5 TIPS FOR A CAREFREE AND HEALTHY HOLIDAY SEASON

The holidays are coming. A period of conviviality, gifts and ... an abundance of food and drink! Long before Christmas Eve we already treat ourselves to bratwurst and gin at a cozy Christmas market, only to end late after New Year with cake and chocolate milk at one of our distant relatives. Delicious! But also a period that leaves many one size (or more) bigger. However, it doesn't have to be that way. With these 5 tips you avoid those extra kilos and indigestions, without having to sacrifice fun and enjoyment.

1      The feast

The most effective way to keep things under control is to stay in control of the kitchen. When you prepare the feast yourself, you can perfectly choose what is going to be served. Is the party not at your house? Then propose to split the menu or assist with planning and preparing it. In both cases, opt for waist-friendly fare.

Healthy and light is not synonymous to boring! Fill the appetizers with raw vegetables and light dips, serve a surprising soup or salad as an appetizer and many vegetables with some fish as a main meal. And you can end with a fruit dessert, for example.

2      Take healthy breaks in between

Alternate the days of plenty with light or even detox days. If you limit yourself to light meals between all the feasting, then your average daily calorie intake at the end of the week might still be quite reasonable. For example, start your day with some fruit, low-fat yogurt and some sugar-free cereals. Lunch with low-fat vegetable soups or light salads topped with a little olive oil and herbs and also put a lot of vegetables on the menu in the evening. Snack only when you are hungry and limit yourself to raw vegetables or dry crackers. And just think of the next heavy meal when you find yourself munching away at a carrot and feeling sorry for yourself.

3      Leftovers

We are real gourmands. Every Christmas or New Year's Eve dinner ends with an abundance of leftovers. There's nothing wrong with that, but those leftovers make it difficult to keep your food intake under control in the days between Christmas. So divide your leftovers among your guests. Provide takeaway boxes or ask them to bring their own. Win-win for everyone: your guests feel extra pampered, no good food has to be thrown away and you won't be tempted to indulge in heavy food between the festive meals.

4      Gifts

You will probably have lots of guests over and/or have all kinds of family visits planned. Chocolate and wine are still very popular gifts for hosts and hostesses. Yummy! But unfortunately not exactly light and healthy. To avoid even more unhealthy calories during the holidays, you can simply give those guilty pleasures away as gifts. Just grit your teeth, but know that there will be no more pralines beckoning you at all times.

5      No stress

Above all, the holidays are meant to be enjoyed. Not only because it would be pretty sad to let all those goodies pass you by, but also because stress is unhealthy and also detrimental to maintaining good body weight. The perfect excuse to fully indulge in that delicious Yule Log. Or at least a slice of it. Happy Holidays!