9 Tips on Healthy Eating for the Holidays

You don’t have to immediately eat all the cookies, breads, and chocolates that friends and neighbors deliver during the holiday season.

Many goodies freeze well, so you can enjoy them over the next few months rather than the next few days:

• If possible, divide the treats into individual portions so that you only defrost as many servings as you need.

It’s a common practice to skip early meals on a big day of eating, fasting in advance of the dinner ahead.

But this approach has a high probability of backfiring; people often end up overeating later. Instead, opt for a sensible morning meal—say, oatmeal, yogurt, and a piece of fruit—and if your celebration is in the evening, eat a light lunch midday. The last thing you want is to show up to dinner starving.

Your brain sometimes has trouble distinguishing thirst from hunger, so at parties and holiday dinners, sip a glass of water before you have a cocktail or eat anything.

And if you do drink alcohol, stick to one or two, sipping a glass of seltzer between each one. That will keep you hydrated and slow your intake. Or try a spritzer:

Mix half red or white wine and half seltzer or club soda in a glass. Add a slice of lime and you have a festive drink with half the calories and alcohol.

At cocktail parties, stick to three or so items (or six if the appetizers are doubling as dinner) to keep calories in check. Skip the fried foods and go for items like shrimp cocktail, vegetable-stuffed mushrooms, or hummus and veggies. Before holiday meals, go easy on the munchies.

Do you really need to eat 5 ounces of cheese and then sit down to dinner? If you’re the host, you have more control over what’s being served, so try putting out something small and healthy—such as nuts, olives, or a crudités platter—for people to nibble on with drinks

Many holiday meals are served buffet style, with a variety of dishes on offer. The typical advice is to have a little taste of everything, but there’s some research that shows this can leave you feeling less satisfied.

When you’re exposed to too many different flavors in a meal, you don’t feel as full as quickly, and you eat more. My tactic is to choose two or three favorite foods, especially those I don’t get to enjoy year-round. Food is so much a part of the season; this way the meal feels special and I don’t feel as though I’m missing out.

You’ll fill up on foods that are packed with vitamins and minerals and lower in calories, leaving less room for less unhealthy stuff. It doesn’t need to be boring, though.

For instance, if dinner is at your house, try making the first course a festive seasonal salad, with goodies like pomegranate seeds, clementines, toasted nuts, and candied citrus peels mixed in with the leafy greens.

There are all sorts of ways to insert healthier ingredients into your meal without sacrificing much by way of flavor.

• For example, use balsamic vinegar and olive oil instead of store-bought dressing, which is often high in sodium. 
• Yogurt can replace sour cream in creamy dips or on baked potatoes. Blend cauliflower into your mashed potatoes. Have stuffing or a roll and butter—but not both.

For some families (mine included), this is a holiday tradition. It’s a nice way to bond with relatives and helps you sneak in some activity. But it also does more.

It takes some time for the brain to recognize how much you’ve eaten. If you go straight from the meal to dessert, you may not realize how full you actually are—and you’ll probably enjoy dessert more if you aren’t completely stuffed.