Watch Your Portion Sizes
After the holiday season, remind yourself of correct portion sizes, get back in tune with your hunger cues and don't overstuff yourself. Go back to the basics of building a healthy plate.
Watch Your Fats, Lower Your Cholesterol
With the holiday season behind you, skip the salty ham, butter-laden mashed potatoes and vegetables loaded with sauces, such as green-bean casserole.
Instead, opt for omega-3 rich salmon and top a beta-carotene-rich sweet potato with a vegetable-oil-based spread, which will provide some healthy monounsaturated fats. Steam broccoli, green beans and asparagus in the microwave, bake them in the oven, or toss them into a healthy soup or stew.
More: Healthy Vegetable Stew Recipe
Snack on cut-up carrots or red peppers with hummus or spread some peanut butter on celery. These snack choices will not only provide you with more fiber and important vitamins and minerals, but they will also be lower in fat and cholesterol.
Flavor With Herbs and Spices
Instead of buying store-bought salad dressings, make your own olive oil and vinegar-based dressing, and add fresh herbs and spices for flavor. Making your own will ensure you aren't eating unwanted preservatives. To boot, your homemade dressing will be lower in calories, fat, sugar and salt.
More: Top 5 Herbs for Weight Loss
Toss the Sweets
Throw away the rest of those sweet desserts that are sitting around and choose fruit or even a small piece of dark chocolate for dessert. Not only will you save yourself the saturated fat, trans fat and calories, but you'll also get more fiber, vitamins and minerals.
More: 3 Simple Ways to Cut Sugar Out of Your Diet
The Big Picture
There's no one magic food or drink that will counter nutritional damage done over the holidays. All in all, the most important thing is to get back to the basics of building a healthy plate—and a healthy lifestyle.
More: 11 Simple and Realistic Ways to Improve Your Diet
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