Resources for Healthy Eating, Even During the Holidays

The holidays are right around the corner, and so are all the delicious … but not exactly nutritious … treats that come with them. A study from Cornell University showed that holiday weight gain is real and can take more than five months to lose! While it would be downright cruel for us to tell you to cut out all the eggnog, pumpkin pie, sugar cookies and candy canes the holidays have to offer (come on, we aren’t the Grinch!), GPO has some publications that can help you and your family stay healthy during the holidays and beyond.

Whether you’re spending money on the latest must-have gift or on tickets to see the Nutcracker or on a new pair of ice skates for the rink, the holidays are almost as tough on our wallets as they are on our waistlines. Healthy Eating Made Easy from the Department of Defense and Department of the Army offers tips and recipes to help you eat healthily and save money while doing it. The healthiest and most economical choices can also be the most fun and rewarding! With the help of this book, buy wholesome ingredients and cook your own meals at home.

Is it just us, or do you feel like you’re always in a rush during the holidays? There’s always another present to wrap or festivity to get ready for … and to our dismay, always another car honking in the mall parking lot. Meal prep is a must at this busy time of year. Instead of reaching for that all-too-accessible peppermint bark, go for a healthy meal made from your Deliciously Healthy Family Meals cookbook. This cookbook from the Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, and National Heart and Lung Institute is designed to help busy parents who want to make healthy meal preparation a family affair. The cookbook showcases new dishes that were created especially for the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) by a Culinary Institute of America-trained chef/instructor and father of two. And it’s kid-approved! All the recipes were taste-tested with parents and school-aged children, and feature easy-to-follow instructions in numbered steps and detailed health information, such as calories, fat, cholesterol, total fiber, carbohydrates, vitamins and more.

Give the kid in your life an early holiday gift they’ll love. “Through the Eyes of the Eagle” is the first book in the Eagle Book Series. It introduces the character of Mr. Eagle. Mr. Eagle befriends Rain That Dances, the child character in the book, to educate him about diabetes and how the lifestyles and health of the people have changed. Mr. Eagle has come to remind the children of the healthy ways of their ancestors so that they can be strong and healthy again. The book is written by Georgia Perez of the Native American Diabetes Project at the University of New Mexico. Ms. Perez found that when children heard the story of the eagle, they listened intently. Afterward, they were eager to take the diabetes-prevention information back to their parents and grandparents to share what they had learned. Vividly brought to life by the colorful illustrations of American Indian artists Patrick Rolo (Bad River Band, Ojibwe) and Lisa A. Fifield (Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin), these award-winning stories are available at the GPO Bookstore. Look for all four books in the series: “Through the Eyes of the Eagle,” “Knees Lifted High,” “Plate Full of Color,” and “Tricky Treats.”

Keep your little ones occupied during holiday travel. The Discover MyPlate Series, published by the United States Department of Agriculture and Food and Nutrition Service, is available for free download at the GPO Bookstore. Kids will learn about the five food groups, healthy eating, and reading! These colorful books introduce kindergarten-aged children to foods from all five food groups while building literacy skills through the use of sight words, optional audio narration and text highlighting, interactive games and activities, and more!

Decorating cookies and enjoying hot chocolate by the fire are part of what make the holidays merry and bright. No need to deprive yourself of your festive favorites. Just have lots of healthy options available too. Happy and healthy holidays to you. Enjoy the most wonderful time of the year!

The GPO Online Bookstore – Easy Access to Federal Publications

HOW DO I OBTAIN THESE RESOURCES?

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at https://bookstore.gpo.gov.

Shop our Retail Store: Buy a copy of any print editions from this collection at GPO’s retail bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401, open Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Federal holidays, Call (202) 512-0132 for information or to arrange in-store pick-up.

Order by Phone: Call our Customer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5:30 pm Eastern (except US Federal holidays). From US and Canada, call toll-free 1.866.512.1800. DC or International customers call +1.202.512.1800.

Visit a Federal depository library: Search for U.S. Government publications in a nearby Federal depository library. You can find the records for most titles in GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.

Find more than a million official Federal Government publications from all three branches at www.govinfo.gov.

About the author: Blogger contributor Cat Goergen is the PR Specialist in GPO’s Public Relations office.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 16th, 2018 at 12:50 pm and is filed under Children, Consumers, Family, health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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