching to your nutrition, fitness, and wellness plan. Did you know? People that use a health coach have a 30% better chance of reaching their goals than those trying to go it alone or those that use popular in person or online weight loss programs? The difference?? Completely personalized attention! Health coaching does not provide a “one size fits all” program-but a program that is designed to fit YOUR needs, YOUR current habits, and YOUR lifestyle! That personal attention makes all the difference! If you are interested in having a custom designed, personal program put together for your specific needs and goals, contact me! Let’s talk about how health coaching can help you find success on your terms and timetable! I’m ready to give you the tools, knowledge, and motivation to get you where you need to be-feeling full of energy, having less stress, dropping unwanted weight, and finding an exercise program to keep you happy and healthy-on a budget you can afford! Those New Years resolutions are coming soon-let’s have YOUR plan ready to put into action! Let’s Talk!

For now-check out these healthy holiday dishes to add to your meals and be sure to download my FREE copy of The Healthy Holiday Survival Guide to get tips and health hacks to make your holiday healthy and happy!

Yummy Sweet Potatoes

(Makes 12 servings)

Ingredients

4 sweet potatoes

1 cup Nonfat Greek yogurt

2 1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Nutmeg

1/2 tsp Salt

2 large Egg

3/4 cup, halves Pecans

1/2 cup of miniature Marshmallows

Directions

~Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease or spray a 2.5 quart casserole dish.

~Place the sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan with enough water just to cover them. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook until tender, 5-7 minutes. Drain.

~place sweet potatoes in the pot and mash to desired consistency.

~Add the yogurt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Stir, taste for sweetness. Adding a little brown sugar will add to the sweetness if desired.

~add the eggs and whip. Transfer the mixture to the lightly greased casserole baking dish.

~Bake for 30 minutes. Top with the pecan/marshmallows mix and bake until marshmallows are puffed and lightly brown -about 10 minutes

Nutrition per serving

112 Calories 12g Carbs 5.5g Fat 4.5g Protein

Green Bean Casserole

(makes 10 servings)

Ingredients

1/2 cup Panko Breadcrumbs

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoon Italian Parsley

2 tbsp Olive oil

4 cup Green beans

1 medium Onions

1/2 cup chopped Mushrooms

3 tbsp Flour

2 cup Reduced fat milk

7 oz Nonfat Greek yogurt

Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions

~Place oven rack in the top half (not close to broiler) of your oven and preheat to broil. Lightly coat a 2-quart, broiler-safe baking dish with nonstick spray.

~In a small bowl mix together the Panko, Parmesan, parsley, and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Set aside.

~Blanch the green beans: Bring a very large pot of water to a boil. *Prepare an ice water bath and set dry paper towels. Place the beans in the water and cook just until crisp but tender-about 2-3 minutes. Plunge into an ice bath to stop the cooking, then drain and transfer to paper towels. Pat dry.

~ Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is soft and tender, and the mushrooms have browned-about 15 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Sprinkle flour over the top. Cook, while stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes more, until the flour turns gold

~Slowly add the milk a bit at a time, stirring to prevent lumps from forming. Increase the heat to medium high. Stir in the salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Allow the sauce to bubble while stirring and scraping bottom of the pot. Stir until well mixed and evenly heated, about 10 minutes.

~Remove from the heat and stir in the Greek yogurt.

~Transfer half the green beans to the prepared baking dish. Spread half the sauce over the green beans. Add the remaining green beans and top with the remaining sauce. Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture over the top.

~Broil until the casserole is bubbling and beginning to brown on top, 1 to 3 minutes (watch closely!)

~Let stand for 10 minutes prior to serving. Garnish with additional fresh parsley.

Nutrition per serving

112 Calories 12g Carbs 4.5g Fat 6g Protein

Gift Yourself a Healthy Holiday

It’s that time of the year again! In keeping with my current holiday theme, I’d like to address some of the habits that seem to fall by the wayside for many of us each year during this time. For many, it’s the comfort food, sedentary behavior, extended darkness, and cold weather that tend to affect our health goals just as much as parties and social events. My goal, as a health coach, is to make people aware of the habits and hidden traps that can lead people into the land of temptation and help them create tactics and plans to avoid those added pounds and that sense of exhaustion we often feel around this time of year.

Many factors play into us losing sight of our healthy plan during this busy, and usually stressful, time of year. Aside from the parties, dinners, and social events that fill our schedule, we also may find that our time for movement is cut short. Cold weather and long dark nights may keep us indoors, therefore limiting our time spent getting exercise outdoors, and keep us from getting the fresh air and sunshine that keeps our bodies happy and healthy. Daily walks are cancelled due to inclement weather, and most outdoor physical activities like gardening, tennis, and running are impossible in most areas. It’s important to take some time to evaluate how you used the outdoors in your exercise plan and come up with a replacement that can be easily done indoors. Yoga, treadmills, dancing, and streamed workouts are a fantastic way to bring your movement into warmer settings. It is important to continue to get some fresh air each day, and a bit of sunshine to boost our vitamin D and prevent depression and seasonal affective disorder. Seasonal affective disorder, or “winter blues”, leads to symptoms of depression in healthy people due to a reduction of daily sunlight. Symptoms include depression, lack of energy, loss of interest in things that bring us joy, issues with concentration, and sleep disorders. Spending a small amount of time each day in the sunshine can alleviate these issues, even if you spend it sitting inside a window basked in sunshine.

Holiday parties and dinners often include decadent foods, adult beverages, and lots of treats we wouldn’t otherwise have in our health plans. The important thing to remember is to ENJOY without OVER-INDULGING! It’s absolutely fine to enjoy a few “only baked once a year” cookies, just remember-it’s about TASTING them and ENJOYING them! It’s not about eating the entire plate of them!! Enjoy your favorite foods and treats in small amounts and move on to the main focus of the holidays-making memories with family and friends, enjoying those around us, and appreciating the time we have together.

When planning your meals during the busy holiday season, be sure to focus on quality over quantity; Eat foods with BALANCE in mind. Consider eating a small healthy snack before heading to parties or big dinners to calm your hunger. Fill your plate with healthy filling foods to begin your meal, and then have small bites of more decadent fare. If you are asked to bring a dish, consider a dish that is veggie based so that you know for sure that you will be getting those healthy bites in. ALL foods are fine in MODERATION! Take small bites, be mindful in enjoying the taste, and enjoy!

Most families have what I call a “food pusher”. It could be your mom, your aunt, or a friend that simply gets her holiday joy from watching people eat ALL her treats. You know who these people are, and you need to have a plan to deal with them in advance-they generally do NOT take “no” for an answer. There’s lots of ways to say no politely, after trying a small sample, of course, but these people usually don’t settle for a simple “No thank you!” Have a plan of action going into this situation and be strong about it. Some people think they must announce their health goals, diet plans…But that often leads to too much attention and discomfort from the food pusher. Always remember, “NO.” Is a complete sentence, and that food pusher will likely move on to a new hungry victim quickly!

I’ve put together a pretty little resource for surviving the holidays, and it’s free to you HERE. You’ll find great tips for self-care, healthy holiday travel, getting exercise during busy holiday weeks, optional food choices for meals, and a few tracker templates to print out to help get you organized and motivated. I hope you will grab yourself a copy and make your holiday season a little healthier and happier.

New Years is coming up super soon, and with it comes the blessing and promise of a brand new year! If you’re looking for a great way to start your year off with health goals in mind, consider booking free chat with me to discuss putting together the perfect, personalized plan focused on YOU and YOUR goals. Whether it’s getting your nutrition in order, finding time in your schedule for building healthier habits, dropping a few pounds, or finding ways to relieve stress, focus more on self-care, and gaining the energy you crave in life-I can guide you to your goals and keep you motivated for success. Learn more about health and wellness coaching HERE. Find out more about me and my passion for great health, and feel free to drop me a message here to start a conversation about YOU!

Healthy Holiday Habits

The Holidays are upon us, and with them comes parties, dinners, baking, busy schedules, and all the general “cheery” chaos that can knock our fitness and nutrition plans right out of whack. This year, instead of giving up, or giving in, and thinking, “Hey, I’ll start back after New Years…” Let’s make a solid plan for success! After all, different studies have shown that the average person can gain 5-10 pounds during this festive season-and who want’s that???

*SCHEDULE and PLAN! Holidays get our routines out of whack, so your current routine may be completely impossible right now. Take a few minutes-right now-to look at how your schedule is going, and how you can better plan your exercise, water, and meals. Schedule those needed changes! Put it on your calendar or reminders!

*Be prepared for those big dinners and social events.

**Here’s a crazy fact:
The Calorie Control Council says you may consume up to 4,500 calories and 229 grams of fat in total during any one of your holiday gatherings. While the majority of this comes from the meal itself, you can expect to eat nearly 1,500 calories in appetizers and drinks! Don’t find yourself in a situation where the food and environment send you into a nutritional spiral-have a plan of action!

*Don’t skip meals thinking it will help in your calorie intake; this can easily backfire and leave you starving and unable to control your appetite. Instead, focus on small meals and snacks of lean protein and fruits and veggies. Eating a small, healthy snack before your event can help you avoid overindulging.

*Many people ask their guests to “bring something” to a holiday event. Instead of baking a huge tray of grandmas famous butter cookies, or dumping some marshmallows into those healthy sweet potatoes and delivering it to the table, take something you can add that you KNOW can fill your belly without, well, “adding to your belly”
For me, this is a beautifully done platter of fresh cut veggies and fruit. I like to fill my belly with THAT, and then sample small amounts of the other foods-while making my protein the base of the meal. And a big glass of water before joining the table!

*Choose you splurges carefully. Look over the offered foods and plan your plate. Sample small amounts of your holiday favorites instead of filling up on foods you eat year round. Enjoy your splurge foods, eat slowly and taste them. Prepare yourself for “food pushers”! Food pushers are thse loving friends and family member that don’t take “No” for an answer. It may be your grandmother with her famous pie, or your best friend with a bottle or two of wine. I’ve seen lots of ways to “explain” the WHY behind saying “No thank you!” to the food pushers…cute ways to inform people that you are dieting-“no thank you, I’m allergic, if I eat that my thighs will break out…” or putting the responsibility on your doctor or nutritionist-“My doctor says I can’t have….” Personally, I find that just saying, “That looks truly delicious, but no thank you” works nicely Stand firm, and don’t feel the need to explain yourself. The last thing anyone wants to do at a gathering is spend time explaining your food choices, whether it be for diet reasons, allergies, or otherwise; not to mention, all of the opinions that will surely follow. *As always-enjoy the people and social aspect of your event. Have a few great conversation starters to keep your socializing active, and try to be social away from buffet and snack tables. And hav

* Exercise during the holidays can be super difficult. For some, the weather is nasty, there’s lots of travel, busy schedules, and guests. This can make sticking to an exercise schedule HARD!
Again, it’s all in the planning. Think “family fun” and schedule in some family activity: Ice skating, skiing, hikes, walks. Enjoy some social time while getting some movement. Consider wearing your exercise footwear while cleaning, cooking, shopping-and take small breaks to march-or even dance-for short bursts of calorie burn. If doing some crazy Black Friday shopping, take a few laps around the mall. If you find yourself traveling, walk the airport while waiting for flights. If driving, stop for small breaks and take a few laps around a gas station or convenience store parking lot.
If you are staying in a hotel or with friends, ask about exercise equipment that might be available. Or, pack some resistance bands or your yoga mat to get a short workout in.

*Set up your current environment for success! If you are visiting family, or traveling, or just running around getting things done-make your surroundings successful. Keep a cooler of water and healthy snacks in your car, or in the room where you might be visiting. Throw your sneakers in the car and get some extra steps in the parking lot of the mall. Take a break from decorating, wrapping, or cooking, and march for 10 minutes.

*Practice SELF CARE! (So hard this time of year!) take a minute before meals to breathe and set yourself up for mindful eating, get the rest that you need, take some times for yourself each day to look around, breathe, look at the beauty of your family and friends, and take in the lights, decorations and music of the season. All of this will help avoid stress.

*FIND SUPPORT! Find an accountability partner; ask a friend or family member to join you on your journey

*If you do succumb to a bad day, or even week, pull your self together! Do not feel guilty! We are all human, and this happens! Feeling guilty can lead to even worse behavior-so pick your self up and brush yourself off! Plan to make your next meals balanced! Check your portion sizes, focus on lean proteins, and lots of fiber filled veggies. Avoid those processed foods, drink that water, and get up and get some movement in.