The key to eating healthy throughout the holiday season or for the new year is to treat this season the same as it would be any time of the year. All you have to do is make the right choices that will allow you to indulge and enjoy, yet keep you from loading up on the fatty, high-calories dishes that can quickly lead to unwanted weight gain. Whether it’s the holiday season or you’re trying to start a new healthy lifestyle, here are some healthy swaps that will keep you on track throughout the year.
Healthy Swaps for the Holidays, New Year and More
EGG NOG for MALK NOG
Eggnog is a favorite drink during the colder temperatures and holidays. According to CNN, Eggnog is made up of four ingredients milk, sugar, cream, and eggs, but if you pick up a carton of commercial eggnog most contain much more nog than eggs. FDA regulations only require that 1.0 percent of a product’s final weight be made up of egg yolk solids for it to bear the eggnog name. For “eggnog flavored milk,” the bar is even lower; in addition to requiring less butterfat in the recipe, this label only requires 0.5 percent egg yolk solids in the carton. Additionally, a typical serving of eggnog contains over 300 calories, 10g of fat, and over 70 mg of cholesterol.Try DIY NOG or one of my new favorites MALK PECAN MALK NOG. It’s the first dairy-free nog with no artificial colors, flavors, binders, fillers, gums, carrageenan. It also 100% organic and made with over 1 cup of Texas Pecans.
Chicken Stock for Bone Broth
Year-round, stock is used in a multitude of recipes but a lot more during the holiday season. Store bought stock can contain a host of other ingredients such as yeast, MSG and much more. A better option to swap for is Bone Broth, which I wrote about a few months ago. Bone broths are simmered for a very extended period, with the purpose being not only to produce gelatin from collagen-rich joints but also to release minerals from bones. Bone broth contains at least 10 grams of protein per serving and tons more nutrition than traditional stock.
Coffee for Matcha Tea
From gas stations to bars, coffee is available everywhere at any time of the day. Each season there are seasonal flavors of coffee, which often contain high amounts of fat, sugar, and caffeine.
A great alternative is Matcha tea. Matcha is a type of green tea but comes with a lot more benefits because it’s a powder. When you drink matcha, you ingest the entire leaf and receive 100% of the nutrients of the leaf. Matcha powdered green tea has over 130x more antioxidants than regularly brewed green tea. IT would take 10 cups of regular green tea to equal the nutrients found in one cup of matcha.
One of the biggest benefits of coffee is containing the amino acid L-Theanine. Because of its presence it helps your body to process caffeine differently and create a state of calm alertness. While one serving of matcha has much less caffeine than coffee, it provides a less jittery, more sustained energy boost – with no crash at the end. L-Theanine also improves focus and helps you concentrate. Additionally, Matcha also helps increase your metabolism.
Mayo for Avocado
Mayonnaise is perfect for a quick tuna or egg or chicken salad, but it comes with a hefty price of fat and calories. A quick swap is avocados. Avocados are typically in season and can be found in a plethora of stores. Avocados provide fewer calories than mayo and are filled with loads of healthy monounsaturated fat, fiber vitamin C and folate.
Did You KNOW? Avocados are GREAT for Hair Growth!
Alcohol for Sparking Water
I love a glass of wine or a good cocktail, but most alcohol and wine has no health benefits (red wine is the only one that does.), overworks the liver and depletes the body of essential nutrients such as calcium. It’s the truth. It’s empty calories. The holiday forgoes the alcohol and substitute for either a wine spritzer or sparkling water like La Croix. Most people will assume you are drinking and it’s a lot fewer calories than most holiday cocktails.
