![a plate of chocolate covered pretzels with festive sprinkles on them](https://blog.extension.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/3795/2019/12/141223-F-AB000-001-300x200.jpeg)
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