Healthy Happy Holidays -How to be Healthier During the Holidays

The biggest holiday season is quickly approaching. With Thanksgiving in late November, I feel like it basically runs from then all the way to New Years Day! I love it! It's my favourite time of the year. I love that people always seem to be a bit friendlier, the catchy Christmas songs that we say we hate but c'mon, do we really?, hot drinks that warm my belly, that crispness in the air, the food... oh yeah, the food. That's kind of what I wanted to talk about today.  Food is a big part of the holidays and I know for many people it can also be a cause for anxiety. There's a lot of holiday parties, baking, big dinners and so on. So how can you get through the holidays with your health, happiness and sanity in check?  Well, I've come up with a few suggestions!

source

How to be Healthier During the Holidays

1. Eat whole foods.  This really applies to any time of the year but during the holidays it's easy to reach for box mixes and other short cuts. This is an easy way to end up consuming far too much sugar, processed additives and other ingredients without realizing it. Try to stick with foods that you recognize; where you know what the ingredients are. 
2. Bring your own dish to a party. A healthier, cooked from scratch dish. This way, you know there is going to be at least one healthier option for you. Not to say you can't also eat other things but perhaps you can eat smaller amounts of the things you know are less good for you. As a vegan, I often bring food to parties so that I know there's something I can eat!  At first I thought I might look odd but I find that people really appreciate and enjoy it (I bring enough to share!). 
3. Drink more water.  This is especially important if you're consuming alcohol. Not only will it help hydrate you (alcohol dehydrates you) and help you to avoid a hangover but it may prevent you from over drinking. Try to have a glass of water for every drink you consume, if not more.  Carrying it in your hand at a party also makes you less likely to eat out of boredom.
4. Eat consciously. It's really easy to eat out of boredom or simply because it tastes so freakin' good! Just remember to be aware of what you are eating and how much of it.  Know your comfort zone; how much of something can you eat without feeling guilty?  There's nothing wrong with indulging but it should feel good, not bad.  I know I can, say, eat 2 cookies and fully enjoy them but if I eat many more than that I'm not going to feel so great so why bother? Just be present in the moment and listen to your body. Also, remember to really chew your food!  You'll digest it better, feel satisfied quicker and consume less overall. 
5. Prep food ahead of time. Cookies are so easy to just grab and eat but hey, so is fruit, nuts, roasted chickpeas etc Try making some healthy snacks (or meals) to have on hand. It's a busy time of the year but hey, if we can find time to bake we can find time to prep healthy food right? 

source

Here are some healthier holiday dishes that I love and I think you will too!
Creamy artichoke dip
Black bean soup

Roasted chickpeas

Herb cashew cheese

Chipotle white bean dip

Rosemary roasted almonds

Coconut chickpea soup

Kale smoothies

Cold busting orange juice

Fruit infused waters

Raw brownies

Zucchini pasta

I have tons of recipes pinned on Pinterest, so feel free to check that out. They aren't all healthy but maybe you'll get some ideas! There are lots of appetizer ideas in the Let's Party board!

Body Fat and Stuff

I didn't carb cycle this week, obviously. :P

Breakfasts:

I ate oatmeal all week haha This one has fresh pair!

Lunches/Snacks:

Frozen mango, coconut water, spinach

Coconut water, frozen banana and frozen mango

Carrot shake.  Bit of vanilla ice cream, juice of one carrot, almond milk, cinnamon and nutmeg!

Dinners:

Vegan quiche with a puff pastry crust! I used all tofu instead of cashews.

Red quinoa with Gardein orange chicken, bell pepper, eggplant, squash etc

Gardein chicken scallopini sandwich with veggies and hummus!

Veggie burger! Same as last week.

Desserts:

 Single serve chocolate chip cookie! How genius is that? 

Chocolate covered banana bites!

Yeah, that's an Oreo banana split. Judge me. :P

Amazing pumpkin bread!! Seriously, you have to make it.

 Here are some fitness progress pics! I'm almost done Live Fit and I have to say, I LOVED phase 3! I think I will probably repeat it after I return from vacation later this month.

Starting to see my upper abs!

Body fat percentage is starting to go down. I dropped a few pounds this past week.

Belated Foodie

This past week has been a little nuts with my husband deploying so I apologize for the missed posts. I literally just wore Julie G "Rock Candy" on my nails all week so no manicure pictures to share! I know I missed Friday Foodie though so I figured I'd get that up today.

The past two weeks of indulging has definitely caught up to me and I'm looking forward to going back to my healthier habits!  Honestly though, my downfall was all of the beer I had. Delicious, craft, local beer... haha

CSA:

Lettuce, grapes (never had local grapes, yum!!), pear, summer squash, figs, tomoatoes, poblano peppers, onion, zucchini, basil...

Breakfast:

Stuffed french toast. Basically peanut butter and banana inbetween two slices of bread, dipped in almond milk and cooked on the stovetop. The recipe is from 1,000 Vegan Recipes.

Cascadian Farms cereal with fruit and cinnamon

Same as above plus homemade granola

Tofu scramble, hashbrowns and grapes.

These waffles topped with fruit and almond based yogurt. I used whole wheat flour and raw sugar. I'll omit the sugar next time or half it though, it didn't need to be so sweet.

Lunch/Snacks:

This tasty tomato soup and homemade breadsticks.

These are extra good when frozen!

Simple quesadilla. Homemade tortilla, Daiya Pepperjack (my favourite vegan cheese now!) and spinach topped with salsa.

Raw fig newtons. Delicious!

Delicious sandwich with roasted eggplant and zucchini. 

Party food! It was all vegan except the ranch dip. I brought the hummus and these chocolate chip cookies (I used coconut oil) which were a big hit.

My favourite smoothie this week was coconut water, frozen pineapple, frozen banana and with or without an orange.

Open faced sandwich with homemade hummus, CSA tomatoes, CSA lettuce and cucumber.

Native Foods Cafe nachos. Mmm.

Dinner:

Homemade nachos with salsa, pinto beans, guacamole and Daiya Pepperjack

Inspired by this. Brown rice, quinoa, sauteed kale, peanuts, raisins, bell pepper and homemade bbq sauce.

Native Foods Cafe wings. Don't they look real?! They are soy, wheat and pea protein. Delicious.

Native Foods Cafe sandwich they only had for one weekend. It had breaded cauliflower!

Native Foods Cafe macro bowl. A new favourite!  My inlaws gave the husband and I a $100 gift card so yeah, we ate a lot of Native Foods this past week and a half haha

Stir fry using Archer Farms Mango Curry Sauce.

I love that Stone Brewery has so many vegan options. These are the "duck tacos" but with tofu instead of duck. Unfortunately, I found them way too spicy and had to send them back! They gave me new ones (with less sauce) but no sides.  So... it was hardly worth $18!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Groceries:

Eggs (for husband), Bitchin Sauce, hummus and strawberries from the Farmer's Market. My husband was with me so, more dips than usual haha

Indulgences! The ice cream sandwiches are kinda meh but the popcorn, chocolate and chips are favourites of mine. Oh and the red two buck Chuck. I'm trying the Green Fin tonight. Found both using Barnivore. 

Bought too much processed food but only ate the spring rolls and faux chicken (with  my husband) and a bit of the cheese. so I guess that's not too bad for a week.

Groceries this week were from Trader Joes.

Food prep:

Walnut banana muffins, black bean falafel, quinoa, quinoa salad and homemade granola (used a basic recipe from the Forks Over Knives cookbook but added walnuts, almonds, raisins and freeze dried raspberries)

Breakfast:

Homemade granola (so delicious) with coconut milk

Oatmeal with blueberries, peanut butter and homemade strawberry jam.

Quinoa with almond milk, pecans, blueberries and goji berries.

Lunch/snacks:

I hadn't had Chipotle in so long! This is my usual order, veggie bowl with black beans, brown rice, corn, mild salsa, lettuce and guacamole.

Pita bread and hummus from the farmer's market, black bean falafel and quinoa salad

Tried a different bread (pictured above with the groceries) and I really like it. I generally buy Ezekiel or FoodforLife Rice Almond... or make my own.

Cherry smoothie

Chiptole again! I treated a friend to lunch for taking me to an appointment and we got this after. This location had a new vegan option, a shredded marinated tofu. It was delicious! A bit heavy for the bowl though so next time I will ask for less or do tacos/burrito. I know my husband would love it too.

Mango carrot smoothie

Rainbow chard wraps and a protein smoothie

Dinner:

Tacos with black beans, cabbage, kale, sweet potato etc

Kale chips, wild rice, bell peppers, onions, black beans and hummus

Trader Joes vegan sprint rolls, stir fry and dipping sauce.

Super tasty eggplant parm and asparagus.

Archer Farms pizza crust topped with marinara, avocado, mushrooms, spinach, olives, Boca burger and Trader Joes vegan cheese.

Dessert:

"Frosty". 10-15 ice cubes, 2 tbsp cocoa powder, 1/4 banana and as much almond milk as needed

Definitely a favourite recipe for chocolate chip cookies.

Combine 2 cups almond flour, 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour (I used gluten free), 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 cup maple syrup, 1/2 cup melted coconut oil and 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Add spoonfuls to a greased baking sheet and cook for 10min at 375F.