A Little Bit Bah-Humbug

It all starts with Halloween. It was fun to dress up with Laramie and see other little kids and their parents dressed up, but I guess I just have a hard time with a holiday centered around going to stranger’s houses and getting candy. LOTS OF CANDY.  It doesn’t end with Halloween either. Then we move on to Thanksgiving, a holiday which revolves around food and utter over-indulgence. Then comes Christmas.  More like Stress-mas. Traveling, gift giving, MORE EATING. And then eating some MORE. Top it off with too much alcohol on New Year’s Eve and you’ve got a recipe for a serious health crisis. No wonder more than 80% of this country is dying from preventable chronic illness. We spend 10 months out of the year trying to repair the damage done in a short 4 months. 

I’m trying really hard to break this time-honored tragedy. 

For Halloween we don’t hand out candy. We hand out little toys or some fruit. I’m willing to be “that house” for the sake of our children. I cannot consciously, or in good conscience, contribute to childhood obesity and chronic illness. Laramie didn’t go trick-or-treating this year since she’s still too young to understand, but when the time comes for her to participate in the festivities, I’m going to have to get creative in finding ways to get around the candy. 

We’re hosting Thanksgiving at our house this year. I’m preparing a traditional meal without preservatives or casseroles. Organic as much as possible. My family has already begun to make fun of us, but again I cannot consciously perpetuate the tradition of eating highly processed foods.  Our menu will consist of oven-roasted turkey (free-range if I can find it), mashed cauliflower, sautéed fresh green beans, homemade cranberry sauce, oven-roasted broccoli with pine nuts, and a gluten-free bread. I also found this amazing recipe for pumpkin pie made of pumpkin, pumpkin spice, cashews, and maple syrup. I’m also not going to make too much food, I’d rather run out than eat too much. 

My goal for Christmas is to take the focus off gift giving.  I don’t NEED presents. I NEED my family. I want to spend Christmas having fun with my family. I LOVE playing games with family. I want to create a new family tradition this year. I’m hoping that it’s wildly successful. I would also love the focus to be on helping others, whether it is people from your church, your community, or a complete stranger. There are so many things that can bring a wonderful feeling of wellbeing and peace during the holidays. I’d rather focus on those things than spend money I don’t have on gifts people don’t need. 

Here’s to having a happy, healthy holiday season this year!

Dr. Emily :-)