• About
  • Blog
  • Work With Teresa
  • Contact

Living Natural Today

Creating a natural home and healthy lifestyle.

  • Natural Beauty
  • Natural Home
  • Natural Living
  • Natural Wellness
  • Recipes
  • Shop
    • My Books
    • Book Recommendations
    • Christmas Gift Guide
    • Eco-Friendly Camping Gear
    • Natural Living Recommendations
    • Online Health Summits
You are here: Home / Natural Health / Eating Healthy During Family Gatherings

Updated on October 23, 2019 By Teresa | This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosure policy here.

Eating Healthy During Family Gatherings

Something that comes to mind during this time of year, which can cause some stress, is your diet or eating lifestyle. Eating healthy can create stress! It’s great if you have supportive friends and family, but if you don’t, it can be a challenge.

I deal with this each time I go to a family member’s or friend’s house for dinner. If you are like me, I try to eat real, organic, whole foods on a regular basis. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case for everyone. Like them, I remember there used to be a day in which I didn’t give any thought to the food I was eating. Yes, it was SAD – the Standard American Diet. Fortunately, I learned the connection between what I ate and my health.

eating healthy

I think if you’re healthy and don’t eat like this for medical reasons, you shouldn’t stress over having one meal that is processed. You are doing the best you can when you cook at home for your family, so one meal here or there is ok. Give yourself some grace. You might not physically feel the greatest afterward, but it’s only for one day. If you are going to a family or friend’s house for Thanksgiving, I recommend taking a healthy dish to pass, but other than that, graciously accept what they are offering and be grateful.

Food Allergies Make for a Whole Other Problem

If, on the other hand, you’re like me and deal with life-threatening food allergies, that’s another issue. You just can’t eat what they serve. I simply bring a lot of my own food or eat beforehand. If I’m going to eat something they made, I make sure to ask them every ingredient they used. I know it’s a pain, but I’d rather not make it a memorable Thanksgiving by ending up in the hospital!

I don’t expect family members to make anything special according to my dietary restrictions. I know how difficult it is for me to eat like this, so I don’t want them to go through it. Most of my family understands this and is now used to me eating something different than they serve. It works out because they can plan for one less person to feed, right!

Eating Healthy Real Food While Not Sounding Like a Weirdo

I had someone write a guest post about eating real food. She titled the article “How to teach others about real food without sounding like a weirdo.” I think that’s actually how we sound sometimes. Everyone is so used to eating their processed Stovetop stuffing and canned cranberries during this time of the year that this is a new and foreign concept to them.

Here are some suggestions she mentions when it comes to eating at someone else’s house:

  • Resist the Urge to Preach – You can explain that a food doesn’t sit right for you. Then, stop. Don’t say anything more. Wait for more questions or for the topic to change. If anyone really wants to know more, they’ll pull you aside and ask for more information.
  • Respect the Deaf Ear – You can talk and talk about how amazing you feel now that you’ve changed your diet but if the person on the other end of your speech isn’t interested, you might as well be talking to a wall.
  • Lead by Example – The next time you’re invited to a social event that involves food; prepare enough real food so others can try it too. Having a special plate just for yourself sets you apart and makes your difference stand out. Preparing healthy food for others makes them feel included and may make them more open-minded to listening to what you have to say.

Real Food Bloggers Tell it Like it Is

I interviewed 2 Real Food bloggers, Kristine from Real Food Girl: Unmodified and Julie from Whole Food, Real Food, Good Food. If you haven’t listened to that episode, you can do so here. I asked them if they found it difficult to eat healthy around others. Kristine said, it hasn’t been too difficult, but to avoid any awkwardness, she invites people over to her house. If she goes to someone else’s house, she eats something before she goes. She would be polite and have a little, but not much.

Julie with Whole Food, Real Food, Good Food says she uses it as a talking point when she gets together with others.

Good advice from those who eat real, whole food! Enjoy your Thanksgiving meal and the fellowship to be had around the table with your family and friends!


Read Next: Healthy Eating: Modify Your Diet for Good


Additional Posts You Might Like:

Food Philosophy

Eating Healthy During Family Gatherings 1

 

Article by Teresa / Filed Under: Natural Health Leave a Comment

About Teresa

It was after overcoming personal health challenges resulting from toxins, stress and an unhealthy diet that my career changed from positions in corporate America to that of a fierce advocate for health-and-wellness and living naturally. I am currently the owner of Living Natural Today and a previous radio show host on VoiceAmerica's Health & Wellness Channel. I share resources about creating a healthier, more natural home and lifestyle. Click here to download my free healthy home guide.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

  • How Community Gardens Are Feeding More Than Just Bodies
  • The Chilling Truth About Nutritional Yeast
  • 7 Reasons To Invest In A Wearable Health Device
  • 7 Benefits of Bamboo Mattresses and Toppers

Visit Our Other Site

  • Real Healthy Home

Join the Community!

Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Follow us on Pinterest
Follow us on YouTube

Search

  • Natural Beauty
  • Natural Home
  • Natural Living
  • Natural Wellness
  • Recipes
  • Shop

Return to top of page

Living Natural Today participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program

Copyright © 2023 · All Rights Reserved · Disclaimer · Privacy Policy · Site Map · View Cart · Log in

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT