By The holidays are a time of giving and sharing. And we have something delicious to share with you!
10 delicious holiday desserts!
Download our free book of amazing holiday baking recipes. (<– click here for the recipes)
Banana Chocolate Bread Pudding with Cashew Custard
And guess what? We have 2 versions of every dessert.
- A traditional version with ingredients like butter, flour, eggs, milk
- A “healthified” version made with more non-traditional or “paleo-esque” ingredients
Surprised? Well, that’s why we’re doing it this way. Many times people are puzzled to find out that we deliberately don’t eat 100% perfect all the time: That we sometimes go out for ice cream or pizza. That during the holidays, we don’t bring a kale smoothie to a holiday gathering. We enjoy (without guilt) the real deal goodies.
In fact, our families enjoy holiday baking together. And we know how good it feels to see our kids’ eyes light up when they have holiday treats!
Walnut Pear Pie
“Healthy eating” isn’t about avoiding “bad” food and only eating “good food”. Food is both fuel and pleasure. You don’t need to worry about getting it all perfect all the time. Obsessing too much over “dietary purity” is unhealthy in itself.
Nutrition is a skill. Something you learn as you develop that skill is that it’s OK to treat yourself once in awhile and eat something solely because you enjoy it. Understanding this and avoiding rigid all-or-nothing thinking helps to avoid a feeling of being deprived which can lead into a binge that leaves you feeling miserably guilty and physically gross. Does that sound like we’ve been there before? Good, because we have.
Almond Ricotta Cheesecake
There are a few behaviors to practice to enjoy your holiday treats without demolishing a whole tray of cookies.
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Focus on eating slowly
This habit is arguably the most important. If you can master this, you have a giant head-start toward conquering other nutritional changes. Slowing down causes you to pay attention. It creates awareness of food smells, tastes, and textures, which enhances the enjoyment you get from each bite. It enhances digestion and counteracts feelings of deprivations and restriction.
Slow eating allows you to tune in to your hunger/satiety cues. You may find that you eat less without even realizing it. You’ll enjoy the food that you eat more, and inadvertently have less of it without feeling deprived.
While you’re eating, get rid of distractions so that you can focus on enjoying your meal and sensing into the sensations that it produces. Put away the phone and forget about your email for a minute (and you’re not eating while driving, right? Right?).
Slow down, and take a drink or two of water (or your hot toddy, let’s be real, it’s the holidays) between each bite, setting your food/fork down between bites.
2. Stop eating when you are physically satisfied.
Eating slowly gives the stomach and the brain time to catch up to each other. Assess how you are feeling while you are eating (slowly). Once you are satisfied, not stuffed, this is the best place to stop. Stay in tune with with the signals your body is giving you.
We call this eating mindfully.
Enjoy your holiday favorites! Just do it mindfully, slowly, and joyfully. Instead of stuffing it down and waiting for the guilt to kick in, savor and enjoy each bite. Take delight in savoring your favorite foods while basking in the company of loved ones.
You can enjoy food and be healthy and fit. You can also do that while enjoying the company of friends or family.
You can use these skills, along with many others, to have a lifelong, healthy relationship with food.
Orange Cake with Almond Crust
Would you like to learn more about:
- Having a healthy relationship with food?
- Improving your health?
- Getting the body you want?
- And then keeping it for life?
If so, visit our nutrition coaching page. (<– Take a peek. Might change your life.)
We’re starting a new Precision Nutrition coaching group in January, and you can be a part of it.
Just want the recipes? Download our free holiday recipe book here. (you don’t have to enter your name or email, it’s just yours to keep)
