it’s an interesting time of year to be a dietitian – especially if you work in the field of weight management. And even more so if weight management is a crucial component to the prevention of disease or the reoccurrence of disease. The holidays can be a lot of different things if you’ve had or have a serious health-related issue – full of joy or heartache. And almost always, full of seasonal treats.
favorite holiday granola for gifts (adapted from this recipe)
most of my patients and weight management clients in the past couple of weeks have been looking forward to this time of year, but with trepidation. A lot of them are on a great path towards a healthy lifestyle and have lost some weight. They’re looking forward to spending this time with family, but a bit wary about the prevalence of holiday cookies, cakes, candies, parties and atypical meals affecting their great progress. It’s my job to help them navigate their way to January 1 and beyond, and I’ve broken my priorities into a few key points:
enjoyment
the ladies I now counsel are some of the most courageous and inspiring people I’ve met, and their enjoyment of the holiday season is important to me. Often, this means indulging in a few favorite treats. I rarely label a food as “off limits” or “bad,” but with breast cancer prevention I have been a bit more strict when it comes to certain items (sugar, saturated fat, alcohol and to an extent, dairy). Still, going through the holidays feeling deprived or missing out on all seasonal treats is not the goal, so…
balance
we try to strike just the right balance when it comes to eating – always, but especially during this time of year. Want a few cookies? Totally fine. Enjoy one or two, and then make your next meal full of the plant-based, colorful foods we’ve been talking about during our sessions and group meetings. The holiday season doesn’t have to mean abandoning all vegetables, lean proteins, fruits and whole grains and replacing with high calorie, less nutritious items for every breakfast lunch and dinner. What it does mean is a little extra work balancing out a healthy diet to leave room for a treat or two. Learning this balance – knowing you can indulge during a special occasion without losing control or going overboard – is crucial to sustaining a long-lasting healthy lifestyle.
with some healthy tweaks
i am always an advocate for tweaking recipes, snacks and meals to include more nutritious, whole foods and less junk. Learning to do this is also an important part of a healthy diet and key for reaching whatever goals you’ve set, from weight loss/management, performance enhancement or disease prevention. A few of my favorite tweaks this time of year:
- low fat greek yogurt instead of cream or butter in mashed potatoes
- this recipe instead of stuffing
- raw veggies with hummus instead of cheese and crackers
- frozen, thawed berries on pancakes or french toast instead of syrup
- applesauce or pumpkin puree instead of butter or oil when baking (1:1 ratio)
- and always, make 1/2 your plate vegetables (especially in a buffet-type situation!)
sometimes I find teaching healthy tweaks best comes with an example, so when searching for what holiday treats I wanted to take into work last week, I landed on the truffles below. The ingredients are super simple, high in antioxidants and a bit of fiber, and now I know, completely patient-approved.
dark chocolate orange truffles
makes ~10-15, depending on size (recipe from Julie Morris’ Superfood Snacks cookbook)
ingredients
2/3 cup cacao powder
2/3 cup Medjool dates
2 tbsp orange zest, divided (1 orange will make just enough)
2 tbsp orange juice (squeezed fresh, 1 orange from above is enough)
1/4 cup coconut oil
pinch sea salt
2 tbsp coconut sugar
instructions
mix together all ingredients except 1 tbsp orange zest and coconut sugar in a food processor until smooth. In a separate bowl, mix the other tbsp orange zest and coconut sugar together. Then, begin removing dough from food processor in about 1 tbsp amounts, roll into balls and press lightly into coconut sugar/orange zest mix. Cover truffles in a container and place in freezer for at least 30 minutes. From there, they can be stored in the fridge until use.
enjoy!
