WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR FEBRUARY 2025

Session 21:
Healthy Holiday Eating
Overview
The goal of this session is to learn how to eat healthy
and maintain your weight during the holiday season.
The holidays are a time of celebration with family and
friends. You are surrounded by foods that you may not
normally have during the year. In this session, you will
learn how you can enjoy your favorite foods and make
it through the holidays without gaining weight.
Create Balanced Meals
It can be tempting to take a break from healthy eating
and activity during the holidays. Don’t give in to that
thinking. Instead, think about balance. Where can you
fit in a few minutes of exercise? How can you balance
out treats with healthy foods? Rather than over doing it,
Choose lean meats ➢ Protein keeps you fuller longer
and helps decrease snacking
Make half your plate
fruits and vegetables
➢ Fresh fruits and vegetables
are full of nutrients and low in
calories
Choose whole grains ➢ High in fiber to support fullness
Stay hydrated ➢ You may mistake thirst for
hunger when you are not well
hydrated
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choose foods you really, really want. Think about how
those foods can fit into a balanced meal or snack.
Here are some tips for making a meal balanced.
❖ See Handout: Liven Up Your Water for the Holidays
✓ Skill Building Activity: Balanced Holiday Plate
Recipe Modification
✓ Holiday favorites are often high in calories and can
be low in nutrition. In a later session, you will learn
many ways you can improve a recipe. To get you
started, here are a few tips that will lower the calories
of your holiday favorites.
Reduce the
amount of fat
➢ Choose low-fat dairy
products
Make healthy
substitutions
➢ Use brown rice or quinoa in
your side dishes
➢ Replace ½ of the white flour
in recipes with whole wheat
flour
➢ Steam vegetables
➢ Choose fresh fruits over
canned fruits packed in
syrup
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Change the way
you cook your
foods
➢ Use non-stick pans to reduce
the amount of oil needed
during cooking
➢ Baste your foods in low-
sodium broth or wine instead
of oil
❖ See Handout: Holiday Recipe Modification
✓ Skill Building Activity: Modify Your Favorite Recipe
(your coach will lead you through this activity)
❖ See Handout: Holiday Recipes
Use Your Mindful Eating Skills
Whether you choose to eat a modified version of your
holiday foods or you choose the original, it is still
important to be mindful. In session 3, you learned all
about mindful eating. Use those skills during the
holidays. Be sure to hone in on your hunger and fullness
cues. Try to think about how overeating feels both
physically and mentally. Remember, food always taste
better when you are actually hungry.
Holiday Strategies
Before an upcoming holiday, it is important to have a
plan. Think about where you will be. Who will you be
with? Try to anticipate any challenges. Then, use these
strategies and the help of your coach to prepare.
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Holiday Strategy Make a plan before
heading to a holiday
party
If you don’t love it,
leave it
Plan time for physical
activity
Don’t skip meals Alternate alcohol with
calorie-free beverages
Leave white space on
your plate
Use a plate Bring your own
healthy dish
Reach out to family
and friends for support
Why it Works
➢ What kind of drinks will I have?
➢ What kind of foods will be best
for me?
➢ Skipping dishes that are not
favorites allows room for favorite
foods
➢ Take the focus off of food and
get active with your loved ones
➢ People who skip meals may end
up overeating later on
➢ Cut your alcohol calories in ½ by
drinking water or seltzer between
drinks
➢ Leaving space can help with
portion control
➢ Eating meals and snacks on a
plate will help decrease
snacking
➢ Allows you to see your portion
sizes
➢ The host will be happy and you
will have one more healthy item
to choose from
➢ Share your health goals with your
family & friends this holiday
season.
➢ Let them know how they can
support you.
o Example: Let your mom
know that you love her and
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her cooking, but this year
you won’t be getting
seconds
➢ Refer back to session 6 on
getting support
✓ Skill Building Activity: Support List (your coach will
explain this activity)
❖ See Handout: Alcoholic Beverages
Summary
Holidays are a time to celebrate with your friends and
loved ones. If you are willing to practice balance and
mindfulness you can still enjoy holiday foods too.
Remember, having a plan in place is key. Use your
coach and support system to set yourself up for success
over the holidays.
Keep Moving
Stay on track with your health goals this holiday season by
being active. After your holiday meal, go outside with
your family and friends for a game of football, tag, or
walk around the block.
Activities
□ Make healthy changes to one of your favorite
holiday recipes. Use the tips you gained during
this lesson.
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□ Choose 3 holiday strategies that will work best
for you. Write them down and keep them visible
as a reminder of how you will stay on track.
□ Goal setting: Work with your coach to set one
effective goal this week associated with this
session. Example: I will not skip breakfast before
my holiday party.
List your goal here or message it to your coach
_____________
Discussion/Questions
□ Share about your favorite holiday meal and any
fun memories that go along with it.
□ Share your favorite healthy holiday recipe. Ask
group members if they have any other ideas on
how to make the recipe healthier.
□ Share your strategies for healthy eating while at a
holiday party, work event, daily work life or school.
“Give yourself the gift of good health
this holiday season”
– Unknown
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Liven Up Your Water for the Holiday
Use these tips to make sure you and your family stay
hydrated this holiday season.
Tips to Live Up Your Water:
● Squeeze a fresh orange into your water.
● Add a splash of cranberry juice to your water.
● Add fresh fruit for color and a refreshing taste.
● Add fresh fruit like berries to sparkling water for a bubbly
and colorful drink.
● Create flavorful ice cubes. Add sliced or chopped fruit to
an ice tray, top with water and freeze.
● Leave out colorful holiday straws next to your cups. Using
a straw will help you drink more.
Holiday Recipe Modification
Try these easy recipe tricks to create healthier versions
of your favorite holiday dishes.
Mashed potatoes
● Use low sodium chicken broth in place of heavy
cream to add flavor and decrease calories.
Sweet potato casserole
● Use toasted walnuts drizzled with honey as a topping
instead of marshmallows. This will add a healthy serving
of fat and a tasty crunch.
Baked goods
● Use applesauce in place of oil in baking, it is a 1:1
ratio. For example, use 1⁄2 cup of applesauce in place
of 1⁄2 cup of oil. This will decrease the amount of fat in
the recipe.
Stuffing
● Use whole grain bread in place of white bread to
increase fiber. You may need to add extra low
sodium broth for moisture as needed.
Leave off the frosting
● Dust your brownies, cakes or cookies with powder
sugar to decrease the amount of sugar and calories.
It also gives it a “snowy” appearance for the season.
Pumpkin Dip
Use leftover pumpkin to create a sweet and
healthy treat!
Dip your favorite fruits like sliced apples or pears
in pumpkin dip for a protein and fiber rich snack.
INGREDIENTS:
● ¼ cup pumpkin puree
● ½ cup vanilla Greek yogurt
● Cinnamon to taste
● Sliced apples, pears or graham crackers for
dipping
DIRECTIONS:
1. Mix the pumpkin puree and Greek yogurt until
smooth.
2. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
3.Use your favorite fruit or graham crackers for
dipping.
4. Create a pumpkin parfait by topping with
walnuts, dried fruit and/or granola.
Pumpkin Quesadillas
Create a quick and healthy lunch with leftover pumpkin.
INGREDIENTS:
● 2 cups canned 100% pumpkin puree
● 2 Tbsp. olive oil (or substitute cooking spray)
● 8 (8-inch) whole wheat tortillas
● 4 ounces part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese
● 1 tsp. ground cumin
● ¼ cup chopped walnuts, toasted
● ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
DIRECTIONS:
1. In a bowl, combine the pumpkin and cumin. Spread the
mixture on 4 tortillas.
2. Sprinkle the tortillas with cheese, nuts, and cilantro. Top
with the remaining tortillas.
3. In a large skillet, heat ½ Tbsp. oil over medium-low heat.
Cook quesadillas 1 at a time, turning once and adding
more oil between batches, until browned.
4. Cut into wedges and serve immediately.
Serving suggestions:
✔Serve with a bowl of lentil vegetable soup for a filling and
nourishing dinner.
✔Add a side salad for a quick and healthy lunch.
✔For a different twist, substitute cottage cheese for
mozzarella and try as a high protein, fiber filled breakfast.
✔You can make this vegan by substituting crumbled tofu or
vegan cheese.
Banana Cranberry Macadamia Nut Muffins
Try this fiber packed muffin for a quick holiday breakfast.
INGREDIENTS:
● 1½ cups all-purpose flour
● 1tsp. baking soda
● ¼ tsp. salt
● 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
● 1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
● 1¼ cups mashed ripe bananas
● ¼ cup sugar
● ¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar
● ½ cup macadamia nut oil
● ¼ cup low-fat milk
● 1 large egg
● ½ cup chopped macadamia nuts
● ½ cup dried cranberries
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Measure flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Sift the
mixture into a large bowl.
3. Mix together bananas, sugar, brown sugar, oil, milk, and
the egg. Fold the wet ingredients into the flour mixture
along with the dried cranberries. Do not over mix.
4. Spoon batter into prepared 12 cup muffin tin. Fill each tin
about ¾ of the way full with batter.
5. Sprinkle top of muffins with the chopped macadamia
nuts.
6. Bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center
comes out clean.
7. Transfer muffins to wire racks to cool. Makes 12 muffins.
Alcoholic Beverages
Alcoholic beverages can be high in calories without
providing any nutrients.
The following tips can help you enjoy a drink in moderation
and keep your goals in sight.
1.) Moderation
o Men should have no more than 2 drinks and women
should have no more than 1 drink.
2.) What is considered 1 drink?
o 12 ounces of beer
o 5 ounces of wine
o 1.5 ounces of spirits
3.) Limit mixed drinks made with soda
o These can be high in sugar
o Instead, use seltzer as a mixer with a splash of fruit juice
4.) Always eat a small amount of food
o Eat a small amount of food before drinking alcohol to
slow down alcohol absorption.
5.) Drink water between alcoholic beverages
o This will help you stay hydrated and cut the calories in
half.