CHRISTMAS DIET: ORGANIZE NOW YOUR LOGIC MENU of 10!

Enjoying food does not mean eating hypercaloric food. In this article you will find an example of a logical Christmas diet, as delicious as it is nutritious.

Article courtesy of Dr. Laura Isabel Arranz , PhD in food and nutrition, pharmacist and dietician-nutritionist.

At Christmas time there are many gatherings around tables full of food and dishes typical of this holiday season. Cannelloni, special broths, turkey, nougat… are preceded by good starters and generously accompanied by wines, cavas and liquors. It is possible that during the next few days we will take some extra calories, but, so that we do not take any kilos or give up those small – or big – pleasures of life, here I share some tricks. The goal: to enjoy Christmas meals without negative consequences for our health.

Let logic accompany the Christmas excitement!

Emotions are good, but uncontrolled they can turn against us, that is why rationalizing and being aware of what we are going to eat helps us to enjoy ourselves without threatening our health and weight. The ideal when we are in front of a Christmas celebration table full of rich starters or appetizers, main courses and desserts, is to select what we are going to eat and serve ourselves the portion we will take avoiding losing the conscience of what we have eaten.

If we visualize how much we are going to eat, we will be more able to eat it at a slower pace and still enjoy it. If, in addition to our portion, we want to have something else afterwards, there is no problem as long as we are conscious. Logic will help us that the emotion is also eating more moderately.

What to do when we have overeaten?

If in a Christmas lunch or dinner we have exceeded a little in the quantities, we can compensate it during the following two days. We will opt for lighter options, taking vegetables, vegetable broths or salads as a first course and chicken, turkey, rabbit or fish for the second course.

Bread and desserts -which are not light or based on fruit or yogurt- are best left aside to lower the caloric content of the meals, in this way we will be able to compensate.

What if we’ve had a little too much to drink?

In this case we can use a depurative strategy that will have as main objective to hydrate and help the organism to finish metabolizing and eliminating the alcohol ingested. Our body will need some key elements: above all water, but also vitamin C and vitamins of the B group.

The most “depurative” foods will be those that provide above all liquid (due to their water content), therefore, fruits and vegetables will be essential, especially raw and in juices to promote water intake.

It is important to avoid anything that contributes to dehydration, such as salty foods, sugary drinks, coffee and, obviously, more alcohol.

How to improve heavy digestions?

The beauty of the Christmas table is the variety of foods and preparations they offer. Therefore, even if we are moderate in the amount we eat, the mixture will be a major handicap for our stomach.

Digestion will be slower and we may even have a feeling of heaviness or flatulence, especially due to the intake of sweets in the dessert, since sugars in large quantities after a large meal can cause excessive fermentation.

To minimize these side effects it is best, in addition to not ingesting too many sugars, to have infusions on hand, especially combinations that include some of these plants: mint-pennyroyal, lemon verbena, mint, anise, fennel, cumin or star anise. Tea can be a better option than coffee when we know that our digestions are somewhat slow or our stomach is somewhat delicate.

Calories under control at Christmas time

Although it may be hard to believe, some of the foods we eat at Christmas have very few calories. So let’s start by knowing, orientatively, the calorie content that can help us to decide how much we take of each one. In this sense, seafood, crustaceans and vegetables triumph, as can be seen in the following table.

Example of calorie content of some starters:

MENU FOR A LOGICAL CHRISTMAS DIET:

Enjoying food does not mean eating hypercaloric food. Here is an example, as delicious as it is nutritious.

Let’s not forget that the holidays are to enjoy them and that small excesses, always in their right measure, fall within a #dietalogica and emotional eating … always eat healthy while still enjoying.

🥂 Happy Holidays from the entire OAFI’steam! 🥂

Article courtesy of Dr. Laura Isabel Arranz , PhD in food and nutrition, pharmacist and dietician-nutritionist.

Picture by Valentin Petkov in Unsplash

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