Eat and Be Merry: Tips for Healthy Holiday Indulging

Eating healthy during the holidays can be challenging, especially when there is a cornucopia of foods to choose from. However, you do not need to give up your favorite Thanksgiving dishes to maintain your weight. By following these tips at your holiday table, you can enjoy both the food and your family without worrying about your health:

1. Prevent Overeating- Be sure to eat a wholesome breakfast and lunch before going to your Thanksgiving destination. When we don't eat for long periods of time, our blood sugar goes down and we tend to overeat at our next meal. By spacing out meals throughout the day, our blood sugar stays steady and we are not as prone to overindulge at dinner.
2. Remember Portion Sizes - Every dish can be enjoyed as long as you keep to appropriate portion sizes. A good rule of thumb is to fill half your plate with vegetables, 1/4 of it with turkey or other meat, and the remaining 1/4 of the plate with a starch, such as stuffing or mashed potatoes. Eat slowly and enjoy your food until you are full.
3. Remove the Skin From the Turkey. Turkey is an excellent source of lean protein to support our muscles, but the skin can be loaded with fat. Try removing the skin to lower the fat and calories before you eat it. This will help to keep your cholesterol in check also.
4. Raid Your Spice Cabinet - Foods do not always need to be flavored with heavy amounts of butter and salt. Try new seasonings, either dried or fresh, to help maintain a healthy heart and blood pressure. Try seasoning your turkey with coriander and sage, or use ground thyme in your potatoes or stuffing.
5. Save Calories, Drink Water. Specialty holiday drinks such as eggnog can be high in fat sugar, and calories, especially if alcohol is in the recipe. Remember that certain drinks, like alcohol or sweetened beverages should be consumed in moderation. Indulging in a glass of wine with dinner is a good option when selecting a beverage to celebrate the holidays.
6. Save Room for Dessert. What are the holidays without apple or pumpkin pie? Enjoy a small sliver instead of a large slice or remove some of the crust to lower the fat and calories. A plate of fruit is also a great healthy go-to option if you are craving something sweet.

Make sure you add some physical activity each day along with consuming a healthful diet. Enjoy the holidays by taking small steps to eat less, enjoy your meals and your family, and stay in shape for the New Year.

 

Holiday Traveling Tips: Be Prepared, Be Safe and Be Merry

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Year’s, long-distance trips increase by 54 percent, and another 23 percent between Christmas and New Year’s alone, compared to the rest of the year. With this much coming and going, it’s really important to be prepared so that everyone arrives at their destinations safely and with as little stress as possible.

Statistics show that about 5 to 6 percent of holiday travel is by air, so let’s look at a few holiday traveling tips for surviving the flight.

Holiday traveling Tips for the Plane

• As best as possible, try to book your flights two or three days before and after the holiday, and book direct flights with no or few stopovers or connecting flights.

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• Where possible, arrange for a friend to drop you off at the airport or take a shuttle.

• If you take your car, remember to hide all valuables and keep a set of booster cables in the trunk in the event your battery dies while you’re away.

• Call before you leave for the airport even if the weather is good to find out if there are any delays in departure or any of your connecting flights.

• Arrive early. “Domestic travelers should arrive ... two hours prior to departure ... international travelers should arrive three hours prior.” (TravelSense.org)

• Send your gifts ahead by courier or mail. If you’re taking gifts with you on the flight, make sure they’re unwrapped. Take gifts bags and tissue paper with you to wrap when you arrive at your destination.

• Be mentally prepared for setbacks, but maintain a positive attitude, and come prepared for boredom and delays.

• Remember the TSA 3-1-1 policy: “Liquids, aerosols and gels must be contained in three ounces or less; items must be put in a one quart, clear plastic zip-top bag; and, only one sip-top bag per passenger” (Transportation Security Administration).

• Know what items are on the TSA’s prohibited list to save time through check-in.

Holiday travel driving tips

Even though most of the travel tips are for air travelers, as mentioned only 5 to 6 percent of traveling during the holidays is done by air.
Approximately 94 percent of the 42.2 million people traveling at least 50 miles during the holiday season will be driving, according to AAA. (CNNTravel)
Preparing for the trip should happen well in advance of the actual day:

• Give your car a thorough maintenance and mechanical assessment. Check tire wear and pressure (snow tires are recommended for travelling through snowy areas). Check and replace wiper blades if necessary.
Top up your windshield wiper fluid and make sure you have extra jugs in your trunk. Have the oil changed, and the brakes tested. Have battery levels checked, too. Check your turn and brake signals.

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• Include an Emergency Road Kit in your trunk, particularly if you’re driving through snowy weather.
Your Emergency Road Kit should include: an “ice scraper, snow brush; sand, cat litter or traction mats; a small shovel; gloves, hats and blankets; flashlight with fresh batteries; shop rags or paper towels; jumper cables; warning flares or triangles; drinking water; non-perishable snack bars; warm clothes; first aid kit; basic hand tools; mobile phones (with important numbers already programmed, and charger.” (CNN Travel)

• Plan your route and find out the weather for the route you’ll be taking.

• Make sure your driving plan allows for delays, and take a break every 90 minutes or so if there is only one licensed driver in the vehicle.

• “Make a rule that nothing requiring a battery charge reside in the front of the car. Cell phones, MP3 players, DVD players, etc. they are all potential distractions ...” (CarConnection.com)

• Be considerate of others. “Keep your emotions in check and be mindful of others on the road. Allow plenty of space between you and the car in front of you. Merge with caution. Keep in the right lane unless passing ... show goodwill toward all.” (CarConnection.com)

Happy and Safe Travels to all!

 

Merry Christmas

Meaning

The traditional greeting at Christmas - very commonly used on Christmas cards.

Origin

"A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You" was the verse that was shown on the first commercially available Christmas card in 1843. Christmases has been merry long before that though. The use of 'Merry Christmas' as a seasonal salutation dates back to at least 1565, when it appeared in The Hereford Municipal Manuscript:

"And thus I comytt you to god, who send you a mery Christmas & many."

1843 was also the date of the publication of Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol and it was around that time, in the early part of the reign of Queen Victoria, that Christmas as we now know it was largely invented. The word merry was then beginning to take on its current meaning of 'jovial, and outgoing' (and, let's face it, probably mildly intoxicated). Prior to that, in the times when other 'merry' phrases were coined, for example, make merry (circa 1300), Merry England (circa 1400) and the merry month of May (1560s), merry had a different meaning, i.e. 'pleasant, peaceful and agreeable'.

That change in meaning is apparently viewed with disfavour by Queen Elizabeth II, who wishes her subjects a 'happy' rather than 'merry' Christmas in her annual Christmas broadcasts. The idea of a modern-day merry England is presumably unwelcome at the palace.

The best-known allusion to merriment at Christmas is the English carol God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen. The source of this piece isn't known. It was first published in William Sandys' Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern in 1833, although versions of it probably existed as a folk-song and tune well before that but weren't written down. Sir Thomas Elyot, lists the phrase 'rest you merry' in his Dictionary in 1548:

"Aye, bee thou gladde: or joyful, as the vulgare people saie Reste you mery."

It is often assumed that the carol's lyric portrays the wish that jovial gentlemen might enjoy repose and tranquility. The punctuation of the song suggests otherwise though - it's 'God rest ye merry, gentlemen', not 'God rest ye, merry gentlemen'. In this context 'to rest' doesn't mean 'to repose' but 'to keep, or remain as you are' - like the 'rest' in 'rest assured'. 

'Rest ye merry' means 'remain peacefully content' and the carol contains the wish that God should grant that favor to gentlemen (gentlewomen were presumably busy in the kitchen). It isn't the 'rest' that is being given but the 'merry'. Anyone misreading that comma is in good company though. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen was the carol that Dickens was referring to in A Christmas Carol:

"The owner of one scant young nose, gnawed and mumbled by the hungry cold as bones are gnawed by dogs, stooped down at Scrooge's keyhole to regale him with a Christmas carol: but at the first sound of

God bless you, merry gentleman!
May nothing you dismay!

Scrooge seized the ruler with such energy of action that the singer fled in terror."

 

How to Be "Merry" Every Day 'till Christmas

Here are 9 things you can do everyday until Christmas to make your life more "Merry" or happy. These 9 ideas will help you get into the Christmas Spirit and you may find that instead of shopping for presents you become the "present" to others.

Steps:

1. Print off your favorite "Christmas Song" memorize it and sing it in the shower each morning 'till Christmas.
2. Do at least one random act of kindness for someone else every day.
   • When shopping for presents instead of buying a gift, buy an experience for the ones you love.
3. Take one night and watch a Christmas movie with the family all together, with popcorn and candy.
4. Smile at others, you will find this to be contagious..
5. Go to bed 1/2 hour early each night, and wake up 1/2 hour early each morning.
6. Do 15 push ups and 15 sit ups each morning and evening.
7. Give your full attention to what you are doing each moment.
8. Make a list of 5 things you are grateful each night before bed, then review the list in the morning.
9. Ask your kids or a kid what makes them most Happy, write down the answers and share it with someone.

 

Merry means "Happy" and Christmas, so your really saying "Happy Christmas" or "Have a Happy Christmas" Get it?


The "Merry" part is a wish that you will find the season, more specifically the occasion, as cheerful, hopeful and joyous. Agreeable or pleasant are applicable too, with joyful probably being the single closest definition.
The occasion to be joyful about is Christmas. The word Christmas is derived from "Christ's Mass" which has its roots in the Middle English "Christemasse" and the Old English "Cristes mæsse,"

Christ, of course, refers to Jesus Christ. The "mass" in this case comes from the English meaning and tradition of a religious feast in honor of a specific person. Christmas Day is the feast day of Christ. Christmas also means the larger season around Christmas Day or the 12 days of Christmastide.

Christmas day, December 25^th, is the celebration of Jesus' birth. The celebration date is not necessarily the actual date of Christ's birth.

"Merry Christmas" therefore, is a wish that you will find joy in the event of Christ's birth. The announcement of the Angel to the Shepherds in the Gospel of Luke clarifies the sentiment behind "Merry Christmas":
"…the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord."