Are you headed to Thanksgiving dinner and in charge of bringing a side dish or dessert? Are you tasked with creating a whole Thanksgiving meal – turkey and the trimmings? With a little pre-planning and setting an intention for a clean eating holiday, you can pull it off without adding tons of calories and fat too.  

I say make a healthy shopping list, get to the store before the crowds (I’ve waited until the day before far too many times in the past – those days are over!) and ease into your healthy cooking feeling relaxed, no last minute scrambling necessary.  

Here are a few simple tips to get your clean eating juices flowing: 

1. Skip the marshmallows in your sweet potatoes!  So many sweet potato dishes are needlessly loaded with sugar but the truth is that sweet potatoes are naturally sweet, and roasting them brings that out.  Instead of dousing your sweet potatoes in marshmallows, use more natural sweeteners like pure maple syrup, if you need any at  all.

2. Forego the butter and try olive oil instead.  Saute or roast your favorite vegetables in heart healthy olive oil instead of butter.

3. Reach for the pumpkin puree.  Making a pumpkin pie for dessert? Instead of buying pumpkin pie filling loaded with sugar, go for pure pumpkin to which you can add your favorite spices and a natural sweetener.  Your waistline will thank you!

4. Go for the green veggies! Focus more on healthy vegetable side dishes like green beans, Brussels sprouts or collard greens and less on calorie and carb-rich dishes like stuffing made with white bread.

 5. Use whole grain bread.  Whether serving stuffing or dinner rolls, increase the health factor by using whole wheat bread instead of white.  I bet your guests won’t even be able to tell the difference. 

What will you do to help create a clean eating Thanksgiving meal for your family? What’s your favorite holiday dish that you’ve made healthier over the years? Do tell!   

It’s so easy to pack on the pounds when the holidays roll around, especially when you’re surrounded by tantalizing sweet treats. But this year, you can take a different approach and bring yummy, healthy desserts to your holiday gatherings. You will know that they are of a healthier variety, even if others don’t!

You could jazz up your traditional holiday with uniquely healthy and delicious desserts. The best way to increase the nutritional value of your desserts is by substituting in whole wheat flour for bleached white flour, focus on whole grain, substitute nuts milks for dairy (I’m a big fan of almond milk), and especially by using natural sugars instead of refined ones (think raw honey, pure maple syrup or agave nectar). How about oatmeal almond cookies, no bake chocolate chip cookies or pumpkin mousse, all simple to make and healthier than your average holiday dessert?

Come join me on Wednesday, October 26th at 6:00 PM and I’ll show you how! I am offering a fre*e, fun and interactive workshop at the New Haven Public Library. I’ll be whipping up some tasty holiday treats using natural sweeteners, nuts, seeds and grains – a healthier spin for the upcoming holidays.

We’ll talk about eating in moderation and more mindfully enjoying these treats so you don’t need as much to feel satisfied. And there will be lots of samples too.

Hope you can join in the fun! Click here to register for this workshop.

I don’t mean say no to everything you love to eat and do but I’m personally taking a stand on saying no to being over-committed and stressed out during the holidays.  With holiday invitations and gatherings beckoning, not to mention shopping and wrapping things up at work, there are far more things to do than I could possibly fit in. 

In the past, I’ve been a holiday “YES” woman.  Yes, I’ll make an appetizer for this, Yes, I’ll help you wrap gifts, Yes, I’ll come over to decorate, Yes, I’ll come to your event.  But all that “yessing” landed me in a state of overwhelm and anxiety with not nearly enough time for myself.  I was so stressed out trying to fit everything in that I didn’t truly enjoy myself. For me, the holidays should be a nice balance and the pace should slow down. As it is, I spend too much time rushing around throughout my day and year and I don’t want to do that during the holidays too.

And given the traumatic year I’ve had with health issues, surgery and a cancer scare, I’m truly appreciating a slower pace, finding time to read and relax more and not have to do everything.  I think saying no is one of the healthiest things I can do this year and I’m happily putting it into action.  And once you get going, saying isn’t actually that hard.  

Here are some specific ideas about how I’m creating more boundaries and a slower pace:

• Attending less holiday parties and events
• Making time spent with family a priority
• Minimizing shopping and skipping the crowds at the mall
• Consciously connecting with friends I won’t see over the holidays by phone and Skype
• Setting aside time to read, watch movies and just be
• Making healthy choices for holiday meals and snacks…More down time means more time to potentially eat so I’m planning ahead with healthy treats

What are you unequivocally saying NO to this year that you’re thrilled about and will make a huge difference in your sanity and stress level?

By the way, if you’re stumped about how to navigate the holidays and maintain clean eating without packing on the pounds, check out my “Clean Eating During the Holidays” audio recording: http://budurl.com/te6a. Some great ideas on how to say NO yet enjoy yourself.

On Monday, December 6 at 7 pm ET I’ll be having a conversation with one of my favorite people, Millie Grenough, pictured at left.  Millie is a life coach, therapist and author of Oasis in the Overwhelm: 60 Second Strategies for Balance in a Busy World.

If you’re like many people I know, the holidays can heap on added stress dealing with traveling, visiting family or simply the rush of trying to do too much with not enough time to relax.  Add in too many holiday parties with tempting food that’s calling your name, and you can have a recipe for added weight gain as well.

Millie and I will both be sharing our favorite healthy tips and tricks to minimize stress during the holidays, make powerful intentions about self-care and truly enjoy ourselves.

I hope you’ll join in the fun and get inspired to make the most of the holiday season that’s upon us.

Join us by dialing in to the following number on Monday, 12/6 at 7 pm ET: 

712-429-0690 – enter 600493# as the passcode.

I hope you can join us!

It’s not that I don’t want to drink water.  In fact, without fail, I always feel more alert and focused when I’m drinking lots of water everyday.  And my skin looks so much better too!

What usually trips me up though, is days when I have a busy schedule of speaking and/or teaching.  On those days, to prevent myself from lots of trips to the bathroom, I tend to drink less.  I have one of those teensy weensy bladders and it feels like I constantly have to go. But it’s on just those days that I can easily get into a water deficit. And if I have a couple of those days in a row, I can easily find myself in a state of dehydration that affects how regular I am…or not.

I’ve blogged about water drinking many times before, sharing some of my tricks to keep hydrated.  In Ayurveda, the traditional medicine of India, I’m a ‘vata’ constitution type which means I’m naturally dry by nature.  Water drinking is one of my biggest, personal health missions to keep things operating at optimal levels.

With the holidays upon us and lots of gatherings to attend, I find that it’s even easier to be water deficient.  Stop by a friend or family member’s home, and the first question may very well be, “what can I get you to drink?”  When you look around and see lots of festive cocktails, it’s a natural inclination to go with the flow and have one yourself.  So for me, it’s all about finding some balance with the water drinking at both parties and at home.

When I’m heading to a function, I like to begin with the end in mind and set my sights on drinking at least one eight ounce glass of water before having any alcohol.  If I’m really on my game, I’ll up that to two. Then I feel so much better about having a glass of wine or cocktail.  In a perfect world, I’d also have a glass of water in between every glass of alcohol I’d drink.  The funny thing, though, is that I’m not much of a drinker anyway. One glass of something, and I’m usually good for the whole evening. 

I came across a handy water drinking tool recently that’s been helping stay on my water drinking toes.  My friend Tracie has a cool website called tinyrituals.com.  She is all about the power of water drinking to feed your body and soul. I especially like her Time to Hydrate sticky pads, a simple way to keep track of your water drinking during the day.  In fact, I thought it was such a handy tool that I’ve given each of my clients a Time to Hydrate pad as a holiday gift.  

So far, I’m at about 26 ounces for the day and it’s just about noon.  Not too bad, but I find that I often start the day strong with water and then fizzle out over time.  This is a good reminder to keep on going.

What do you do to stay on track with water and make sure you get enough in? Water’s your secret to stay sufficiently hydrated during the cold winter months and the holiday season?

PS You can get a full list of simple and fabulous ideas to keep you feeling your best during the holidays with my audio recording, “Clean Eating During the Holidays: Outwit Holiday Overeating and Overindulgence.” You can check out all the details here: http://bit.ly/109omL

This year, I’m focused on slowing down, getting more quiet and reflective and only going to the gatherings that are most meaningful for me. Perfect example is that my mom and I are headed to a very special party on the 23rd.  Some former colleagues of my mom’s have a wonderful holiday party every year when they fly out to the family farm here in Connecticut. Every year they invite us and I have as yet to go.  My mom’s gone a few times but not in recent years, and as she’s gotten older she’s less interested in driving long distances at night. So this is the year for the Briscoe party and I can’t wait.  It will be great fun to see people I know so well and reconnect. For me, this is all about setting priorities during the holiday season.

Between several family gatherings, having my niece visit for an overnight and having a dinner party with some close friends, that feels like the right amount of  holiday cheer.  I’ve already said no to some holiday invites but that’s okay. For me, I’m getting more comfortable with setting boundaries and taking care of myself. With a busy fall, lots of working and sometimes not enough rest, I’m also making it a priority to take time off (two weeks in fact), get more rest and do things like catching up on my reading. I can’t wait!

What are you doing to make the holidays joyful and fun yet a chance to wind down a bit and take care of yourself? What would need to shift for you to put more focus on yourself and getting some rest as you prepare for 2010? Do tell!

And if you’re fresh out of ideas for how to take optimal care of yourself during this busy holiday season, you won’t want to miss my new MP3 recording, “Clean Eating During the Holidays: Outwit Holiday Overeating and Overindulgence.” It’s the perfect holiday guide to help you feel your best during and after the holidays and makes a perfect holiday gift too!  You can check out all the detail here: http://bit.ly/109omL

I already have planned out a super simple turkey soup and I’m also making a delicious, super easy turkey chili that only requires a few ingredients. When I went to the store on Sunday, I picked up the things I’ll need to make my post-holiday dishes that are all focused on clean eating.

In fact, there are several compelling reasons to plan ahead for post-Thanksgiving treats.  Here are just a few:

1. When I have the ingredients already on hand, it makes meal preparation so much easier
2. It ensures I actually use the leftovers for other dishes and don’t waste any food
3. It gives turkey a fresh spin. There are only so many days I can eat leftover turkey in its original form.  Creating something new makes it so much more interesting
4. Planning ahead relieves the pressure of having to go out on Black Friday.  I’m usually content to stay home and avoid the crowds and when I have what I need, the pressure isn’t on to be out and about.
5. I have clean and healthy food for the next several days.  The great thing about cooking for Thanksgiving is that you have a bounty of food from which to make healthy leftovers that usually involve minimal steps. In about 30 minutes I can whip up a simple dish.
6. You save lots of money! Who needs to be eating out after you’ve just cooked up a storm? Plan a few meals with leftovers BEFORE Thanksgiving and your bank account will be thanking you for the money saved
7. It’s a great reason to invite friends and family over. Have a games night or watch some sports and have your friends help eat up the leftovers (so they don’t all end up on your waistline).

Most importantly, however, creating a day after Thanksgiving plan ensures that you will continue on the clean eating path. Ever have one of these holidays where you start overeating and indulging in almost everything in sight and next thing you know your pants are a bit tight and you can’t seem to help yourself? I sure have been there in years past but not anymore. But with an intention of creating a clean eating Thanksgiving meal, the leftovers are simply an extention of that initial effort.

To me, the beauty of the holidays is in spending time with family and friends. While food is a part of that equation, I never like it to supercede the powerful connections and fun with the people who are important in my life.  I love the idea of making some clean eating, post-holiday dishes that I can share with others.

What’s in your post-Thanksgiving meal plan? What can you plan ahead for now? Who will you invite over to help share in the bounty? What will you do to practice clean eating once the holiday is over? Do tell!

Ever notice that it’s so easy to overeat during this time of year when there’s a  bounty of food in front of us? I sure have been guilty of that in the past, but with a little pacing and some clean eating cooking tips and ideas, any of us can turn out a delicious meal that doesn’t have to pack on the pounds.

During the radio show, yours truly, the Clean Eating Coach, will be sharing tips on healthier versions of traditional Thanksgiving meals, the importance of clean eating, the best cooking techniques to reduce risk of weight gain, and suggestions on creating healthy leftovers after Thanksgiving dinner.

It’s going to be great fun and you can even call in live and ask questions! Join us and get your Thanksgiving, healthy meal plan in gear, before it’s too late.

You can check out more details here about Feel and Look Fabulous with Irina including the call in number for the show:  http://budurl.com/kdac

Can you say post-holiday weight gain?

The good news is that it doesn’t have to be that way! We can all thoroughly enjoy ourselves during the holidays AND manage to emerge in January feeling our best.

The key: clean eating and meal planning that focuses on healthy and fresh foods. In fact, there are super simple ways to prepare yummy holiday dishes and treats that don’t have to be full of calories and fat!

Join me on Tuesday, November 17 from 8-9 pm ET for a fre*e call on how to outwit holiday overeating by beginning with the end in mind. I’ll be sharing all my secrets to help you embrace clean eating during the holidays.

Take it from me, The Clean Eating Coach, you won’t want to miss this fun, engaging and informative call!

You can get more details and register here: http://bit.ly/109omL

I make a budget, it seems realistic but something often happens during the holidays where I end up spending a lot more money than I anticipate I will or want to.

I’m personally of the notion that there’s more value in spending the holidays with family and friends, connecting and enjoying each other’s company, then giving expensive gifts. For me, gifts aren’t the essence of Christmas. Of course, as a child, I couldn’t help but revel in all the gifts (and because my birthday is 2 days after Christmas, it was lots of gifts all at once), but these days, I’d rather contribute my time to volunteer in the community or make a donation to a local non-profit. There are so many people in need, more so now than ever given the economy, and that to me, is the spirit of the holidays.

But alas, I’m also part of two families now – mine and my husband’s — that like to give gifts. And now that I’m married, the list to whom we give has expanded. But I believe there’s a way to keep it simple that celebrates the spirit of the holidays without overdoing it. This year, Bruce and I are committed to a smaller budget that’s focused on simple, less expensive gifts and more emphasis on just being together as family.
Take a listen to this week’s audio tip for some simple ways to give that don’t have to break the bank and are about celebrating in simple ways.

What about you, have you adjusted your spending for the holiday season? What are you doing this year to stay with a budget?