One bite at a time

During the remaining days of 2018, there's a "food Armageddon" on the horizon for many people as they partake in the glorious feasts and treats of the season. The trick to surviving is good eating strategies that can be made one bite at a time...

A few hours into November 1, 2018, and the battle against gluttony - one of the seven deadly sins - is underway on social media. Those two-to-three-minute health segments are already warning the sea of the “unwashed masses” about the atrocities of the upcoming holidays.

Glorious feasts filled with high calorie, high fat, high salt, high gluten foods that are often incredibly tasty traditions and many of us wait all year to eat, but, if we do, we will cease to exist from sugary and fat-induced pitiful deaths.

Of course, all that could be avoided if those dastardly mashed potatoes weren’t put on the table or that pecan pie was just thrown in the trash along with the whipped cream in the can.

Why not just throw it all out?

Instead, how about a bowl of oatmeal with maybe a few twigs thrown in for fiber?

One of the simplest pleasures of life is now so convoluted it’s scary to open the refrigerator door or look in the kitchen pantry.

Almost everything edible is considered “armed and dangerous,” and could provide a slow ghastly death to worry about over the next five years until some medical group somewhere else decides differently.

Remember the bacon hullabaloo a few years ago? Bacon was terrible, then it was good. Bacon then went rogue again and then, due to some fatty acid that is similar to that in olive oil, it’s now a part of a heart-healthy diet.

Who knows or even cares anymore? Bacon is just plain awesome in any form. Have you tried it dipped in dark chocolate and rolled in candied pecans? Now that’s a little piece of food heaven to die for!

I digressed from the topic at hand: What to do with the issue of holiday gluttony?

Of course, there will be treats everywhere you go during the remaining weeks of 2018. Halloween just ended with most families having at least five pounds of candy in their house, with probably two-three pounds of chocolate secretly hidden by the parents.

Next is Thanksgiving, which used to take place on Thursday. One day to eat and drink all you could, pass out on the couch watching football or the parades to only wake up for a late night snack and pass out again in the living room recliner.

For many families, Thanksgiving isn’t just one day. It can be anywhere from a weekend event to up to 10 days of activities filled with food, drink, and fun. It’s hard to keep track of the onslaught of a “food Armageddon” and your indifferent and destructive diet decisions during the holiday fun.

That can be extremely stressful as well, which isn’t good for you either.

So what’s a person to do with so much temptation on the horizon?

A very wise medical professional once told me, “You can have a bite of anything you want. You just can’t eat the whole thing. You’re not a kid anymore.”

While I wasn’t happy at the thought of being considered an adult and responsible for my health choices, it opened a whole new world to me.

I used to fill my holiday plate with all my favorites and stuff my face until I couldn’t eat another bite. Yes, I was that person.

Not anymore. Now I put a small spoon full of all the foods available to eat, and take my time enjoying each bite. Some items are just “not allowed” because of my health, but I will eat a bite of pecan pie. My husband helps me stay right about those choices. (Don’t be afraid to ask someone to be your “food wingman” during the holidays.)

Overall, I don’t each as much, but I get to try lots of new foods that way.

Am I a glutton?

Food doesn’t control me anymore. Now I am the master of my own dinner plate. Hope you are too this holiday season.