In December, delicious treats are hidden everywhere. Advent calendars, Christmas markets, pastries, and more don't make it easy to pay attention to your health. We'll show you how to enjoy in moderation and get through Advent healthy. Good news: cookies are allowed. A delicious recipe awaits you at the end.
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What exactly is enjoyment?
By definition, enjoyment is a positive sensory experience. It is associated with physical or mental satisfaction. When enjoyment refers to food, the positive sensory perception is the tasting of flavors. But enjoyment is also individual. For one person, coffee is an absolute pleasure, for another, it's bitter swill.
Have you ever asked yourself what enjoyment means to you? If you can express that more precisely, it will be easier for you to enjoy in moderation. Good taste has nothing to do with quantity. Even small portions can create enjoyable moments. You can use this knowledge for the Advent season, as there are many tempting treats and opportunities for gluttony.
However, enjoyment does not always have to refer to food. You can also enjoy a book, music, scents, or a massage. And that is already our first tip for a healthy Advent full of enjoyment. Look for moments of enjoyment away from food that get you in the mood for Christmas.
Recognizing dietary pitfalls: Healthy through Advent
Going on a diet in December simply can't go well. But there is also a middle ground between dieting and constant indulgence. Maintaining your weight while paying attention to your health are realistic resolutions for the Advent season. Enjoying in moderation is the key to success. But for that, you need to recognize typical pitfalls. We'll share our tips and tricks for an enjoyable and at the same time healthy Advent.
1. Sugar in abundance
A big problem during Advent is sweets. For many, the day already starts with chocolate from the Advent calendar, later followed by spritzgebäck, gingerbread, and hot chocolate or mulled wine. At the end of the day, you eat far too much sugar and calories. This not only shows on the scale but can also promote inflammation, lead to exhaustion, and throw blood sugar out of balance.
Our tips: An Advent calendar without sugar is no problem. There are many alternatives. How about tea, good deeds, 24 yoga exercises, or beautiful pictures? With homemade cookies, you can decide the sweetness and use sugar alternatives. Little sugar and plenty of spices also give pastries a delicious taste.
Learn more about alternatives to sugar.
2. Snacks around every corner
In Advent, there are many opportunities for unhealthy snacks between main meals. This way, you unknowingly consume a lot of extra calories, quickly digestible carbohydrates, and unhealthy fats.
Tip: Eat enough at your main meals so it's much easier for you to resist snacks in between. Enough exercise keeps you fit and helps burn off the extra calories. Additionally, you can also ensure healthy and at the same time Christmassy snacks. Pay attention to a protein source that satisfies you. How about, for example, low-fat quark (or a vegan alternative), seasoned with cinnamon, ENDO BIOTIC Orange, and chopped almonds?
3. Stress in the pre-Christmas season
No time for a balanced diet, because one appointment chases the next. Unfortunately, for most people, Advent is not a contemplative time. Instead, the four weekends before Christmas are packed.
Tip: It's your time. You can decide which invitations, which Christmas parties, and which people are important to you during this period. It is often forgotten that saying no is also okay.
Further advice against stress can be found here: Relaxed through the Christmas season: 7 tips
4. Body signals are not perceived
The flood of delicacies and the hectic pre-Christmas season prevent us from consciously noticing enjoyment. Quantity often takes precedence over quality, when it should be the other way around. This overloads our senses. It's quite possible that you don't perceive satiety, the urge to move, and exhaustion as body signals.
Our tips: Take conscious breaks. Listen to yourself. How are you doing? What does your organism currently need? Choose quality over quantity more often. This doesn't just have to apply to food.
5. Cheers: Mulled wine, punch and co.
In December there's a lot to celebrate and therefore a lot of alcohol. That brings a lot of extra calories and puts a strain on the liver.
Tips: It doesn't always have to be alcohol. Have you heard of the trend of non-alcoholic spirits? Great opportunity to try out new drinks. If you prefer something a bit more classic: Tea is ideal for getting through the Christmas season healthy. It warms and tastes delicious. If you do drink too much alcohol during Advent, a liver detox can be helpful. Milk thistle can help you with this.
With healthy cookies through the pre-Christmas season
Enjoying in moderation also means that you don't have to completely abstain. So, cookies are also allowed. Baking cookies is fun, gets you in the mood for Christmas, and doesn't have to be a no-go for your health. We'll show you a cookie recipe that uses very little sweetness. Pay attention to high-quality ingredients, as these refine the sweet moment of indulgence.
Vegan Spiced Coconut Cookies
Ingredients for 15 cookies:
45 g coconut oil
100 g desiccated coconut
100 g almond flour
1-2 knife tips of spices of your choice (cinnamon, chai spice blend, ginger, matcha powder, cinnamon blossom, seeds from a fresh vanilla pod, cocoa powder, mulled wine spice, or turmeric)
70 ml maple syrup or rice syrup
80 g apple pulp (unsweetened)
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 160 °C top/bottom heat (140 °C convection). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt coconut oil.
Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Add syrup, apple pulp, and coconut oil and work into a sticky dough.
Divide dough into 15 portions with moistened hands. Form each portion into a ball. Then place on the baking sheet and flatten (e.g., with the bottom of a cup).
Bake cookies in the oven for about 12-15 minutes. Then let cool.
15 cookies are quickly eaten, but we recommend not baking more at once, so you can try different variations and avoid the temptation of gluttony. 15 small moments of pleasure for you or to share with your loved ones. We wish you much joy with them.
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