Week 178 :: How Can You Convince Your Family To Eat Healthy During The Holidays?

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TOPIC: How Can You Convince Your Family To Eat Healthy During The Holidays?

For the week of: November 12th - November 18th
Tuesday @ Midnight Is The Final Cut (Mountain Time, US & Canada).

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During the holidays family and friends get together to share gifts, stories... and food! This is the time of year that the recipes of ultimate temptation start showing up as well.

How can you convince your family to eat healthy during the holidays?

What strategies have you used in the past, and did they work?

What new strategies will you try to get your family to eat healthier?

Bonus: When you made an effort to improve the quality of how your family eats, were there any problems and were you able to solve them?

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[bodybytwa]

How can you convince your family to eat healthy during the holidays?
I am the mom of a 10 year old boy and a 5 year old girl. I am the Chief Chef at our house and have learned many different cooking techniques that get the healthy foods into them (as best I can!). With the upcoming class parties and family celebrations, they have learned to eat sweets in moderation and to add fruits and veggies as snacks. Plus I've become an expert at getting rid of the many candy canes that invade our home and linger until Easter! They never miss the candy once it's buried in the trash. My husband already knows what's good for him and not so good. He's really not too bad! I am teaching them to make smart food choices by example and putting healthy foods out for them to eat.

What strategies have you used in the past, and did they work?
My mom and I used to make a bunch of candies and cookies starting in late November. My dad, being Type II Diabetic and now going on 11 years post-bypass, he's the one that really didn't need to eat the treats we made. Yet he was the biggest consumer of them! Two years ago, we said, "No more! No one needs to eat this crap." We had been giving out some of it as gifts and taking it to family parties. At first, other family members were actually mad my mom didn't make her famous Coconut Bon Bons. She simply told them she didn't feel like making them this year. Now I don't make any special treats that are incredibly fat-ladden. If a party host requests a dish to pass, it is something truly sinful tasting, but not bad for you. At home, it's simple exchanges - cottage cheese for the milk in mashed potatoes; light or fat-free condensed milk and Splenda in the pumpkin pie; steamed veggies with butter spray instead of casseroles.
One of my favorite strategies was for last year's parties, I offered to bring salad. Now this was no ordinary salad but a mini salad bar! I had the greens in a large bowl along with smaller bowls with healthy additions in them. Plus my collection of wonderful salad dressings that most people won't try. It was a huge hit! You could make your salad however you wanted it!

What new strategies will you try to get your family to eat healthier?
I have already started searching for new healthy recipes for the holidays. I'm thinking of making my own rolls this year instead of buying some packaged ones made with HF corn syrup and other ingredients I can't pronounce. I'm also going to add vegetable purees to some dishes where I can. I am also stocking our house with healthy choices for those after school snacks.

Bonus: When you made an effort to improve the quality of how your family eats, were there any problems and were you able to solve them?
As with most kids, mine are not very adventurous when it comes to their food. We have a 2-bite rule in our house - you must try 2 bites before you say you won't eat something. My daughter swore she didn't like my beef burgendy until she actually tried it. Then she exclaimed how much she loved it! And then there's the, "It's a seasoning." line I like to use when they question what the green "stuff" is in different dishes. In reality it's broccoli or spinach - just chopped fine. I try to be the example and eat healthy and my kids (and hubby) see that. So do my family and friends. I'm often asked how I eat and can I teach them. That is so rewarding!

Monica

[Mr.Next in Line]

Im Doin That This Year. First Of All I Think Most Of Them Learn On Their Own When They Suffer Some Type Of Problem Earlier In The Year, And Then They Start Thinking ( Im Not Goin This Persons House This Year, They Use Too Much Grease)

The Easiest Way Is To Invite Them To Your House And You Will Cook, You Know Whats In It. Thats What Im Doin This Year To Avoid A Downfall. Mama You Coming To My House? Lol

[History in Effect]

How can you convince your family to eat healthy during the holidays?
Convincing your family to eat healthy during the holidays is one of the hardest things you can get them to do. They feel this is a time where family should get together and conversate over the past year. It is a time where relatives come from a variety of places bring their favorite dishes and desserts for us to enjoy. How can you turn down a plate of mouth-watering turkey with mashed potatoes, macaroni&cheese, potato salad, and a piece of pumpkin pie? It is hard, but it takes a commitment from all. The three big days(Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas) challenge our mind. It is tempting, but you can do it. I convince my family to stay healthy by reminding them of the importance of a "sound body, sound mind". Many people gain 10 to 20 pounds during the holiday season and wonder how they got it. I just tell my family that the smaller children in the family are looking up at you. They see us as role models. If we pig out and eat everything in site that is not good, then they would follow our foot steps down a role which includes bad eating habits and overindulging. Moderation is the key when it comes to anything, so just remember that.

What strategies have you used in the past, and did they work?

Hear are a list of strategies I used that benefitted me and kept me healthy. My brother also took part in this in an effort to stay fit and healthy during the holidays.

1) Eat Breakfast

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and eating a good one will prevent you from destoying those yams during Thanksgiving lunch. If your Thankgiving meal is around dinner time, make sure you have an adequate breakfast and lunch.

2) Drink Water

Sometimes we feel we are hungry, when in reality we are not. Drinking water throughout the day during Thanksgiving can help eliminate some of the "hunger" you feel you have. Water fills you up and this inevitably will have you eating less.

3) Portion Control

Thanksgiving dinner is tempting as you see all of your favorite foods and desserts on the table. This does not mean pile your plate high and eat until your stomach is full. Eat like you have some sense. I am pretty sure after eating the main course and sides, you want a nice slice of pie. Keep that in mind, because everybody loves desserts. There are other people who want to eat too at the table. We all have relatives who want you to taste their latest creation. If you do not want it, just say no.

4) Exercise

People stop going to gyms around this time because its too cold or the weather is that severe preventing them from leaving. This does not mean you should stop working out. Working out before a big Thanksgiving meal is one thing everybody should be doing. Cardio and weightraining as a matter of fact will speed up that metabolism and burn off those calories. If you don't have time before the meal, set aside time after to walk or weight-train.

What new strategies will you try to get your family to eat healthier?

Those the strategies above are nice, there is one strategies I failed to incorporate. It is probably the most important.

1) Make Things Healthier
You may have smaller portions, but your plate still will be full of high fat, high cholesterol, and high sugar monsters. Try to find low-fat recipes for pies. Take the skin off that turkey. Stop slathering all that gravy and butter on those mashed potatoes. Let's not forget about those liquid calories. Don't drink too much alcohol, carbonated drinks, or eggnog. Those drinks can add up and many people fail to count that as part of nutrition. If your the person who is cooking all the food, then you have the opportunity to set an example that will not only be healthy, but still delicious.

Bonus: When you made an effort to improve the quality of how your family eats, were there any problems and were you able to solve them?

Obviously, you can't tell some of your older relatives what they should and should not be eating. Though you can enligten the little kids on healthy eating habits and things of that matter. Eating healthy starts earlier and the younger you start the easier it will be for people to learn and understand it. It is just like kids being able to learn a language faster than an adult. Holidays are a stressful time for many people and coming together as a family will liven those sprits. Encourage positive dialogue between yourself and your family about issues of the past year. Motivation is the key.

[soundcheck129]

HOW CAN YOU CONVINCE YOUR FAMILY TO EAT HEALTHY DURING THE HOLIDAYS?


How can you convince your family to eat healthy during the holidays?

This is a tough task for any family, but in my cases, there's an extra challenge - we're Italian. In my grandparents' and my mother's eyes, food equals love, and the more of it the better. The bottom line, though, is that every family wants to show each other how much they care during this time of year, so you can gently remind them that helping each other stay healthy is a great way to show your love. Moderation is key, and the healthier you are, the more time you'll get to spend together in the long run. Another way to convince them is to explain that if they don't want to eat healthy for themselves, they are doing it for you and everyone they know - remembering that you're all in it together can help create success.

What strategies have you used in the past, and did they work?

In the past, I have tried several things:

1) Healthy Alternatives - While Halloween candy, Pumpkin pie, and the whole gamut of Christmas treats aren't exactly healthy, there are many ways to provide some damage control. A lot of websites offer recipes for healthier versions of holiday treats, but even if you can't find one, you can make your own - subbing apple sauce for oil, egg whites for yolks, Splenda for sugar, Smart Balance for butter, and peanut butter instead of trans-fat laden frosting are simple ways to make things healthier. This has had varying levels of success; in the past my mother and I have made some swaps that were not noticed, but it's another story when everyone is aware of the changes, as my Dad is somewhat of a "dessert purist" and insists on the full-fat, full-sugar versions. However, that's not horrible if you exercise...

2. Portion Control - This is huge! While I recognize the importance of eating healthy, there is no "dirty" food if you exercise moderation. It's okay to indulge in your favorite treats as long as you keep it under control. Using smaller plates, cutting smaller portions, and putting the food on a separate table can help with this. This has been more successful, as no one wants to be denied the food they've waited all year for. You'd be surprised how much power your brain has - smaller plates make people think they're eating more, and having to walk away from people to get more food can be offputting. In addition, separating courses helps - instead of piling chocolate on top of whipped cream on top of ice cream on top of pie, serve them separately.

3. Stay hydrated - A health teacher once told me that what you think are hunger pangs are sometimes really just your body telling you that it's thirsty. For this reason, I have encouraged my family to drink lots of water and always keep bottled water around all the time. Everyone has embraced this, so I'd say it's been a success.

What new strategies will you try to get your family to eat healthier?

1. Sneaky Swaps - A lot of my older relatives are big soda drinkers, so swapping out diet soda for regular soda will help them save a significant number of calories, and the taste difference is mostly negligible. Lower-fat milk and light beer are also possibilities.

2. De-Emphasize Dinner - Instead of making the focus of the gathering the food, remind everyone that getting together and catching up on things is the most important part. Keeping people talking will help keep everyone from putting so much in their mouths, and setting up board games will add something else to look forward to.

3. Get Active - If the weather is nice, an after-dinner walk seems like a great idea. Taking along a camera to take pictures of the changing leaves and snowscapes can be fun and also help burn calories. Another fun activity would be a pickup football game. Instead of sitting around watching the pros, playing a game amongst the family is entertaining and a great source of exercise.

4. Fill People Up on the Good Stuff - Serving calorie-sparse foods such as steamed vegetables or salad before the main course will help people fill up and prevent them from getting stuffed on the less healthy foods.

Bonus: When you made an effort to improve the quality of how your family eats, were there any problems and were you able to solve them?

In the past, my Dad has been the biggest stickler. Growing up on whole milk and full-fat treats, he's been a bit stubborn. However, we have successfully reached compromises, adopting 2% milk instead of whole or skim, and frozen yogurt instead of ice cream. In addition, we have explained that we're not trying to deprive him of good food, we're trying to make sure we don't deprive ourselves of him by compromising his health.

Happy Holidays!

[Michel1968]

Wow awsome topic. Awsome reply so far. It's not me that will change the eating habit of my parents or inlaws for the holidays. We all know that holidays is traditions food and not necessary healty. But what i'll do tho , i'll mention on each serving how bad it can be or what you can replace it with. Take Turkey and gravy goes together right?? I replace gravy by sugar free apple sauce.... Anyway. This thread is about how we gonna convince the family to eat healty...I will start by showing the example......

[Juddan]

It's me as the mother that choose what to serv.
The problem is that the kids aint eating it.

[clos561]

the best strategy is to cook things yourself. Prepare food that is healthy but not boringly healthy. That is probably the only way to convince family, eating something "Healthy" that tastes good could encourage healthy eating in the future

[Finner]

How can you convince your family to eat healthy during the holidays?

No matter how much I've tried, I CAN'T convince my family to eat healthy during the holidays. However, I am asserting myself where I can by way of having everyone over to my house for the big holiday meals.

See, my biggest problem isn't my husband or his two children (very healthy people!) it's my MOTHER and her family that I have to really work on in order to dodge the sugary-landmines of the holiday season.

One would think that with a Type I diabetic for a mother and a Type II diabetic for a grandmother, my family would ease right into choosing healthy alternatives for holiday meals. Unfortunately, they have created a history of an unhealthy pattern of viewing food as a "treat." They'll "treat" themselves to a decadent meal full of sugary glazes, thick gravies, toasted marshmellows and other sweets. Well, this only works if they behave the rest of the time. And from Halloween through New Year's, the opportunities for "treats" arise more frequently than the rest of the year.

One of the ways that I've been successful in changing the landscape of the holiday table is by making sure every single dish is made with healthy ingredients that are alternatives to my family's traditional reciepies. We'll have roasted turkey that I've injected with chicken stock, rather than a fried turkey; I broil it for a few seconds here and there to get a crispy skin! We'll have sweet potato souffle (sp) and rather than using butter, brown sugar and gooey marshmellows on top, I'll blend it up with stevia and top it with roasted walnuts or pecans. Instead of slimy "cran-jelly" I shred fresh cranberries in the food processor along with oranges and pineapple as a relish. Sure, the sugar content is still there, but at least it's fruit! And while my family would not go without some form of stuffing, I do make a HUGE and beautiful salad with romaine, spinach, bleu cheese crumbles, avocado, nuts and tomatoes.

The dessert issue has been one of the toughest to tackle. No one seems to be able to control themselves around free-standing pecan and pumpkin pies. So, what I plan on doing this year, is providing a small, single serving of these same desserts. It will be a lot of work for me, plating everything, rather than having a multiple-choice dessert buffet, but I'm willing to put in the time to do what I can to make it all worthwhile.

Lastly, I'm not going to point out or make a big deal about any of the food being "alternatively healthy." If someone asks, I'll simply mention that I found a new recipie I wanted to try. I'm thinking that if I point it out, SOMEONE will rebel! Ha ha ha!

What strategies have you used in the past, and did they work?

In the past, I've tried taking my family out to a restaurant where the portions are controlled. And while it was nice to be waited on hand and foot and not have clean up duty afterwards, it was NOT cost effective. Looking at this year's budget, I'd say we're all staying home.

I've also attempted to get my family to actively participate by asking that everyone bring a "healthy" version of a dish. That was a crash and burn of sorts, as it appeared that my family suddenly became hard of hearing - no one "heard" the words "healthy." They just heard "bring a dish." We ended up with a table full of creamed this and that; cheesey casseroles; piles of cookies and cakes.

What new strategies will you try to get your family to eat healthier?

My new strategies (as outlined above) is mere trickery. That's all there is to it! Some people just can't take the honest hit of "Hey. . .let's celebrate the season by being GOOD to our bodies instead of poisioning them with ****-loads of sugar and crap." So, I will have to resort to more surreptitious tactics!

Bonus: When you made an effort to improve the quality of how your family eats, were there any problems and were you able to solve them?

As mentioned earlier in my post, my mother frequently views verbotten foods as "treating herself." Unfortunately, when you "treat" yourself every single day, it ceases to be a treat. I have, this year, been able to talk her into eating well at LEAST 80% of the time, and telling her to have one DAY where she can indulge in anything she wishes. Over the past few months, she's taking her "cheat" days to diminishing extremes. I think eating well all week long and then ending the week on a sugar-crash has really helped her understand the biochemical reactions to the fuel she's putting in her body. The better she eats during the week, the less indulgent she is on her cheat days! Recognizing that it's a CHEMICAL reaction and not an emotional one has helped her tremendously. Her "cheats" are pretty much down to cheat meals rather than an entire 24 hours.

Be well and stay healthy through the holidays! xoxo

[RforREVOLUTION]

During the holiday season, all my family from my mother's side go to my grandmother's house and everybody is suppose to take a dish. In the past, everybody has been taking delicious dishes, but...HIGH IN FAT! I talked to my grandmother and asked her if I could help her organize the dinners and she said yes. With that being said this is my game plan:

1) How can you convince your family to eat healthy during the holidays?<b>The first step I took is to talk to the host, in my case the host is my grandmother, and ask her/him if you could possibly try to plan the holiday dinners with them so they can be a success and everybody can be happy about them. After you have convinced the host, make a list with the host of what kind of food can the guests take (if it's a scenario like mine where all the guests [family members] bring a dish to the house). Try to make the list with only one cheat dish that everybody enjoys (You have to keep the hook there so everybody won't be dissapointed). In the list make sure you had what can the dish have and what to avoid putting in it.

After the list is done, try to tell them that your purpose in life is to make everyone happy and beautiful, and also mention that you will be sad if you fail. Try to put your feelings on the line so they can see that you are impacted by the actions they take and what they take to their mouths.</b>

2) What strategies have you used in the past, and did they work?
<b>I tried just talking to them and try to make them see that binge eating is not good at all! But they never listen and whenever I am about to sit down and eat my dinner, almost everybody gets up from the table and walk away I think it's because I don't eat a lot of food like them and they think I am a strange person. Well, talking to them did not work and now I'm trying to go directly to the host. Which I already did, and she accepted my offer.</b>

3)What new strategies will you try to get your family to eat healthier?
<b>I'm trying to come up with a 365 day plan for everyone for next year and have in there recipes for everyday's lunch or dinner. Just one recipe a day that could be a healthy choice instead of those fattening fried country steaks and seasoned fries! I only have a month ready, but I'm working on it Also, I want everyone to see what I do and follow what I do. I believe in leading by example and if I don't eat healthy and I constantly cheat, everybody will follow. I say this because in my family everybody looks up for me for fitness advice. I need to stay on track so they can follow my example.</b>

4) Bonus: When you made an effort to improve the quality of how your family eats, were there any problems and were you able to solve them?
<b>Yes, there were MANY problems. Everybody told me that not everybody could be like me, "determined and healthy". They said, "you live a boring life with no good food!" They have told me, "you can't control what I eat, you don't tell me what to eat!", "screw you, I can eat whatever I want!"...all sorts of things I've heard thanks to my caring self. The way I respond to these situation is...by saying "look, you can eat whatever you like and you can do whatever you like...all I'm trying to do here is to have you a little bit longer in my life by cutting your possible illnesses that you might develop later on in life thanks to your careless eating behavior...also, I feel like this is my calling and I need to make everyone aware of their health issues and try to make everybody happy and keep them beautiful! I love you and I care about you...you can do whatever you like but remember that you can control the way you look."