How to ensure that the Holidays are a relaxing time spent together with your family – without needless feelings of guilt, overeating, but also without denying yourself a few pleasures?
Start by planning your Christmas menu in advance. If you’ll be visiting family over the Holidays, why not make a few dishes yourself?
There’s plenty of recipes for healthier versions of cheesecake or a poppy-seed roll online. I’ll even add a recipe for a gluten-free gingerbread carrot cake 
I’m sure someone from your family would love to try it. But it’s not just cake that we’ll be eating over the Holidays.
Pick out the dishes you like most. For me, it’s definitely borscht and pierogi. Of course, home-made borscht is best; you’ll be sure that it doesn’t contain any preservatives and flavor enhancers like those found in stores. If you feel bloated after eating wheat and mushrooms, then limit the number of dumplings you eat or try making them with rice flour.
Eat small portions and don’t sit down to enjoy a meal on an empty stomach. A huge appetite won’t help in limiting the amount of food you eat, and eating a too large a portion will cause you to feel full in a moment’s notice. And the festive meal just started. Don’t force yourself into eating too much and saying that it’s an exception.
Don’t eat anything you do not feel like eating. Nobody’s going to be upset you didn’t try the herring.
Do not forget about physical activity! Going for a walk with the family, playing with children – that’s the kind of physical activity you should be thinking about during Christmas. Sitting down all day won’t help our digestion nor our well-being!
Remember to drink enough fluids. In the morning, drink a glass of warm water with lemon juice or apple vinegar to aid digestion. Apple vinegar and water can also be taken before eating a meal during the day. If you have a delicate stomach, replace the vinegar with herbal teas such as mint, fennel or chamomile.
