Healthy Holiday Eating Made Simple

Eat well and enjoy the holidays with tasty recipes and tips on how to stay active from the Start! Holiday Healthy Eating Guide. We're giving you the guide to help you keep up your efforts to improve your health through physical activity and healthy eating. Even the smallest steps can help you make positive, permanent changes to your health. (American Heart Association)

The Benefits of Eating Well

Healthy eating is a matter of consuming foods that satisfy the senses (taste, smell, appearance, physical satiety) and are at the same time nourishing and health promoting. These combinations make for a lifestyle where the enjoyment of food is combined with protection from chronic disease and obesity. While knowledge of what to eat is a necessary first step in this process, this is not all that is needed. Social, cultural, and familial support are often essential to provide the foundation of sustained healthy eating. Each individual can be a pioneer in this effort, joining others who are similarly inclined by seeking out available resources to learn and experience healthful, delicious and satisfying foods.
A healthy dietary lifestyle therefore combines the intellectual knowledge of protective or detrimental foods with the satisfaction incurred when taste and fulfillment goals are also met.