Kim Kirchherr, MS, RD, LDN, CDE
Celebrate holidays sensibly with your whole family in mind!
With an estimated 26 million people having diabetes, chances are you or someone you love is managing their blood sugars this holiday season. Don’t have holiday hostess stress – keep things smart, simple, and traditional as you like – here are some inspirational ideas that are easy to implement. Help keep the whole family on track while enjoying the upcoming holiday meals!
Keep balance in mind. We need nutrition every day to help keep our bodies healthy – even on the holidays so be sure fruits and vegetables are on the menu in addition to those rich traditional dishes. Eat sensibly at home to make room for the party food. Remember if blood sugar control is top of mind, eat regular meals with portions in check – and don’t skip to save up for later – you will feel better, help keep blood sugars in target range, and if you don’t go to a party overly hungry, chances are pretty good you won’t overindulge more than you wish.
Include activity. Exercise helps burn off extra holiday calories but it also helps manage stress. Allow time for a walk on your own or with your friends/family, play catch, rake leaves, or if the weather is bad, march in place during your favorite show in the living room. Any activity counts – so that housework you do before guests arrive? Yes – not only will you be holiday ready, but that movement is great for your health, too. For an out of the box idea – play music in the kitchen while you cook and don’t be afraid to dance around during meal preparation. Fixing holiday dinner can be fun – enjoy every moment.
Read labels. The key to smart choices and decreased worry about meal preparation for holiday or every day is to make sure you have the food you need on hand to make mealtime easy and in alignment with your health goals. Check out www.fda.gov for some handy label reading tutorials. In the meantime, be sure to read for serving size, calories, less saturated fat/sodium, and more fiber, and calcium, vitamins A&C, and iron. All of these are required on the labels and most of us don’t get enough of the positive nutrients – so be sure to know what’s in the choices you make. Ingredient lists are helpful to if you are trying to avoid or limit added sugars. Remember, your guests with diabetes or prediabetes will need to be monitoring for total carbohydrate. For a quick way to help them manage their needs, serve items in a variety of portion sizes. Use reduced fat or light versions of cheese, sour cream, milk, and yogurt – these are great options because they slip out some calories and saturated fat but still help make sure the dishes you love every holiday turn out delicious and the way you remember them.
Enjoy traditions. Holidays come but once a year and chances are, there are dishes made and enjoyed as part of that one special day. It’s ok to continue to serve them – just be mindful of other choices that day. If holiday dinner is going to be lacking fruits and veggies, make sure breakfast and snacks have plenty of these tasty seasonal treats that are important for nutrients. Monitor portion sizes and freeze leftovers, share them with family, and get right back on track the day following the party. If you do have guests with special dietary needs, ask them ahead of time if there is anything they have questions on for the menu or invite them to bring a favorite dish – this reduces your kitchen time and gives them a chance to show off one of their favorite recipes that they feel comfortable with in their menu plan. Ask anyone bringing a dish to bring the recipe to share too – it’s a fun conversation starter at parties and a great way to start new traditions or pass along ideas from generation to generation.
