Oh no, It's that time of year again!

The Holidays Are Coming!

Some of you have asked me about meal planning through this crazy time- and it is not an easy thing to do.
Most of you are probably thinking- "what? meal planning? you've got to be kidding me- I barely know how many people I"m having for yontif, let alone what I'll be serving, and for sure now what I'm actually going to be eating......"

But let's not be so rigid with meal planning, unless you can do it, in which case you're a rock star and go for it!

Don't go a whole month without planning out some of your meals- it's not good for two reasons:
-we always make poor food choices when we don't plan it out before hand
-we get out of the habit, which will make it MUCH harder to retain all that you have gained in the 12 week group

So here are some options
-Plan out all of the meals before and after yontif- but leave the seudah meals blank
-Fill out your meal plans- but when it comes to the yontif meals- plan out how many of each type of food you are planning on eating (i.e. an appetizer, one main, one starchy side, and as many vegetables as I want)
-Plan out exactly how many desserts you are allowing yourself to eat- don't expect to not eat anything- but maybe write out "2 desserts through the day"

Some other tips for surviving yontif:
-EAT BREAKFAST- we all skip this meal- which makes a disaster when we finally sit down to our fattening yontif meal. Make kiddush, or whatever, and eat a healthy solid breakfast.
-Carry a water bottle with you and drink- you will not be as full- and you will make up for all of the high-sodium cooking
-Eat fruit between meals- this will hydrate you, fill you with your missing nutrients, and stuff your stomach so it's not able to consumer as much at dinner.

Lastly and most important- it's a hard time of the year- be kind to yourself- we all eat more than we mean to- unfortunately it's programmed into our community. But make a plan, create a response card, and hopefully you'll have a yontif that will make you proud that you've kept to your realistic goals.

Shana Tova and Ksiva V'Chasima Tova!

Rachel