WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU'RE WATCHING loved ones gorge themselves with unhealthy food choices during the Holidays?  Here’s the familiar circumstance.  Family members are overweight.  Serious health conditions like heart disease, diabetes, or cancer exist in family history.  You’re hurting inside as you witness people you care for, slowly commit suicide by what they’re putting into their mouth. You know that even though you’ve talked about it before, they don’t seem to care nor do they want to hear that record play again.

                No one wants to pick a food fight at a family affair.  So what do you do? Lead by example.  If you’re a guest for dinner, offer to bring a dish…or the dessert. Make it a healthy one, although, no need to ‘draw attention’ to the fact that it’s healthy unless asked.  Or offer to help in the kitchen..tell them you’re bringing a recipe and would it be okay to try it.  Ask to modify recipes  that call for butter by using a cooking oil (like olive) as a substitute or maybe compromise with a half ratio of each.  Ask to have the sauces and dressings on the side.  For salads and greens, opt for the olive oil and vinegar instead of premade store boughts or make your own, homemade vinegarette for the table.  Do not butter your bread!  Limit your bread intake altogether…all it does is take up room anyway.  Bring over a couple of Whole Wheat loaves of Italian bread and use those instead of the traditional. Write down a website, (like this one!) or two, and suggest that they subscribe to get regular updates or a refer a book about health and fitness that you’ve come across with useful information (such as perhaps a glycemic index book they can keep in the kitchen for reference) Don’t overstuff yourself in order to show off ‘good manners’ by feeling that you need to eat every single item on the table.  Remember portion control.  There’s nothing wrong with trying a little of this and a little of that and a little of all of it if you want.  Just remember the little part.  Remember, your eyes tend to be bigger than your stomach.  Don’t be afraid of missing out on something….isn’t there always too much food made for the holiday…you can pretty much count on knowing that there will be enough for seconds if you actually are left feeling hungry after the first round.  Also, TAKE YOUR TIME.  (“Do it right”) Don’t rush to eat.  If they are eating too fast, ask them what’s the rush? The family is going to be gathered around the dining table for a few hours talking aren’t they…so what’s the rush? Do it the Mediterranean style! They know how to do it. (“You can do it (too) baby”) During a day of Sabbath (or any day of rest or holiday) the Mediterraneans take a meal over four to six hours!  A family meal, is a time of relaxation, of bonding, of gratitude and enjoyment.  So you can have of all those various courses, just give your body the time to digest in between. 

                I REMEMBER THE GOOD 'OLE DAYS when I was a little girl and my parents brought us to Nonna’s on Sunday afternoon for a nice Italian fiesta.  My six uncles and aunts brought my cousins and we’d test the meatballs and sauce while it was cooking. The adults would drink an aperitif and have antipasta and us kids would play in the stairwell.  There were enough of us that we’d put on shows.  A few of us would be the actors and the rest would sit on the stairs and be the audience.  We’d all collaborate on creating a theater play and put on a performance in the foyer of the building.  Or we’d play charades or board games.  It seemed that we’d never run out of anything to do.  Then when dinner was ready, we’d all sit around the grand dining room table and eat a three or four course meal.  I drank vino con gaseosa (wine with ginger ale), or just ginger ale, the adults would drink red wine and we’d talk and laugh, and my uncles would raise their voices so high, their get their cheeks so red, the building next door would think someone was getting murdered…but they’re Italian, that was just their way of having friendly conversation.  (except that sometimes it’d be in Italian, so the neighbors really didn’t know what was going on) After the main meal was finished, we’d have fruit.  After some time, we’d crack some nuts, and then later dessert would come out while espresso coffee was being brewed.  Playing cards would be distributed… when the kids played, we’d get nickels, dimes, and quarters for gambling and that’s how I learned to play poker. Watching as Zia, (my Aunt) or Papa, would explain the game and let me make the bets.  Or, we’d sometimes play Bingo (after everyone purchased their cards…after all, there had to be a jackpot) We would use sesame seeds or pistachios as our game pieces and Nonno would yell out the numbers.  The day revolved around the meal and the meal was an all day affair.  I never, ever remember anybody saying they overstuffed themselves or didn’t feel good. We’d do that a couple of Sundays a month.  What great memories.

Enjoy the holidays everyone!