Healthy Holidays, Healthy Stuff

Planet Blue Ambassadors teamed up with MHealthy and Ann Arbor's Ecology Center to throw a highly informative and entertaining event called Healthy Holidays, Healthy Stuff.  The Hatcher Graduate Library served as the stage (apparently there are things there other than stacks and stacks of books, who knew?) and the holiday theme was fittingly applied.

The aim of the event was to inform those attending of how to have a safe and sustainable holiday season by providing product chemical testing and samplings of health-friendly recipes and food (all approved by MHealthy, of course).

Here are some of the tips I gathered from the event for how to stay healthy this holiday season:

• Decorate foods with nuts or seeds, use new shapes for vegetables, or garnish a dish with some eye-catching fruit.
• Make ice cubes using 100% juice or add slices of fruit to make water more exciting.  Try making a 'float' by adding a scoop of non-fat sorbet to seltzer water.
• Visit ChooseMyPlate.gov to find out how to incorporate foods from all food groups into your party menu.
• Never go to a holiday party hungry.  Enjoy a small, healthy snack before leaving to avoid large portion sizes or going for seconds (maybe even thirds) later on.
• And my personal favorite, burn a few extra calories at the end of the day by boogying down to your favorite Christmas music while trimming the tree.

Most importantly, be conscious about the products you are choosing to use this holiday season. Being healthy is extra important with all that snow piling up outside.

For more information on sustainability, visit sustainability.umich.edu or check out www.mhealthy.umich.edu for examples of nutritious holiday recipes. Good luck!

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