During a busy holiday season it’s easy to let nutrition get neglected. I will be the first to tell you to indulge and enjoy the holiday foods when you’re celebrating with loved ones. However, I will also be the first to tell you to do your best to keep it in check and don’t forget the basics the majority of the time. Results come from what we do a majority of the time.
The way I see it is it’s unlikely you’ll have 7 days in a row of celebrating. If we’re following the 80/20 rule diet where you’re eating well 80% of the time and indulging 20% of the time, that would look like 1-2 days a week of indulging and 5-6 days a week of keeping it in check. So, let’s build what could be an example of 5 days (or that 80%) of being nutritionally conscious might look like. For the purposes of this article, I’m not going to be focusing on calories, but rather on nutrient variety according to the USDA guidelines.
Day 1
Main Meals
★ Whole grain English muffin, cottage cheese, berries
★ Salmon, broccoli, quinoa, coconut aminos
Snack
★ Variety of nuts with banana and apples
Day 2
Main Meal
★ Breakfast tacos/burritos: eggs, corn tortilla, beans, potato, sausage, fruit based salsa
★ Burrito bowl, seasoned ground beef, bell peppers and onions, pico de gallo, corn, beans, maybe tortilla/rice
Snack
★ Guacamole with whole grain chips
Day 3
Main Meal
★ Eggs/cottage cheese, whole grain toast, berries
★ Brussel sprouts however you like them best, salmon (or a different fish of choice), 3 bean salad, potatoes (sweet or regular)
Snack
★ Protein smoothie or 3 bean salad
Day 4
★ Yogurt and berry parfait, maybe with some healthy oats or healthy grains/granola
★ Asian bowl: some kind of coconut amino/teriyaki/korean BBQ sauce with ground beef, carrots, mushroom, zucchini, rice
Snack
★ Cottage cheese and tomatoes (this was a trend going around for a minute that people loved)
Day 5
Main Meal
★ Eggs, whole grain toast, berries
★ Chicken, spinach, tomatoes, garlic, whole grain pasta, some kind of Parmesan or “healthy” Alfredo sauce alternative
Snack
★ Humus and whole grain chips
This is NOT a Meal Plan
The purpose of this is to help you see how you can apply the USDA guidelines practically, but this isn’t advice or a prescription.
You can indulge during the holidays and you can keep your wellness in check. Even if you do go overboard in indulging, there will likely be ways you can make 5 days of the week be more nutritionally focused if you’re going to be indulging 2 days of the week. Just remember variety is key even if you do have a staple “meal” you like, do your best to ensure that the ingredients are high quality, organic, minimally processed, and there’s a variety of colors and foods in there!