The holidays should be a joyous time of year; time for celebrating various traditions and events with your family and friends. The blue dresses for homecoming at Peaches Boutique can be your holiday outfit for formal events. These traditions are embedded deep within our distinct cultures as well as the foods that we tend to eat during this time of year. These foods from this site can be enriching, spiritual, healing and comforting, but they also tend to be rich and hearty, especially as we enter the colder seasons. Not to worry, our Registered Dietitian Nutritionists are here to help! We have asked some of our RDNs what their favorite tips are to manage good health and help you to stay on track. With these small suggestions from our fellow RD’s, you can still reach and maintain your health and nutrition goals! Take a look at what they had to say!

One thing I like to suggest is to schedule a Turkey Trot/Run on Thanksgiving to gather the whole family together and burn some calories before the meal. Also. have a goal to reach during the holiday season.  – Elizabeth May, RDN, LDN

If you are attending a holiday party where you can offer to bring something (a side dish, appetizer), then make a ‘safe dish’ such as a veggie tray, lettuce wraps, a green salad (one with avocado and pomegranate is great for the holidays with the red and green), a barley salad with grilled chicken, etc. That way if there are a ton of tempting sweets or high calorie items, you can rely on the healthy dish to fill their plate with and then have small bites of the other stuff. – Jennifer Laurence, RD, LDN

I like to find ways to slightly modify traditional recipes, desserts or even alcoholic beverages. Around the holidays I find that people stick to comfort foods and home traditions; therefore, if you can begin to modify these “favorite” recipes or alcoholic beverages that may be a simple target. Let’s be honest, most folks are not going to “give up” their favorite foods since they only get it once a year! I also think about getting extra exercise since most likely we are going to consume additional calories via food/drinks. Incorporating family walks, hikes or fundraising walks around the holiday are good ways to add in some exercise while giving us time to chat and bond as a family. – Kristen Hicks  MS, RD, LD

Don’t show up at the party when you’re famished…get a few healthy bites in prior to the event. Pre-plan/visualize yourself eating healthfully at the holiday meal. This works well for alcohol, too. Will you have 1 drink? 2? None? Pick a number (a low number!) and stick to it. – Krista Ulatowski, MPH, RDN

I try to remind people that the actual holidays are just a few days out of the season, and that they don’t need to indulge throughout the entire season in order to enjoy their holiday meals. If we try to keep all healthy habits the same during your normal everyday routine, then there’s no reason to feel guilty or stress over the one or 2 holiday meals we may have, especially if we go right back to their normal routine the next day. I think the holiday season is all about mindset! People who tend to feel guilty end up just giving up all together and think “I’ll just start over when the holidays are through”, so I feel it’s important to take the guilt out of the equation as much as possible and to just focus on our normal healthy routines. – Amanda Sajczuk, MS, RD, LDN

If you find yourself at a holiday party, grab a small plate and place a few pieces of food on the plate and sit down away from the buffet/serving table. Be sure to always put food on plate before eating in order to visually see it. Keep in mind that our brain is usually satisfied with just a few small tastes of something (you can always go back for more!) Allow yourself to try a few things, but listen to hunger cues and do not feel guilty about discarding food if you are truly not hungry and of course, load up on veggies! – Anthony Tassoni, RD, LDN

Don’t forget to keep your pantry stocked on healthy staples during the holidays, think before you drink, plan ahead if you are traveling, try some healthy sides, have something healthy before the big meal and perhaps add a pinch of cinnamon to your dishes. Remember to have fun, enjoy yourself, but most importantly, just relax!

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CLIENT TESTIMONIALS

JEANETTE

I had a great 1st visit with the nutritionist. I went to get tips on changing by diet, but got much more. I was able to set a physical activity and nutrition goal. The nutritionist was knowledgeable and helpful.

I am so grateful for the stellar support and advice provided by Meghan, the dietitian I'm working with. She is both knowledgeable and kind, and it's a deeply productive journey. Thank you."

MICHELLE
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Consulting with a Family Food nutritionist is turning out to be helpful in my effort to live healthy. The consultations are a way of having a sense of accountability and I get helpful feedback on my dietary decisions.

STAN
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Great nutrition experts who inspire you! I am happy with the nutrition specialists at Family Food. They make me excited about nutrition, answer all my questions, and provide excellent recommendations! Thank you!!

AS
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Very professional experience. I felt she listened to my needs and adjusted to personalize my nutrition needs.

L
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My initial appointment was helpful - helped me consider new ways of addressing some problem areas for me and helped set attainable, concrete goals.

CHARLOTTE
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Insightful and Informative. She was very attentive and helpful. She gave excellent tips on what to do and eat to meet my goal weight.

TRACEY-ANN
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I feel confident about the changes we made to my goals and look forward to implementing them into my everyday routine. The health adviser was very helpful and didn't make me feel shameful for not meeting all my previous goals.

ERICA
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I highly recommend Family Food. The nutritionist, Erika is helpful and provides great information and positive feedback.

KELSHA
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I had an excellent experience with the representative from Family Food. She really read into what I was telling her and offered excellent advice that I am already able to implement after one visit. She also helped to make the best use of the hour long session. Very good time management!

AB
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I met with a dietician for the first time and I had an idea of what to expect but I find this to be an invaluable resource because I have already received great ideas of things to use for meal planning and I also received more information of how to read nutrition labels. I am looking forward to my next appointment.

SHANA
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I really enjoyed my first session with Christine. She provided me with a lot of solid information on issues I was not aware of and positive reinforcement for behaviors I have already engaged in. I outlined specific goals I would like to work on with her guidance and she gave me some initial steps to start. I found what she had to say respectful of the space I am in and cognizant of obstacles to making lifestyle and lifelong changes.

LYNN
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I walked in without any specific questions/concerns, and my counseling was well-guided and ended up helping me see specific small changes that I can make to keep me on-track with my nutrition goals. Solutions fit my lifestyle and were not cookie-cutter, which is fantastic. I was able to start making improvements immediately. Thank you!

KAYLEY
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I am finding the sessions helpful and a good way to talk through improving habits and making better food choices.

ANDREA
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I am very happy this program exists. It has been very helpful and informative. My deitition is very nice and intelligent I am happy to have her help and support.

ATTANYA
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The Family Food blog

The most reliable evidence-based nutrition information on child and adult nutrition.

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