Healthy Holiday Tips

Staci:

Welcome to an HMC Healthworks podcast. Today, we will be discussing some healthy holiday tips. Every year there’s tremendous pressure surrounding the holiday season. We feel compelled to attend every party, family event and school function, not to mention shopping for the perfect gift for everyone in our life.

Staci:

And as our calendar fills up, it seems like any, and all healthy routines seem to get put on the back burner. And before you know it, your diet consists of hot chocolate and cookies, and your only exercises are carrying shopping bags in from the car. And as hard as we try, it’s impossible to keep up with the nonstop holiday activities without our bodies feeling the repercussions. It’s important to keep your health as a priority, even in the midst of all the holiday hoopla.

Staci:

So today we’re joined by Kiley Putnam from New England Dairy, and she will provide us with some tips for staying healthy this holiday season. Thanks for joining us Kiley.

Kiley:

Thanks for having me.

Staci:

So Kiley, what is the first tip you would recommend?

Kiley:

So this one is simple, but it’s definitely really important. Wash your hands frequently. Basic hygiene is key to staying healthy this winter between hugs, kisses, shaking hands at holiday parties, along with welcoming your friends and out-of-town relatives. Germs can easily spread through all seasons greetings.

Staci:

Yep, definitely makes sense. So what is another tip you would recommend?

Kiley:

Choose some healthy alternatives to seasonal favorites, at New England Dairy we have some swaps that allow you to still have delicious food. You don’t have to feel like you’re depriving yourself. So we all know the holidays tend to bring with them an abundance of cookies, cakes, and biscuits.

Kiley:

Instead of completely foregoing these treats, our human registered dietician that New England Dairy recommends, substituting Greek yogurt for oil in baking. You can also use regular plain yogurt too, it will just be a bit runnier. Not only is yogurt a healthy swap, but it can lead to moist and delicious baked goods. One fourth cup of Greek yogurt in place of one third cup of oil saves you about a 100 calories and it’s packed with nutrients like protein, calcium, vitamins, things vegetable oil doesn’t have. Veggie oil contains fat only and no other nutrients.

Staci:

Well, that’s a great tip. I wanted to ask you about, I had read an article from the American Heart Association and it said that in place of white potatoes folks can have sweet potatoes, and that’s already a holiday staple for many families.

Kiley:

Yeah, that’s true. I spoke with one of my colleagues, he’s a registered dietician about this, while white potatoes and sweet potatoes are both nutritious, sweet potatoes do have more fiber than a white potato and lots of vitamins.

Kiley:

One cup of baked sweet potato with skin has 769% of the daily value of vitamin A. Vitamin A can improve vision, reproduction and the immune system. It helps with the heart, lungs and kidney function.

Staci:

Well, I’m definitely going to be eating some more sweet potatoes during the holiday season. Also, the yogurt swap sounded great. It sounded like it was healthy and also makes me not give up any of the sweet treat holiday foods that I like so much. So another thing I was thinking about Kiley, is regarding people paying attention to alcohol consumption during the holidays. What are your thoughts on that?

Kiley:

Yeah, it’s something we want to be mindful about. I’ve tried providing my guests and I’ve also enjoyed myself a mocktail option. You can mix and mingle through evening cocktail and dinner parties this season all while cutting back on the booze. If you’re sober curious, doing a dry December or simply eliminating liquid calories, you can try a sparkly mocktail that’ll take any possible awkwardness out of your alcohol free endeavors. One that I enjoyed recently was a non-alcoholic cranberry cosmo.

Staci:

Wow. That definitely sounds delicious Kiley. So before we close today, is there one final tip for the holiday season that you think we all really need to focus on?

Kiley:

Yeah, I would say one that’s really important is to take time for yourself to relax and rejuvenate and to get enough sleep. Use common sense, try to stick to your regular sleep schedule. It’s easy to feel that it’s worth to stay up late during the holidays to catch up with old friends and family from out of town and having an inconsistently schedule can negatively impact your health.

Kiley:

Sure, it’s okay to stay up a little late during the holidays, but try to limit it to no more than an hour of your regular schedule. Sleep deprivation can lead to mood and behavior changes. So if you don’t want your family possibly see you turn into a grumpy old scrooge, get some good quality sleep.

Staci:

Good advice. Nobody wants to be around a grumpy old scrooge. So Kiley, thank you so much for sharing your time and healthy holiday tips with us today. And I want to let our listeners know that they can visit www.newenglanddairy.com, if they’re interested in info about celebrating farming, food, nutrition, and wellness.

Kiley:

Thanks so much for having me on.

Staci:

And I also invite our listeners to visit hmchealthworks.com for additional health and wellness information. Stay tuned for more HMC Healthworks podcasts.