How to Have a Healthy and Delicious Holiday Season

The holiday season marks a time to celebrate with family, friends and plenty of great food!

With the proper portions, good ingredients and daily exercise, it’s possible to indulge in your holiday favorites without derailing your healthy habits. The nutritionists at GIANT Food Stores and MARTIN’S Food Markets are offering entertaining and cooking tips to help make your holidays a little lighter.

“The most important thing to remember this holiday season is balance,” said Sarah Glunz, /MARTIN’S in-store nutritionist. “Incorporate more veggies into your meals to fill you up or have a smaller portion of that high-fat dessert. If you have a big dinner party to attend, run on the treadmill for 30 minutes earlier in the day or go for a walk with your family to admire the holiday decorations to help balance the calorie equation and prevent weight gain.”

“In addition, many recipes can be slightly changed to still taste great, but contain fewer calories or less fat making them healthier for both you and your guests” added Glunz.

Enjoy the upcoming holiday season on a lighter and livelier note with these tips from GIANT/MARTIN’S nutritionists:

• Offer fresh veggies as an appetizer or serve salad as the first course. Go heavy on the greens and light on the non-vegetable add-ons such as creamy dressings or butter.

• Think beyond cheese and crackers and try pairing cheese with other nutrient rich foods such as olives, lightly salted nuts, roasted red bell peppers, apples, strawberries or dried figs. Because all contain key nutrients, they will help you and your guests fill up and stay satisfied.

• Pumpkins are a great source of vitamins A and C. Pumpkin puree is the base for many recipes and easy to make by cooking your pumpkin. If you don’t have the time, canned pumpkin can be used as a substitute for eggs and fatty oils in a variety of recipes from side dishes to desserts.

• Try using 100 percent whole grain bread or brown and wild rice instead of white bread in your stuffing. Use a small amount of butter to sauté onions and celery and moisten the bread or rice with low-sodium broth.

• Serve medleys of different colored steamed vegetables without sauces as side dishes.

• Herbs and spices add aroma and flavor to food, but without the extra fat, sugar or salt. If you’re not familiar with the flavor of a particular herb or spice, start off by seasoning with a 1⁄4 teaspoon. You can always add more later, but can’t take out if you’ve added too much!

• For recipes that are naturally higher in calories, serve pre-portioned, smaller sizes. When foods are served in smaller portions, people tend to eat less, which means fewer calories overall.

Also look for products labeled with GIANT and MARTIN’S exclusive Healthy IdeasTM symbol to incorporate into your favorite recipes. Thousands of store and national brand perishable and nonperishable products feature the blue and green Healthy Ideas shelf tags that help customers identify healthy options as they shop the aisles. Foods labeled with the Healthy Ideas symbol include single ingredient fruits, vegetables and 100-percent fruit juice, some canned, frozen and dried fruits, certain breads and meats, cereals, rice and pasta, low fat dairy products and some snack foods.

For more healthy entertaining tips, stop into your local GIANT or MARTIN’S to pick up the holiday edition of Healthy Ideas Magazine, a free 32-page health and wellness publication focused on healthy living. More tips can also be found at www.giantfoodstores.com or www.martinsfoods.com.

Information courtesy of Giant.