Festive food news: Making your holiday meals healthier

The holiday season means big celebrations. When it comes to celebration, people are busy putting food on the table. Some are even considering the holiday season as their “cheat day”, doing away with their usual diet.

But just because it is a holiday, it doesn’t mean we should forget to be careful about what we consume. Modern-day studies have shown that how you choose to nourish yourself plays a large role in health and even longevity.

National Geographic fellow and best-selling author Dan Buettner has tips on how to make your holiday meals delicious but still healthy.

Buettner has been studying “blue zones”, places around the globe where people live the longest and healthiest lives, and he said that their diet is one of the major contributors to this.

“Blue zones” are countries with a high concentration of people who live long, healthy lives, often reaching 100 years old and rarely suffering from chronic diseases like heart diseases, cancer, and dementia.

According to Buettner, people in “blue zones”, such as in Okinawa, Japan, often eat plant-based diets that prioritise whole foods.

How to make your holiday feast healthier

In his latest cookbook titled “The Blue Zones Kitchen One Pot Meals: 100 Recipes to Live to 100”, Buettner puts a spin on the healthy ingredients used in blue zone areas to appeal to the American palate, CNN News reported.

Together with Johannes Eichstaedt, who directs Stanford University’s Computational Psychology and Well-Being Lab, they analyzed 675,000 recipes from popular websites using artificial intelligence.

“We found that most of the most popular recipes in America followed one of seven different patterns. And then we kind of reverse engineered deliciousness,” Buettner said.

Here are some tips Buettner suggested to still make your meals delicious, without sacrificing their healthiness.

First, add beans, corn, and squash. These three foods are among the most powerful for promoting longevity. He explained that they’re rich in nutrients and have long been staples of Native American diets, similar to the traditional eating patterns of people in the Blue Zones, such as Costa Rica’s Nicoya region and the Greek island of Icaria.

“Build your menu around these, and you’re already eating like centenarians,” he said, adding that families could also include this in their December holiday meals.

Second, always include vegetables as your side dishes. Buettner said it is advisable to include a longevity-boosting salad or vegetable-forward side dish in your holiday feast.

“Blue-zone tables are full of leafy greens: mustard greens, collards, wild arugula, fennel fronds,” he said. 

“A simple, herb-heavy salad or roasted seasonal vegetables can lighten a traditionally heavy meal.”

Buettner also suggested swapping in whole-grain alternatives for refined grains.

“Instead of white rolls or refined stuffing, try whole-grain sourdough, barley or wild rice,” Buettner said. “These keep blood sugar stable and keep you fuller with fewer calories.

Buettner also recommended trying naturally sweet foods as alternatives for desserts, such as baked apples, roasted squash or dates.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Christmas around the world – From folklore to unusual, eerie traditions

Making and sharing memories with your loved ones

But Buettner said the most important part of any holiday celebration is making it social, active, and meaningful. 

He believes a Blue Zone meal “doesn’t end at the table”—and it doesn’t begin there either. Instead, families should spend time together, stay active, play games, and share stories with one another.

“Longevity isn’t just about what’s on the plate,” he said. “It’s the whole web of connection around it.”

READ NEXT: Merry & gay: Four queer movies to watch to get into the holiday spirit