Party Strategies for a Healthy Holiday!
Many times good intentions can be sabotaged in party situations. With so many temptations, a busy schedule and well intentioned “food pushers”, it’s hard to make your intentions a reality.
While attending parties this holiday, here are some tips for making sure that you maintain your healthy lifestyle no matter where you are!
- Eat a healthy snack before you go such as fruit, soup, cereal, yogurt or string cheese. The last thing you need is to be starving and surrounded by convenient junk food!
- Limit Alcohol. Enjoy 1 drink if you must and then switch to diet soda or water. Alcohol carries a lot of calories with it that you don’t realize you’re having.
- Have a stick of gum to chew after eating. This will keep your mouth busy so that you don’t feel like shoving more food in!
- Socialize away from the food. Just being around the food makes you more likely to grab something here and there
- Avoid the “food-pusher” and plan how to say “No Thank You”. You know the food-pushers! They are the ones that walk around making sure that every dish is empty and that nothing is left behind. They have good intentions but sometimes don’t know how to deal with a nicely worded “no thank you”!
3 Fool Proof Ways to Say “No Thanks” Politely:
- Distract them by providing them with an alternative. For example, if they are offering you punch say “No thank you, but I could really use a water”. This gives them an option to serve you something without you having to eat or drink something you don’t really want to.
- Compliment how the food looks. Say something like “I’m really not hungry right now, but that looks very good!”.
- Ask for the recipe. A great way to make the host feel good without having to eat or drink the food item is by asking for the recipe. Say “I don’t need any right now, but I would love to have the recipe!”.
Holiday Punch Recipe:
Here’s a simple way to make some great tasting punch for the holidays without too many calories. Simply adjust the volume to the number of guests you have. It can be made in individual glasses or in a bowl.
Holiday Punch
Holiday Punch
- Juice (My favorite is pomegranate or black current juice)
- Lemon or Lime Seltzer Water
- Lime Wedges
- Pour the seltzer water and add just enough juice to provide flavor. (I think I probably do 3 parts seltzer water to 1 part juice. It can be adjusted to your taste!)
- Garnish the glasses with lime wedges.
Happy Holidays!
– Julie
