Deliciously Healthy Holidays

All About Food | November 24th, 2015

By Eric Mckenzie

The holidays, a time to gather loved ones to ingest a gloriously gluttonous and gluten-ous feast.

According to the 2015 American Society for Nutrition Conference, simple sugar used to constitute about 2% of the average diet. Now it's upwards of 25%. Nearly everything in the Standard American Holiday Meal is an inflammatory stressor.

Bring sour and savory to the plate. Sugar is slow poison, give erythritol, xylitol or stevia a sweet chance. It is no longer difficult to make nutrition taste delicious. The internet is overflowing with ketogenic/paleo recipes to keep your loved ones healthy and happy. Duke University's Associate Professor of Medicine Eric Westman(MD) explains that, as a source of energy for the brain, ketones make mitochondria more efficient, reduce free radical production(anti-cancer), protect against brain diseases and reduce appetite. If you can go nearly carb-free(~20g per day), high fat(~70% of your calories) is a good thing since carbs have been shown to cause inflammation. If you and carbs are best friends forever, then moderate amounts of fat and low carb is a good goal. Avoiding saturated fat is a dietary myth!

Here are some simple substitutions to keep your Standard American Holiday Meal tastefully simple and anger your relatives by giving the gift of health this holiday season.

Sweet potatoes become insulin abominations when covered in marshmallows or syrup. Instead try mixing in a tablespoon of coconut oil/grass fed butter, topping with crushed nuts and a sprinkling of pumpkin pie spice(my version is all ground…

3Tcinnamon,

1t coriander,

1t cardamom,

1t ginger,

1/2t allspice

, 1/2t cloves,

1/2t nutmeg).

If stuffing is a must... gluten-free is an option. To one quart of stuffing I like to add any combination of sauteed...

1 celery stock,

1/2c onion,

3 cloves garlic,

1c kale,

1c brussel sprouts,

1t turmeric,

1T sage and

1T thyme.

These will up the nutrient and flavor profile while keeping the stuffing true to its fluffy nature.

For your 6 serving green bean casserole try nutritional yeast instead of cheese. The sauteed garlic, onion, herbs and spice recommendations listed above would also make sense here. Homemade fried onions to avoid the TBHQ & Propylene Glycol present in most fried onions and homemade cream of mushroom base to avoid vegetable oil & extreme sodium.

2 words. Flaxseed Gravy.

If your turkey costs less than $1 per pound, it is most likely shot up with antibiotics and is engineered to contain so much breast meat it can't walk. Why does it need to walk if it's crammed into a building so packed there's no room for the turkeys to move anyway... one might ask. I don't know either.

The World Health Organization states that the inappropriate use of antimicrobial drugs, including in animal husbandry, favors the emergence and selection of resistant strains, and poor infection prevention and control practices contribute to further emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance. I vote for a higher quality turkey.Choose to contribute to the solution, not the problem.

Eric McKenzie is a Health Advocate, Designer, TableTop Gamer and Foodie that works for Sydney's Health Market. You can contact him through the Sydney's Health Market Facebook page

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