The holiday season means spending time with family and friends and eating great food.  For some, it’s a time to just throw caution to the wind, eat all the goodies then get back on track in the new year.  For others, the holiday season can be stressful when it comes to food especially when dealing with health issues like diabetes, heart disease, food allergies, weight and many others.  Here are two things that can help make things less stressful: 1- eat your veggies first and 2- eat mindfully.

Eating more vegetables leaves less room for things you may not want to overindulge on, makes you feel full faster and ensures you get the good stuff first.  When thinking of your plate, 1/2 should contain vegetables, 1/4 whole grains and 1/4 protein.  Most of us plate our vegetables last resulting in less room and less vegetables eaten.  If you start by putting vegetables on your plate first, this insures more room for more vegetables.

Vegetables provide a number of nutrients and fiber.  Eating more than one vegetable of different colors increases the nutrients available to boost the immune system and improve health. Fiber provides a feeling of fullness faster leaving less room for foods you may be trying to eat less of.  Fiber also helps to improve health conditions such as cholesterol and diabetes.  If there are food allergies, vegetables may be one of the few foods available to eat.

Eating mindfully basically requires that you take time to enjoy what your eating. Seated, savoring each bite and checked in with your belly to know when your full.  Eating while talking or on the go, may cause you to overeat because you may not remember what you ate.

Enjoying the holiday season means enjoying good food without overindulging.  Eating more veggies and eating mindfully will help.