Navigating the Holidays: Tips for enjoying treats
If you’ve found yourself on this website, you’re likely someone who cares about food and what goes into your body. Or, you’re starting or have started the journey of nourishing your brain and body through food and supplements. You might be apprehensive about how to navigate the onslaught of holiday treats surrounding you, your family, and your friends, at all the upcoming holiday get-togethers. I’d like to share some tips and general rules of thumb to help ease this anxiety so you can be present, joyful, and grateful during the holiday season.
Before I delve into my tips for enjoying treats, it’s important for me to remind everyone that no body is the same. There is no “one size fits all” plan for a better brain, and there are cases in which it’s important to stick to a regime and avoid certain foods while your body and brain are trying to heal. With that said, if you’re in a place where there’s wiggle room, there’s no need for the seasonal delicacies to cause undue stress!
General rules of thumb:
The 80/20 rule. When you’re in a rhythm of being diligent about what goes in your body, it can feel scary to diverge. BUT, as I always say, life is life and you should make room for “fudging it” (literally!). Eighty percent of the time, give yourself healthy, nourishing food. Use the remaining 20% to enjoy foods and drinks that you normally don’t!
Stress threshold. What wreaks havoc on our bodies more than anything - more than that cocktail or gingerbread cookie - is stress! If the stress of saying no, being judged, or avoiding temptation is going to cause you more stress than actually indulging, there’s really no point.
Little by little. Who says you have to eat the whole cookie? If you’re nervous about what might happen to your body after forgoing treats for so long, start small. Your system should be resilient!
Natural Sugars. When you can, opt for treats that are sweetened with natural sugars such as maple syrup, coconut sugar, honey, stevia, monk fruit, or agave. They will have less harsh of an impact on your blood sugar than refined sugars will.
Tips to help you (and your gut) through:
Bolster your immune system with supplements.
Liposomal Vitamin C
R-Lipoic Acid
Milk Thistle
Zinc
Elderberry
Digestive Bitters Tincture to support optimal digestion
If you’re gluten intolerant and accidentally get “glutened” this holiday season, Apex Energetics makes a product called Glutenflam that helps your body to break down the gluten molecule so it doesn’t cause as much inflammation.
To access some of these products, feel free to visit our online dispensary here.
You can always reset. Our gut is indeed very responsive to what goes in, which is why you can easily do a “reset” to get back on track once the holiday parties slow and a routined life resumes. Read through how I reset my gut health on my previous blog post!
Be prepared to bring your own treats! As I mentioned above, if the stress of not indulging is going to outweigh the stress of indulging, then there’s no point in side-eyeing the appetizer table. The opposite is true, too! If that’s the case, take initiative and make your own goodies that you know are safe to maintain your physical and mental health. You can also bring along some of these delicious, gluten-free, refined sugar-free premade treats that you can find at your local natural foods market or Whole Foods:
Emmy’s Cookies
Hu Cookies
Lesser Evil Cookies
Simple Mills Cookies/brownies
Simple Mills cake & brownie mixes
Siete Cookies
Vixen Paleo Ice Cream
Coconut Bliss Ice Cream
With that said, please feast your eyes on some of our favorite holiday treat recipes should you choose to do some baking!
Chocho Protein Bites
Find the original recipe on Mikuna Foods here!
Ingredients
1 ½ cups of Mikuna Chocho Superfood Protein (Cacao)
½ cup of peanut butter
⅓ cup of honey or maple syrup
1 tsp. of vanilla extract
1-2 Tbsp. of coconut oil
¼ tsp. of salt
Toppings: Chocolate hazelnut spread and peanut butter
Instructions
Melt 1 Tbsp. of coconut oil.
Combine Mikuna Chocho Superfood Protein, salt, peanut butter, honey or maple syrup, and melted coconut oil in a large bowl. Use your hands to combine all ingredients. (Add a bit more coconut oil if it’s too dry.)
Roll mixture 1.5-inch balls and place on a plate or baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Melt a few tablespoons of chocolate hazelnut spread and peanut butter, drizzle on top, and let sit in the refrigerator for an hour.
ROSEMARY COOKIES
A Christmas cookie that’s as nutritious as it is delicious!? Sign me up!
INGREDIENTS
1 tbsp minced fresh rosemary
1 egg lightly whisked
1/4 cup honey (or less if you’re sensitive to sweet). If you are on a candida protocol or following a low carb diet, you can use 1-2 teaspoon stevia.
1/2 lemon juice
Zest from one lemon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1⁄2 cup packed almond flour 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp pink sea salt (plus extra to sprinkle on)
1/4 cup ghee or coconut oil
INSTRUCTIONS
In a small skillet over medium heat, add the ghee and minced rosemary and cook until the ghee starts to bubble and is completely melted.
Remove from heat and let cool.
Preheat the oven to 350oF, line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl. mix egg, ghee/rosemary, honey or stevia, lemon juice, and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, mix almond flour, salt, and baking soda. Then slowly stir dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Place bowl in freezer for 8-10 minutes to firm.
Form 16 small dough balls and tightly flatten them on the baking sheet. Sprinkle sea salt on top.
Bake for about 10 minutes or until browned.
AVOCADO CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
INGREDIENTS
2 ripe bananas, peeled & cut in half
2 ripe avocados, peeled, pitted, and cut in half
1/2 orange, juiced
1/4 cup raw cacao powder
1-2 tbsp raw honey for desired sweetness
Dessert doesn’t get much easier than this one! Such a wonderfully healthy hack to a dessert classic.
INSTRUCTIONS
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend.
Place in an airtight container in the refrigerator until cool.