Holiday Eats....Healthy Treats

    Around this time of the year, everyone is gearing up for the holiday season. Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Year's  are great reasons to indulge in your favorite holiday treats, but there's another thing to "over-indulge" on those tasty treats. One way to indulge and not get the "Holiday Bulge" is to portion out your treats. Smaller portions as well as a food chart can help you maintain your snacks/desserts, without you feeling guilty about losing all the weight in your New Year's resolution. Another good way to keep your holiday eating in check is to have that "food buddy" as your guide. Everyone gets tempted every now and then and sometimes just having a comforting friend to guide you or offer words of encouragement can help you not over-eat during the holiday season. Sometimes we have family that is no longer with us or we go through hard times with family not being together which can trigger your over-indulging on the sweet treats, but once you realize that yes, it is a time for celebration, it can be a time for excessive weight gain. Check up on  your family and make sure they are coping during this time, so, you don't stress yourself out by over-indulging. Try replacing some of those treats with your daily fresh fruits and vegetables. Instead of eating half of grandma's home-baked banana nut bread, eat two pieces, wash it down with some water, then replace the rest with some carrot sticks. Exchanging a "good" thing with a "bad" thing can also help manage your eating over this holiday season. Remember, this is a time for celebration,so we will not make any excuses going into the new year that we are not going to regret like gaining an extra 25 lbs. over the next month. Have a safe, healthy and Happy Holidays from all of us here at "Tasty Bites" and again enjoy yourselves and each other this holiday season!!!!!

-Chef Tara Browning  


P.S.- Here are a few tips via WebMD to help those that have a bit of "trouble" staying away from those "Tasty Bites".  =) 


http://www.webmd.com/diet/healthy-holidays-8/default.htm