Although I normally include posts about what I’m eating or cooking, I thought I might take a few moments to share some of my thoughts about “food holidays.”
Is anyone else tired yet of being told how to avoid holiday weight gain? I could probably recite the standard five to ten tips in my sleep at this point. Though a lot of the suggestions are pretty interesting and may help people feel less intimidated by all the extra calories "lurking" at holiday gatherings, I'm not a fan of making food out to be some kind of enemy.
This list from Women's Health offers a slightly longer list than most publications I've seen, and while I think the baking tips are pretty cool (I love nerding out when it comes to substitutions and textures—the weirder the better), I just can't get comfortable with phrases like, "Have a game plan." A game plan? I thought I was going to dinner...Easy for me to say, I guess. When you study nutrition, food is somewhat demystified and way less "scary." Whether it's Christmas Eve or a random Tuesday night, a meal is a chance to sit down and eat some tasty, nourishing food—bonus if you're in good company.
Another pet peeve of mine is hearing people talk about guilty they feel for eating a certain item or how “bad” they are for having a slice of pie or a piece of cake. I’m always tempted to say, “I’m not.” Actually, what I’m really tempted to say is, “How guilty you feel is your choice. Spare me.” I’d also love to point out how harmful it can be to pass that attitude down to their kids.
Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy sitting down to eat with friends and family at holidays, and I do have my favorite dishes, but to me, it’s simply a nice meal someone put a lot of care into making, and like at any other meal, the foods I place on my plate are placed there to give me energy and the nutrients I need, not sabotage my life…
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