The Secret Ingredient to a Healthier Holiday Belly

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                               holiday meal               














During the holidays, it is easy to indulge in our favorite seasonal dishes, from buttery mashed potatoes to creamy casseroles and sugary sweets. And honestly, I don’t believe nutrition should be the main focus this time of year, as it is important to enjoy your time with friends and family and eat delicious food; however, there is one secret ingredient that can help you feel your best throughout this holiday season, and it’s fiber. 

So why fiber? Overeating is one of the most common struggles during the holidays, and this is where fiber really shines. Fiber promotes a feeling of fullness and satiety, which can naturally help to prevent overeating. It also helps to stabilize blood sugar levels by preventing rapid spikes and crashes. Additional health benefits include lowering blood cholesterol, maintaining a healthy gut microbiome, preventing constipation, and even aiding in healthy weight management.  

The great thing about fiber is that it’s probably already found in many of the holiday dishes on your table this season, such as green bean casserole, roasted brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, and even ambrosia salad. 

You can also easily boost fiber in your meals with a few simple swaps, like using wild rice instead of white rice, choosing whole grains when baking or cooking, adding a veggie-based side, or even simply keeping the skins on your potatoes.

To help you add a little extra fiber to your holiday menu, I’ve included a high-fiber side dish recipe below. 


The Balanced Nutritionist 

Sweet Potato and Apple Casserole 

Sweet potato and apple casserole being scooped with a wooden spoon.

Ingredients: 
·       3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced about 1/4" thick
·       3 large apples, peeled and sliced about 1/4" thick
·       1/4 cup maple syrup
·       1 tsp cinnamon
·        3 tbsp butter, melted
·       1/4 tsp salt
Pecan Topping 
·       1 cup pecans, roughly chopped or whole 
·       1 tbsp butter, melted 
·       2 tbsp brown sugar
Instructions 
·       Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
·       In a large bowl combine sliced apples, sweet potatoes, maple syrup, cinnamon, salt and melted butter. Toss very well until apples and sweet potatoes are evenly coated. 
·       In a small bowl make the pecan topping. Combine pecans, melted butter and brown sugar. Mix until pecans are thoroughly coated with brown sugar and butter.  
·       Add the sliced apple and sweet potato mixture to a lightly oiled large casserole dish. Cover with aluminum foil.
·       Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes until sweet potatoes and apples are tender.
·       Uncover, top with pecan and brown sugar mixture topping and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

Comments

  1. Lizzie ImrieNovember 13, 2025 at 10:53 AM

    Fiber is such a hot topic right now, I'm glad that you touched on it while also including this upcoming holiday season. Sweet potatoes are one of my favorite vegetables that always keep me full for hours, so I definitely plan to incorporate this into my thanksgiving meal!

    ReplyDelete

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