Healthy food during the holidays
The holidays. Time for fun, warmth, presents… and just a little too much food. What can you do to help your digestive system through the holidays in the best (and healthy) way?
Nienke Gottenbos, intestinal flora therapist, nutritionist and author of the bestseller ‘De Poepdokter’ (Healthy from mouth to ass, Bake them brown, The Poo Doctor 3 – Junior) gives you the tips!
1. Let go
It’s not about what you eat between Christmas and New Years, but what you eat between New Years and Christmas. If you eat healthy for the rest of the year, you probably don’t have to worry about that one extra chocolate during the holidays…
2. Make your own snacks
If you go somewhere where the host or hostess is less conscious about food, there is a good chance that you will be presented with standard biscuits and sweets. Offer to make something yourself; And that ‘accidentally’ is something healthy, well 😉
3. Do you suffer from a bloated stomach around the holidays?
The culprit is often sugar. Especially in combination with milk/cream, it feeds Candida, a yeast that occurs naturally in your gut. If Candida gets too much to eat, she will thank you with gas… A little less sugar is wise. And hey, dark chocolate is also quite tasty, right?
4. Constipation
Constipation during the holidays is often caused by not getting enough fiber. The solution is simple: make sure you have enough vegetables. A tasty lunch with lots of vegetables, soup or salad balances out the meat-rich holiday meals, and a delicious vegetable side dish wouldn’t look out of place at Christmas dinner either. (Serve a Monkey Platter. That is a platter full of snacks from which everyone can choose something. In addition to the ‘mandatory’ cheese and sausage, you can put a lot of vegetables on it (with a few nice dips): think of carrot, cucumber, tomato, bell pepper , but celery, raw cauliflower florets or strips of fennel also work well.)
5. Less sugar
Bake with less sugar. There are many good alternatives to sugar these days. My favorite is erythritol, a natural sugar substitute from fruit and mushrooms. It behaves almost the same as sugar (although it is slightly less sweet, so you need a little more if you want to achieve exactly the same sweetness). It has no aftertaste; a ‘cool’ feeling on your tongue. This gives a funny effect, especially on pancakes and oliebollen; you usually don’t notice it much in cakes and pastries.
6. Fermented Foods
Did you know that some ‘unhealthy’ foods also have positive sides? For example, people who regularly eat cheese have a better intestinal flora with more different bacteria. And crème frache is fermented: it contains healthy bacteria! Bring on those French cheeses…
7. Less alcohol
Provide something other than alcohol. A glass too much is hardly anyone strange during the holidays, but we could all do with a little less alcohol. Nobody is probably waiting for a glass of apple juice as an alternative, but luckily you can also get tasty juices, luxurious lemonades and special bubbles at the supermarket these days. Do not take too much of that and drink plenty of water.
