Christmastime Foods & Treats

Posted on December 9, 2019 by dragonspitapothecary

Every where we go this time of year there is food. We are enjoying pot lucks at work and church. We are snacking at parties on pretty appetizers. We are attending dinner parties and celebrations that all have food! It all smells wonderful, looks delicious and we are eating well above what we would normally every day this month.

In addition to over-eating and indulging what we are eating is also usually high in calories, fats, sugars and salts. Not that any of these things are bad per se when we are using them as a treat or the occasional reward but day after day they can start to take a toll. It is very common to hear of people feeling uncomfortable in the waist area all through the holidays.

Not Just Our Usual Bad Diet

It is not a secret that the average American has a horrible diet filled with processed and preservative laden fake foods. Throughout the year we eat some things that are just not good for us and are questionable if they are even worthy of labeling as “food.” Hello Processed American cheese in individual wrappers – do we really know what that stuff really is? I am fairly certain it is not cheese.

So January through October we are eating these things we don’t think are actual foods and then the holidays come along in November and December where we further compound our bad diets. Granted what we eat over the holidays is at least likely to be more homemade and contain some real food ingredients it is also heavy in the sugars, salts and fats. If we were eating better all through the year then this wouldn’t be such a big deal to indulge in over the holidays but the simple truth is we are not. We just add it on top of the normal stuff we eat and say that we will deal with

it in January. But 99% of us won’t.

I’m not saying don’t enjoy grandma’s homemade cake and gingerbread men because these are seriously special and fabulous but… we have to do more than just wait for January before we take some actions. In many ways our desire for hyper-level convenience and right now have to attitudes have resulted in us forgoing the logic of our brain that tells us we can do things differently. I get that sometimes our schedules are crammed and well fast food it is for dinner. My schedule is constant go status so I totally understand it. However, I also recognize there are times that it is just “easier” or less of a bother than pulling out pots and pans. There are just other things I’d rather do than meal prep or cook.