Choose:

• Lower calorie appetizers- vegetables, or fruit
• Avoid lots of cheese, and fried foods
• Smaller plates and tall skinny glasses

Know your limits:

• Eat before you go to a party or out holiday shopping
• Make a healthy food for the party
• Have a plan for healthy eating… 5 small appetizers and 2 drinks
• 2 mixed drinks can have almost 500 calories and depending on the appetizers, it can run as high as 230 calories per appetizer
• Indulge in a holiday treat closer to bedtime, you will tend to eat less than if you had it during the day
• Be mindful of eating – slow down and pay attention
• Carry hard candy mints to change the flavor of your palate or brush your teeth to signal yourself to stop eating

Start a new tradition:

• Instead of giving cookies or chocolate try making soup mixes or salsa as gifts
• Make a non-food craft as a holiday activity
• Try walking, ice skating or sledding to enjoy the season
• Try reducing fat and sugar in your holiday baking by substituting with applesauce

Article by Heather Pease, Extension educator, UConn EFNEP