MYTH: It is impossible to eat healthy during the holidays!

Answer: Busted.

Hard, maybe, but not impossible! So, how do we eat healthily during the holidays? As promised, here are some more hints that you might use to practice changing your eating habits during December:

· Consider keeping snacks handy that are low in calories, but pack a punch of nutrients. Having cut-up fresh vegetables and fruit on hand will help you to choose healthy snacks, which helps you to avoid getting too hungry and overeating. Buy fresh vegetables and fruits that are in season to get the best value for your money.
· Do you know it takes about 20 minutes for your stomach to let your brain know it is full? Eating too quickly can lead to that “stuffed” feeling—just because we didn’t give our stomach enough time to signal—full, full, full!! Enjoy your food! Take a bite and savor the flavor, aroma, texture of the food. Be aware of what and how much you are eating.
· Plan what you will do if you are tested with a food that is too high in calories, salt, fat—whatever eating habit you are practicing to change. Planning ahead is another way to practice changing eating habits—just thinking through what you will do helps to make that action a reality when the situation does occur.
· After you have eaten to your satisfaction, remove your plate, especially if there is still food on it. We tend to pick at the food that is in front of us—no matter how full we are. If you cannot get rid of the plate, make the food look unappetizing—mix all the “leftovers” together, put ketchup or lots of pepper on it, visualize worms in it—anything to make it unappealing to you!

See Missouri Families and Mypyramid for additional tips.

Practice, practice, practice! Physical activity hints coming up next!