The holiday season can be a busy time and sometimes that means health goes on the back burner. Keeping your body nourished can help give you the energy you need to enjoy the season to its fullest. Here are five tips to help!

1) Keep your plate balanced when you’re at a party

It can be difficult to resist the cranberry/pumpkin/cinnamon/whatever delicious food you are faced with during the holidays. And you should eat it if you want it! Beyond just being energy for your body, food is something to bond over with friends, family, or even strangers. To help make sure you are eating healthy, try to include fruits, veggies and protein on your plate as well. Check out the USDA’s website (myplate.gov) for guidance on building a healthy plate. Did you know half of your plate should be fruits and vegetables?

2) Be the person who brings a fruit and veggie tray.

Fresh fruits and vegetables can help cleanse the palette between bites of gooey mac and cheese or decadent chocolate caramel cookies. Pre-cut fruit and vegetable trays are readily available at supermarkets, or you can easily build your own with your preference for fresh produce (I like baby carrots, sliced cucumber and sugar snap peas). If there are leftovers, take them home! Most raw veggies can easily be roasted in the oven or an air fryer to be used for a quick weeknight meal. Fresh fruit can bulk up yogurt or cereal into a filling breakfast or snack.

3) Make healthy shifts to your recipes.

I love trying out new recipes but find that I can frequently reduce the amount of butter or oil a recipe calls for by half and still have a tasty dish. You can try some healthier swaps with your holiday dishes too! Here are ideas for popular dishes.

• Mac & cheese – make half the cheese low-fat. If a recipe calls for 16 oz of shredded cheese, use 8 oz of regular cheese and 8oz of low-fat or reduced-fat cheese. You’ll still have a creamy side dish, but with less fat.
• Green bean casserole – sauté fresh green beans in olive oil and top with fried onion (I know that’s my favorite part).
• Sweet potato casserole – sweet potatoes are naturally sweet. Try reducing the sugar in the recipe by half, reducing the marshmallows by half, or omitting them all together. Test this out in advance by making a smaller batch!
   

4) Lighten up high-calorie drinks

There are so many exciting drinks associated with the holidays, but they can also be loaded with calories and sugar. Try out these tips for making popular drinks a little lighter. 

• Pumpkin Spice Lattes - Use flavored sugar-free coffee creamer and make lattes at home. If you really want foam on your latte like you get at the coffee shop, you can use a handheld milk frothing wand to create your own. 
• Chai Tea Latte - Instead of getting one while you’re out, make your own at home by steeping a chai tea bag in hot milk. You can add sweetness with a calorie-free sweetener, a little honey, or sugar.
• Hot Chocolate and Eggnog -You can use fat-free milk or calorie-free sweeteners. 
• Apple Cider - Try mulling your own cider! I love making mulled cider from October through the New Year. Fill a pot or crockpot with 100 percent apple juice or apple cider, add 1 TBSP of whole cloves, two cinnamon sticks and one whole orange, sliced. Heat it up so the spices can infuse and scoop out the orange slices and spices. Now you have a warm and spicy drink that counts as a serving of fruit (4oz or ½ cup) with no added sugar. 
   

5) Enjoy your food mindfully.

Mindfulness has been a big buzzword in recent years. The idea is that you focus on what you are doing completely, whether it’s breathing, folding laundry, eating, etc. Being mindful is like a muscle - it takes practice to build it up. Don’t worry if you have a hard time focusing or get easily distracted when you first try it. Keep practicing and it will get easier. To enjoy your food mindfully, focus on what you are eating. Parties often involve eating and talking at the same time. Try to take a minute here or there and really focus on what you are eating. Ask yourself a few of the following questions to help bring your focus to the food.  

• What does it smell like? 
• What does it taste like? 
• Beyond sweet, salty, or savory, what ingredients went into it that you can taste? 
• What is the texture? Is it smooth and silky, crunchy, chunky, moist, dry or a combination of textures? 
• How does eating that bite make you feel? 
• Is it a new recipe that makes you excited? An old recipe that takes you back to your childhood? 
• Asking yourself questions like these while eating can help you slow down and truly enjoy the food instead of eating distractedly and later realizing you ate your whole slice of pumpkin pie but don’t even remember tasting it. 

While all these tips are meant to help you maintain a healthy lifestyle through the holidays, I want to leave you with this: The food is important but enjoying the time you spend with your loved ones is important too. I hope you find these tips helpful! And remember, cherish your time with your people and have a happy and safe holiday!