Happy April! For so many of us, April brings at least one holiday happening —whether it is the continuation of Ramadan, the start of Passover, or the celebration of Good Friday and Easter.
As with many others, these spring holidays include gathering with loved ones and celebrating with food. These traditional meals can be wonderfully delicious and also hard on your digestion and blood sugar. To help, founder Ashley Koff RD is sharing her Six Quick Food Tips for Happier Holidays.
- Break fasts with hydration. If you’re fasting then feasting, that’s hard on your digestion and blood sugar. Aim to break your fast with hydrating fluids and pair your carbs with proteins and fats, as well as non-starchy vegetables.
- Unleavened alternates. Switching from whole grains and leavened breads to unleavened, refined ones like matzah can be a negative for digestion and blood sugar. BUT you can turn it into a positive if you use the time to explore enjoying sweet potato, beets, and chickpeas in place of “toast” or bread, croutons (roasted chickpeas) or pasta choices.
- Plan your approach to sweets. Sweets may abound at one or several meals. Plan your choices before the meal and ensure that the following day you plan to get in nutrient-balanced regular meals and snacks about every three hours (ideally don’t have the extra sweets readily available) to help re-stabilize blood sugar.
- Practice easing stress. Holidays can elevate stress in good and not so good ways. The power of community can be so inspiring and special. But travel to and from, unresolved family issues, and all new ones can make holidays an unsettling time. It is good to practice regular stress check-ins. When you feel stress rising, can you take a few cleansing breaths? Have an idea of a few actions that might help you reduce stress before it impacts your choices and longer term health.
- Don’t go it alone. Depending on the length of your holiday in April or any other time — a day, two days, a week, or a month — you may want help with a plan to make choices that support your body before, during and after. Our BNP Coaches are available for this and many other assignments.
- Reset when necessary. If things get too loose during holidays, The BNP Digestive Tune Up™ or Sweet Taste Bud Reset™ are both deliciously doable programs that will get you back on your optimal nutrition practice with one-on-one coaching support.
