The holidays are a magical time, full of family, love, and oh yes…the amazing food.  I used to spend each holiday season baking and creating all my family’s favorite foods and treats, while also gaining about 7-10lbs by the end of it. I basically enjoyed a non stop holiday buffet right up until January 1st when I would vow to get my diet and health back in check for good.

I had to find new ways of being able to still enjoy all the holiday baking and gatherings while still maintaining my health and weight.

Now after having lost 70 lbs, I still enjoy the holidays with lots of cooking and baking…But I take a modified approach to ensure I still enjoy all the magic of the season without adding the additional 10lbs that every November and December used to bring.

I have found over the years that maintaining my 70 lb weight loss came down to realizing that my journey is about progress, not perfection.

Chasing  perfection will never make you happy and successful long term.  It’s an illusion.  Perfection doesn’t exist no matter how hard you try.  I used to try so hard to have the perfect diet only to end up at some point, giving in to eating something I had previously vowed to no longer consume.  I would feel guilty over eating something I wished I hadn’t, and soon to follow would be feelings of shame.  I would continually give into the idea that if I ate something “Off Plan” then I would immediately have to start right back at square one, having made no progress.  But this way of thinking is so far from the liberating truth that we are all on beautiful ongoing journeys, and we don’t have to start over every time we eat something we wish we hadn’t.  There are bends and curves in the road which may take us a little longer to get through, but as long as we continue to head in the direction of our goals…we will get there.

Once I realized that my journey was about progress, not perfection….I realized I could make room for the things and foods I love and still make progress and maintain my health and weight.

Once I had changed my mind to make room for the foods I love in my diet, it was time to make a plan of how it would play out without adversely affecting my new found health and weight. I knew I couldn’t live a life without feeling the special magic of the holidays of which for me, food played a huge part.

So here’s where I started….I made a list of all my and my family’s favorite holiday foods and desserts.  Then I started narrowing them down to the top most popular ones that I can’t live without .  From there I started figuring out how I could clean them up for my personal needs and make them lower in fat and plant based.

Here’s the simple truth….If I don’t clean up our holiday favorites and they stay in their original full of fat and calories state….I will end up gaining unwanted weight after 2 months of marathon holiday eating.

But I’ve learned over the years that you can make almost anything plant based and lower in fat and it will still taste decadent and amazing.

For starters, make a list of you and your families favorite foods to enjoy throughout the holiday season and then narrow it down to the top, absolutely can’t live without favorites.  If you end up not being able to make any cuts, don’t worry about it! You can at least work on cleaning all the foods up and saving yourself the weight gain you would normally experience.  If you are transitioning from a standard American diet to a plant based diet, then it will take some creativity to find new dishes to replace the Thanksgiving turkey and the Christmas ham.  Take a look at the meals we enjoy for our holiday season for some ideas.

Now It’s time to clean your chosen meals up.  This can seem difficult but really there are several simple steps you can take to make this happen.  Where recipes call for oil, really evaluate if the oil is necessary.  When a recipe uses oil to saute the vegetables that go into it, you can really just saute the vegetables in the pan with a little water or broth.  If a baked good (other than Christmas cookies and pie crust) calls for oil, it can easily be replaced with applesauce. If you are roasting a vegetable for a dish and it calls for being tossed in oil, opt instead for a light spray of avocado.  A little spray of oil can really go a long way and deliver nearly the same flavor without all the added fat and calories. You can also choose to roast vegetables with no oil as well.

All these small changes really add up to big results and less weight gain.  Make sure you check out all the free recipes on my website to help you with your cleaned up Holiday meal planning .

Now that you have made a list and have figured out how to have a cleaned up yet totally enjoyable Holiday season…It is time to make a plan for what I call Intentional Enjoyment.

I like to sum up Intentional Enjoyment as this:  Making a plan and space to intentionally enjoy an activity, person, place, or meal, in order to receive optimal satisfaction.

All that means is, plan for when you are going to enjoy these desserts and meals, in order to make them as special and satisfying as possible.

During the Thanksgiving season I love planning for pumpkin waffles or pancakes on the weekend and some hot mulled cider.  I also love planning for a night of cinnamon rolls around the fire pit, and I like to make sure we enjoy lots of yummy fall soups during the week. Try my butternut squash and gnocchi soup, mushroom soup, creamy poblano soup, or broccoli cheddar soup! 

For the best chance of weight maintenance during this holiday season, stick to what I call Weekday Simplicity.  This is where you focus on eating simple wholesome meals during the week and then plan for Weekend Holiday Magic with meals that require a little more effort and are the more calorie dense meals and desserts off your holiday list.  That way you ensure to continue with your wholesome diet during the week, leaving the holiday inspired meals for the weekend.  This way you can plan for a special way to enjoy your weekend meals.  Maybe make a fire and eat around that, or light some candles and play some music.  You can also enjoy a fall/winter picnic. Whatever you do, be intentional and enjoy the space and time you have made for this special meal.

Your weekday meals do not have to be boring, there’s plenty of fall and winter inspired recipes on my website to help keep you in the season’s spirit.

Check out my free recipes here

For every family there will be at least one non negotiable that will be very difficult to clean up.  In this instance I like to whittle it down to the most important to my family.  In our family, the non negotiable for Thanksgiving is apple pie with crumble topping and for Christmas it is Christmas Sugar Cookies.  I have not found a way to effectively make these items oil free but I do try to reduce the amount of fat and sugar that go into each one. In our house, we make allowances for these items on these special days.  You will have to decide what is best for you and your family.

I do not have these items available the entire season, only on the special days themselves.  That way we enjoy them to the absolute fullness on the day we choose but then these desserts don’t linger for days and days.  That way we aren’t eating apple pie for weeks at a time.  Again, you will have to choose what is best for you and your goals. 

Make it a point to enjoy lots of non food related activities …picnics, walks, hikes, hay rides, pumpkin picking, wreath making, yarn knitting, sleigh rides, sledding, and ornament making.  This way you fill your holiday season with lots of memories and activities that don’t just revolve around food.

Determine what special foods are a must for the season and find ways to effectively clean them up.  Most importantly, relax…..enjoy the season and your loved ones while you create new memories and find new ways to enjoy holiday foods and activities.

Love,
    Kiki

P.S. Check out my cookbooks and meal plans to help you along your journey…