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The holidays are coming up. Thanksgiving is around the corner and Christmas and Hanukkah are right behind. Typically all the most special foods of the year come out at this time. But what do you do if you can’t eat any of those special foods because it has sugar or gluten or dairy or something else you are trying to avoid to heal your body. Falling off the wagon, so to speak, can be extremely detrimental so you don’t want to go there. But watching everyone else eat while you can’t can be very lonely.
So what can you do to not only survive but thrive through these food challenges.
1. Keep the big picture in mind. Remind yourself why are are making changes and remember how you felt before you changed your diet. Do you really want to go back to the pain, fatigue, sluggishness, heartburn, irritable bowel syndrome, …. Is it really worth it to indulge and get off the track?
2. If you are hosting a holiday event or meal show your friends and family how wonderful healthy choices really are. Yes it will be more work but you might actually win some supporters in your changes. And even if no one is ready to come with you you can at least eat many or all of the treats you have made to share with them. Where to find recipes that will work for such an event? The internet is full of them. The weekly blog hop I host here, Healing With Food Fridays, is full of wonderful recipes that are acceptable for many different healing diets. I have many favorite sites for recipes as well – Elena’s Pantry, Real Sustenance, The Coconut Mama, Health, Home and Happiness are a few that I go to regularly.
If you are not hosting but you are going somewhere, offer to bring something, a side dish or a dessert and make sure it is something you can eat and show off.
3. Find other ways to show your love and receive it. Food is so tied up with love and affirmation in human cultures that is can be very difficult when we can’t eat everything others make for us. Do your best to explain that certain foods cause you and/or your children/husband/wife problems when you eat it and so that is why you are not eating it right now. And then focus on other things. If dinner is too difficult to share with family ask if you can come over after and hang out with everyone and just be together.
So what your ideas to help make food at holiday time easier and more enjoyable?
Such great advice, Jennifer! The holidays really are not about the food. So sad that they tend to be reduced to that.
Sometimes these kinds of challenges put things into perspective.
This is a great topic, well covered and thoughtful. 🙂
Thank you for your kind words Megan.