I saw a segment on the news this morning about eating healthy over the holidays. The nutritionist recommended eating the things you like within moderation and trying not to be at either extreme. In other words, not completely jumping off the wagon but not sticking to a highly regimented diet either.
This made me smile because I live in the south and very few food items are healthy here. Meat, bread, potatoes, root vegetables, cream soups, and sugar in its many forms seem to make up most of the holiday fare.
While the nutritionist had some great advice, dealing with holiday temptations around food can be difficult for adults. What about our kiddos? I believe in limiting the amount of sweets for my daughter, for her health as well as her teeth. But around the holidays there is more candy and chocolate around. How do you keep kids on a healthy diet and avoid overdoing it?
We tend to give in more during holidays while making it clear it is a special treat. Our child gets dessert every night after dinner, however it is often small or fruit rather than cake, cookies, or pies. During the holidays this completely changes, beginning with Halloween! We have a ton of candy that she walked all over our neighborhood to obtain, and I wasn’t about to take it away from her (although I did cull it a bit). So we just limit it. She can have 2 pieces after dinner and usually picks a lollipop which is her favorite. And she generally has to eat enough vegetables to earn it. I’m not above bribing like this when it comes to dinner because it is so important to me that she eat a good variety of healthy foods regularly. We generally don’t sweets during the day, only after dinner. So go small, limit the amount of treats and time of day for them when you can, and be extra vigilant about teeth brushing this month! Happy eating!