5 Tips To Mindful Eating During The Holidays

I remember years ago when just out of school , a new and eager Registered Dietitian ready to spread my knowledge and help people improve their health, I attended a seminar entitled, Mindful Eating.

It was the first time I really stepped away from the text books, away from calorie counting, and into a mindset I could really get behind.  

I grew up in a family who jumped from low fat fad diets to high protein trends, to whatever the latest diet craze and I knew that none of them work towards long term health.  

What I truly believed after that seminar and continue to believe today is that mindful eating is the only way to live a healthy, well balanced life, where I can still enjoy my favorite chocolate. 

To achieve balance, it is sometimes helpful to take supplements such as Colostrum-LD® that assist the bodies healthy functions.  The growth factors in powdered bovine
colostrum promote muscle building (also called anabolism), utilize stored fat for fuel, and help
balance blood sugar levels so that food cravings are decreased and mood swings are minimized.

MORE: Improve Your Gut Health This Year

The trick to eating healthy your whole life is to eat what you love and truly enJOY the moment. When you really stop and think about the food you are eating you will find more satisfaction and less need for more.

Here are 5 tips to help you eat mindfully during Passover:

Scroll to continue

1. Don’t graze

There is a strong custom not to eat before the Passover seder and to actually be hungry. For the home cook, this can be quite a challenge. As you are hungry and cooking, it is very easy to mindlessly start grazing on all the food  you are making. Tasting as you go without thinking can cause unintentional overeating. I suggest chewing gum and/or brushing your teeth to avoid mindless grazing. Peppermint flavored gum has been shown to work as an appetite suppressant. 

Also keep in mind, that it takes 20 minutes for your body to register that the stomach is full once people start eating. 

2. Choose one favorite dessert

For some reason the challenge of making tasty desserts on Passover makes everyone crave them more.  Desserts for Passover are literally the most popular content on this site.  And most people server a buffet of desserts, which makes it even harder to control. If you are hosting, I challenge you to make 1 amazing dessert and a gorgeous fruit platter, let everyone really enjoy the hard work you put into one dessert. If you are a guest, bring the fruit platter and choose one of your favorite desserts and slowly enjoy the indulgence. 

3. Watch out for matzo

Matzo doesn’t feel as filling as bread, but it does have the same amount of calories.  If you’re not paying attention you might find you ate a few sheets and you’re still hungry.  It’s not great for digestion and is just not satisfying.  Focus on making healthy soups, and vegetable dishes that are loaded with nutrients and flavor.

MORE: Attack Flu Season with These 8 Immunity Boosting Recipes 

4. Try the 5 S’s of mindful eating

Psychology Today recommends 5 S’s to help focus on mindful eating. Sit down, Savor, Slowly Chew, Stay in the Moment and Smile. The smile helps you consider if you want that next bite and helps increase your level of enjoyment. 

Of course, it is still important to choose the right foods, lots of fruits and vegetables and whole grains.  We have all your healthy recipe ideas including Passover menus when you sign up for Fresh Families. 

5. Avoid Processed Foods

Processed foods, foods that have transformed substantially for mass production and shelf stability, are missing crucial nutrients that help keep us healthy. Natural whole milk, for example, provides healing components such as immunoglobulins and growth factors that are identical to our own and help build immunity, cure infections and prevent disease. 

Nowadays, however, milk is produced in gigantic dairy processing plants with the milk from
thousands of cows. It is filtered, homogenized and ultra-pasteurized to give it an
extended shelf life. This 30-minute pasteurization destroys all the living components and immunity boosting benefits naturally found in milk. 

Short of buying
fresh milk from the farm and drinking it unpasteurized, supplements such as Sovereign Laboratories Colostrum-LD® can fill the void. Mix Colostrum-LD® with water, wait a minute for the
particles to plump and drink. This colostrum is the best natural source of all that’s
missing from dead milk. It is loaded with immunoglobulins (20-40% of total protein), antioxidants, and many other beneficial
components, some of which have only been recently identified.