A Mindful Holiday Season
As we can safely gather again after the global pandemic overtook Thanksgiving 2020, this year, Thanksgiving 2021, we are here to CELEBRATE! Let’s go!
There is SO much to be grateful for. Even if the past 18 months have brought the worst of the worst, there is ALWAYS something in our lives that we can find to have gratitude for. From the big wins to the small moments, every second of life should be celebrated, and the times that we are together with our community and family should be celebrated the most – and they just seem a little bit more special than they did before. No matter where you are in the country right now, look up at the leaves falling, see the weather transitioning to a colder temperature, and simply remember that you are HERE, on this earth, right now, and that this exact moment will not come again. Don’t live in the future or the past, live for RIGHT now, soaking in every detail of what is in front of you.
As we go into the week, this is my reminder to you to be mindful this Thanksgiving holiday; to be mindful with your food, with your family, with your social media usage, with your emotions, and with your body. It’s very easy for the holidays to come, go, and then for us look back at them like they were a blur in time. After living this in this blur for SO many years, 2021 woke me up. Through my meditation practice, the car accident in April, doing inner child work, and reading a TON of books, it took me being 27 to realize that even though I thought I was present for the moments of my life through most of my 20’s, I really wasn’t. I was still worried about what comes next, what someone else thought, or rethinking an old situation over and over again. But that has slowly changed with practice and a lot of grace for myself.
Here are some tips, as well as some recipes, that you can incorporate this holiday season so that you can fully soak up each moment, stay connected with your body and your mind, and so that you can squeeze your loved ones a little tighter.
Being Mindful with Food Consumption:
Our society has normalized overstuffing yourself on Thanksgiving holiday. The Thanksgiving food coma is even encouraged. While Thanksgiving food is great and something that you might only get once a year, it doesn’t mean that you have to be miserable! You are allowed to eat the food, enjoy it, and not have to unbutton your pants afterwards because you completely overdid it.
Just to be clear, you should NEVER restrict. This is a time of year where you may get to eat the foods that you don’t usually get (hello, grandma’s apple pie!), so you should definitely have the pie if you want it, but it doesn’t mean you need 3 pieces. The same goes for the macaroni and cheese, turkey, stuffing, and more. You are allowed, but you don’t have to stuff yourself to the point of discomfort.
You can be mindful with your Thanksgiving (and every day) eating by:
Before your meal, place your hand on your belly, close your eyes, and take three deep, grounding breaths. Be thankful for the food you are about to consume that will give you energy, joy, and even bring back memories.
Eat slower, setting your fork down between bites. Take plenty pauses and breaths between bites as you eat and check in with your body to see when you feel satiated – and if you choose to eat more, then you are then mindful of it.
Chew your food very well so that it is more easily digested in your stomach.
As you eat, take a mental note of how good the food tastes and the memories associated with that food. For me, I remember waking up EVERY thanksgiving and eating apple pie for breakfast at my grandmother’s kitchen table with the fruit wallpaper and the view of the garden outside.
Have conversation while you eat. While you’re eating delicious food, remember that you’re actually there to be with the people that you’re eating the food with. Soak up EVERY single conversation with them, learn more about your family, hear their stories, laugh with them, and share this time with them. Let the food be way you connect to what really matters.
Don’t feel the need to keep eating just because everyone else is. Your family or friends may pressure you to keep eating or to even eat something that you don’t want, but that is just them projecting love onto you. We often eat more due to “guilt” of wanting to please someone else, which disconnects us from what our bodies want. You can simply tell them, “My body is saying no more right now, but thank you anyways and I may take some home with me” or “I’m actually super full and if I eat any more, I won’t feel well, but thank you so much for the offer”, or something along the lines of that, always being respectful. If there is judgement on their part, that is not YOUR issue, it is theirs. Remember that! The same goes for alcohol. If your family pressured you to drink and you said no, it wouldn’t be considered as rude. The same rules apply to food, or ANYTHING that you are consuming or putting into or onto your body.
Being Mindful with Food Choices:
My favorite thing about eating healthy is that there is seriously NO sacrifice. There is an abundance of healthy foods, especially at thanksgiving, that are absolutely delicious. These foods also provide us with higher nutrient content than the traditional options because they aren’t as processed, keep our blood sugar more balanced, and keep us satiated for longer. And honestly, they taste much better because there is usually more spices and the food is fresher.
Here are some of my absolute favorite plant-based go-to’s when forming my Thanksgiving meal. I trust these bloggers, nutritionists, and doctors to have whole, real ingredients in their recipes. You can simply swap out a few of your traditional recipes for some of these more nutrient-dense options, or you can make one and bring it as a side to your family’s dinner. If you’re all in and you cook everything, these recipes will lead to a much healthier, more nutrient-dense Thanksgiving spread.
Take a look at all of the food being offered BEFORE you load the plate. What does your actually body want to eat? It’s better to know what you’re going to pick from all of the options instead of piling on food as you go across the spread.
Don’t go into the Thanksgiving meal absolutely starving. About an hour before the meal, have a small snack that’s high in fat, fiber, or protein that will slightly satiate you before you dive into the main courses. Unless you fast regularly, avoid skipping meals in order to “make room for later”. This will likely lead to eating too much, constipation, blood sugar spikes and falls, and increased bloat/discomfort as your body tries to digest a larger meal. It’s better to eat the way that you normally do and simply not over-do it on the main course.
Ditch the calorie counting. During the holiday AND during everyday life. This is not the key to health, body intuition, and even weight loss.
Drink plenty of water throughout the day. Large gulps and massive amounts in one sitting can lead to excess bloating in the stomach and even more bloat as we consume our meals. Simply consume water throughout the day and try to get 100+ ounces.
Always, always, always have some form of greens on your plate. Plain and simple: Eat those veggies for optimal health!1 Those vitamins and minerals are going to have numerous benefits to your body and overall health, and you should have them EVERY DAY! If you’re up for it, they could even be the main focus of your plate with all of the other sides actually on the side.
A good general guideline is to decrease the amount of processed foods that you pick or simply limit your consumption of them. Consuming a ton of processed foods is the easiest way for you to feel bloated, be constipated, and increase inflammation throughout your body.
Eat those carbs, especially the good ones, but balance your carbohydrate intake with healthy fats, fiber, and protein from real foods. This helps to keep blood sugar levels balanced and prevent the “crash” after the meal. Emphasis on the fiber and fat! Both of these will help you to digest all of the food that you are consuming, help push your food through the intestinal tract, feed your gut microbiota, and also increase the bioavailability of the antioxidants and nutrients of all of the other foods that you consume.
Have a variety of colors on your plate. Between sweet potatoes, yellow carrots, green veggies, beets, corn, beans, yams, and figs, you pretty much have the entire rainbow! The more colors, the more phytonutrients you have to fuel your cells, decrease aging and inflammation processes, and give you sustained energy.
Choose organic if you can. Let’s be real, most of the things on the Thanksgiving table that are being made by family will be organic – and that’s okay! However, if you’re cooking, buy organic! Choosing organic foods allows for less pesticide and herbicides exposure, which will decrease your toxic load and cause less inflammation in your body.
It’s extremely easy to add a dash of spice or herbs to your foods to add some flavor to your dish, but this also adds a ton of phytonutrients that are packed with antioxidants, further decreasing systemic inflammation. Spices and herbs that have an abundance of anti-inflammatory properties include turmeric (combined with black pepper), ginger, cinnamon, oregano, thyme, cumin, garlic, cayenne, clove, parsley, and paprika.
Let’s also quickly debunk the myth that tryptophan from turkey makes you sleepy! Tryptophan is a plant-derived essential amino acid, and one of its main jobs is to turn serotonin, our happy hormone, into melatonin, our sleepy hormone2 (all of which are made in the gut and are regulated by a balanced and healthy microbiome, so even more reason to eat a variety of plant-based foods!). However, the very small amount of tryptophan that found in turkey, even if you consume it in large quantities, will not actually make you sleepy3. If you’re feeling sleepy after a large thanksgiving meal, it’s likely due to the high rise and rapid fall of your blood sugar that can lead you to be tired, quickly hungry again, lightheaded, or even anxious.
Be mindful with your meat consumption:
For chicken and poultry, that are free of antibiotics and growth hormones.
If you can, chose grass finished beef. Grass fed means that the animal has the ability to graze on grass, but grains are also given. Even if the animal ate grass for ONE day, that meat can be labeled as grass fed. These grains that the animal consumes are often heavily sprayed with pesticides and herbicides, and also goes into your body. Grass finishe” means that only grass was consumed, no grain was ever given to the animal, and no growth hormones or antibiotics were given.4
The same goes for when you make those deviled eggs. Free range means that the chicken had access to the outdoors, but are often still just fed grain.5 Pasture raised certifies that the animal was let out in the morning and taken in at night with the free ability to eat the bugs, worms, and grass in the soil like they normally would in nature.5 Stay away from cage free, as this means the poor chickens are still cramped in a barn under extremely unsanitary and poor living conditions. The quality of your meat REALLY matters when it comes to how your body processes and uses it.
Being Mindful with Family:
Before the festivities and holiday traditions begin with your family, it’s critical that you begin the day by taking a moment to check in with yourself. A guided meditation or moment to breath in silence to start your day will really help. Even if you don’t have a regular meditation practice, a pause at the beginning of the day will allow you to be more present and purposeful throughout a day that can sometimes bring high stress and anxiety.
Another way to check in would be to grab a piece of paper and write down everything that you are thankful for, the big things and the small things. Read it aloud to yourself a few times and let that energy of gratitude fill you all the way up.
Set an intention for the day. What is the energy that you want to bring to others that you interact with? That intention can be to be mindful with your actions, or to a focus on a certain a feeling you’d like to feel as you’re with your family and friends (confidence, peace, patience, or joy)
Realize what decisions you have to make that could potentially cause you anxiety, and plan out how you will react to them.
Plan to take deep breaths throughout the day with timers. Timers are AMAZING!
Being around a lot of people can often bring up social anxiety, so NEVER feel guilty for needing 5 minutes or any amount of time to yourself. Stepping away for a few moments can allow you to come back to your community more present and connected.
Being Connected with your Body:
Feeling bloated or full? Go for a walk after your meal! This always helps me. Run through a few sun salutations, do gentle stretching, or do a 5-minute light workout later to release endorphins, fire up your muscles, and get the blood pumping (nothing strenuous). My family always gets outside after a meal for a walk and to toss around the football (Arkansas it is generally still pretty warm in November!).
Do a check in with your body throughout the day. Again, use those timers. What does your body need and want? Be intuitive and let your body tell your mind what it needs. I promise it will tell you, you just have to be still enough to listen.
Most importantly, please remember that you do NOT have to work out “extra” to burn off any calories. If you ate too much, it is NOT the end of the world. It is one meal, one day, and was a meal that you very much enjoyed. You don’t have to restrict, you don’t have to label something as “good” or “bad”, and you do NOT need to carry shame over your food choices that brought you joy. Doing this only leads to excess stress and guilt in our lives, which NONE of us need or want.
From my heart to yours, I am sending you SO much good energy as you go into this week and the rest of your holiday season. Remember that no matter what happens, it’s all about how you react, and it all happens exactly as it should. Have grace for yourself and remember to be there for every single emotion and moment.
References:
1) Liu RH. Health-promoting components of fruits and vegetables in the diet. Adv Nutr. 2013;4(3):384S-92S. Published 2013 May 1. doi:10.3945/an.112.003517
2) Friedman M. Analysis, Nutrition, and Health Benefits of Tryptophan. Int J Tryptophan Res. 2018;11:1178646918802282. Published 2018 Sep 26. doi:10.1177/1178646918802282
3) Jenkins TA, Nguyen JC, Polglaze KE, Bertrand PP. Influence of Tryptophan and Serotonin on Mood and Cognition with a Possible Role of the Gut-Brain Axis. Nutrients. 2016;8(1):56. Published 2016 Jan 20. doi:10.3390/nu8010056
4) https://justcook.butcherbox.com/grass-fed-beef/what-does-grass-finished-mean/