Hello Foodish fam, jingle bells, jingle bells, jingles all the way!
The festive season is upon us once again.
For many of us, this means spending time with family, and friends and engaging in all sorts of relaxing and fun activities.
Social gatherings are almost impossible to avoid because well, it's Christmas and we've got to engage in the bubble of activities lined by our relatives.
The one thing about celebrations is there is always good food and drinks to pass around.
Grandma's famous recipes are gonna be pulled out from under the shelf and some tantalizing dishes will be prepared. Mom will make you and your sibling's favorite dish. Your aunt will be there to make her mouth-watering signature dish and everyone's going to have a great time just eating, catching up, and making plans for the new year.
While that itself is a good thing, it might pose a challenge for our healthy eating family. Food security is a great blessing, let's not dismiss that.
But how do you stay in alignment with your healthy eating journey when all those healthy and not-so-healthy foods are all over your face for your eating?
Just a stretch of your hand could have you scooping some highly processed fat snack on the kitchen counter. And we do not want that, do we?
If you plan to spend your festive season with family or close friends who do not really prioritize healthy eating, chances are you might feel the urge to make some unhealthy food choices.
After all, our environment as well as the people we spend our time with largely influence our food choices more than we can count.
But if you're lucky enough to be surrounded by people who are heavily invested in healthy eating as yourself, yay! We're happy for you.
Today, however, let's discuss how you can enjoy the festive season while staying on top of your healthy eating game.
Number 1: Talk to your family.
This is very important. If you're a healthy eater and your family is on the other side of the coin, that's okay. We've all got choices to make.
The next best thing for you and everyone else involved is to have a talk with your family about your food preferences. Maybe it's time to dive into the family WhatsApp group and gently announce to everyone what your specific food interests are.
Hopefully, your family will be super supportive and they'll make their food preparations with you in mind.
And who knows, your very act of talking to them about it in the first place could influence another relative to join the healthy food community. Where better to begin than to be a part of our Healthyish family?
Number 2: Bring your own food.
A great alternative could be bringing your own food to family events. If your family is not on the healthy side of the coin, maybe you should start bringing your own food to major family events during the festive season.
Yh, this could raise a few eyebrows but as we said in tip number one, talking it over with them and telling them the reason why you are bringing your healthy food could help smoothen some roughened feathers.
Number 3: Get involved in the cooking process.
This one is for those of us who like cooking. By getting involved in the cooking process of the festive season during your family's gathering, you would have some sort of control over the kind of foods you want to eat.
From preparing the grocery list, shopping for ingredients, and creating the menu to the actual cooking process, putting yourself right in the middle of it all would enable you to oversee and cook your healthy-ish meals.
While at it, get some healthy meal inspirations right here from the website and our social media pages as well. The great part? There are meal options for the entire family too!
Number 4: Think twice before you break your healthy diet.
In as much as we could all make clean food choices every moment, the truth is we're humans. Hence, the compulsion to indulge ourselves in some not-so-healthy foods could drive us.
When you get the urge to indulge, take a moment to ask yourself if it's a really good idea to indulge. Hopefully, you'll come up with a big fat NO on your own and prevent some potential future regrets.
Number 5: Relax and enjoy every bit of the moment.
The goal is to have a good time with friends and family and enjoy your healthy food while at it. Not to spend your time languishing about whether or not you'd be able to make healthy food choices in the process.
If you're new to healthy eating, chances are you might become so wound up in the face of all the food choices you have to make. And it's perfectly normal.
But, take a deep breath, relax and trust yourself to have a good time without making any regretful choices.
Foodish fam, we're rooting for you this festive season. Once again, Merry Christmas. And don't forget to unwind and have a great time.