Celebrate IN Season
Celebrate IN Season
I heard it again. In this “holiday-a-month” string of celebrations from late October through Spring, the comment, “It’s just too difficult to eat healthy foods during the holidays,” becomes a frequent phrase. Candy corn (does anyone really eat that?) gives way to carbed-up stuffing which makes way for Christmas confections, then New Year’s toasts, chocolaty Valentines, Saint Pat’s green beer and then it’s all those chocolate bunnies!
So, what’s the problem? When I first heard that dieter’s lament, I just had to do the math. I listed the most common greeting card variety U.S. holidays and here’s what I found:
January - New Year’s Eve and New Year’s day
February - Valentine’s Day
March - Saint Patrick’s Day
April - Easter
May - Memorial Day and Mother’s Day
June - Father’s Day
July - Independence Day
August -
September - Labor Day
October - Halloween
November - Thanksgiving
December - Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
I count fourteen basic days of celebration where one might indulge in dietary delights! My personal calendar includes several family birthdays, anniversaries, family reunions, and an annual August back-yard home-made ice cream social––it’s a Texas thing.
There are numerous other religious holidays and an interesting variety of made up holidays: Houseplant Appreciation Day, National Bird Day, Star Wars Day, and the list goes on! Please don’t misunderstand––I am pondering this in the interest and defense of choosing an optimal dietary style while enjoying life’s special events.
Fourteen days of the year for traditional holidays and adding, let’s say ten more for personal celebratory events, for a total of twenty-four (or so) days. There are 365 days in the year, minus the 24 potential diet sabotaging holidays leaving 341 days for smart food choices.
If you want to take this one step further, consider that three meals a day for 365 days adds up to 1,095 meals in one year. Those unhealthy holiday meals you are worried about only add up to 72 meals! I wonder whether every meal of the day is an indulgent one. Even on my most significant birthdays, I ate a normal breakfast, then enjoyed fun meals with family and friends . So maybe, all those holiday meals aren’t really so harmful after all.
One dietary tip I’ve followed for many years is the suggestion of choosing your desired dedication or commitment level to smart dietary choices. For instance, if you choose to eat healthfully 85% of the time, then don’t stress the 15% of meals that may fall in the “holiday hazard” category. Or, if you are more diligent in your health style, you may eat wisely 90 or 95% of the time, allowing for 10% or 5% of your meals to be un-accounted for.
The Confucian teaching of Hara hachi bu instructs people to eat until they are 80 percent full. That Japanese phrase translates to, “Eat until you are eight parts full” or “belly 80 percent full.” The Okinawa Centenarian Study follows the Confucian advice of self-imposed calorie control. Their traditional diet of fruits and vegetables, whole grains and legumes, fish and limited amounts of lean meats, promotes healthy eating––and that promotes healthy aging.
I know too many people, mostly women, who may not fully enjoy or appreciate life’s celebrations because they worry about what they should not eat. Trust me, if we can’t make smart food choices in the 341 non-holiday days of the year, the twenty-four days of special foods and traditions and merry making really aren’t the culprit.
My dear readers, I send you my warmest wishes for blessed and joyous holidays and pray that you savor the flavors of each season! I’m headed to the kitchen for a piece of pumpkin pie––with homemade whipped cream.