How to Have a Healthy Holiday Season with Our Holiday Diet Tips

How to stay true to your YAO Diet, watch out for holiday party challenges, keep it real and feel great!

So you’ve been asked to be on what seems like the never ending YAO diet…removing out gluten, dairy and eggs among other things…and you’re probably wondering how in the world you are going to maintain all of that during the upcoming holiday parties.

Never fear, we’ve put together a good strategy that could be of great assistance.

Putting YOU first in the equation

Yes indeed, put yourself first by all means. Here’s the scoop. During the holidays we want to come together with family and friends that love and care about us and that we love and care about also. The fact is that if we do not care for ourselves properly we won’t either be feeling good enough to care for our loved ones or we won’t be around as long this lifetime to care for them or for them to care for us! It may seem incredibly self-centered at first to design your meals and party going strategy around your dietary requirements, but in actuality, it’s in thinking about everyone else that you will realize that caring for yourself is extremely important.

Party Going Tips

So now that you’re committed to YOU, how are you going to get through those holiday parties? We’ve put several options together for you. But here’s the scoop. If you find something fabulous you want to share with others…do it on our YAO FB page! I (Margaret, here) can approve your post. So please post your fun drinks or party ideas you have come up with for the holidays. So like our FB page and put #YAOholidaycheer . We will also keep you informed of our newest latest greatest discoveries on FB and Instagram in real time for sure…we will try to add to our Twitter and Pinterest as well! Soooooo… here we go….

BEFORE YOU GO

1. Eat before you go: That’s right! Eat the food that you enjoy and is within your dietary requirement guidelines that supports your body before you even leave the house. You will feel better when you show up and better throughout the time you are at the party
2. Repairvite it up before you go: Come by YAO to stock up on RepairVite and have a scoop of Repairvite in a glass of water before you go and also after the party. RepairVite is wonderful just in case something gets in your body that is NOT in alignment with your body’s best interest, the RepairVite can stave off a lot of the long lasting not so fun reactions your body may have including but not limited to: bloating/gas/diahrea, hangover, mind fog and more .
3. Bring something for yourself to eat/share: If you are going to a party where other’s might show up with goodies, then by all means bring something tasty that fits into your dietary regimen that you can both share and eat for yourself. Something that will satisfy you and be a treat. You don’t have to tell anyone why you brought it or why you are only eating that item. They likely won’t even be paying attention. But this allows you to feel social and eat confidently during the party. We have made some alcoholic suggestions below, but another great easy party treat is YAO’s Sami’s Chips accompanied by a round of Miyoko’s Creamery Cheese. This is a vegan cheese that is very high end and quite tasty. Nooch market can special order for you, but our favorite by far is the fig leaf wrapped round (pictured at right). Other rounds of Miyoko’s can be found at Whole Foods markets around town!
4. Bring something you can drink for yourself and to share: If there’s one thing Daniel and the entire YAO Team for that matter, won’t want you to sacrifice, it’s a good time. And for many, a good time during a holiday party is going to involve a little alcohol. But not all alcohol’s are created equal. Many are grain based alcohols. And before we rev this blog article up a notch, let’s be sure to mention our friendly neighborhood liquor store, Divino’s. We LOVE Divino’s and often find ourselves browsing their many goodies. They DO stock the Glutenator (below) and several other of the cider’s we love under Cider. So if you’re by YAO for an appointment or goodies…swing by Divino’s after and have a look!

• CAVE DE LA LOTERIE- CIDRE FERMIER ($14 at Divino’s)
• CIDRERIE DU VULCAIN – TRANSPRANCE CIDRE ($24 at Divino’s)

VODKA –Vodka’s are awesome too, but they have to be either a potato vodka or there are also some grape based ones. We love these Ciroc (pictured right) and Hanson’s Vodkas (above). Really tasty fun flavors. They make a wonderful party gift and a very fun addition to your regular alcohol cabinet. You have a lot of play with how you can mix these. We love mixing the Hanson’s Organic Ginger Vodka with Kombucha! I know it sound crazy, but the effervescence of the kombucha goes incredibly well with the ginger infused vodka! And that cucumber one is really complex. Let us know what YOU come up with! Please stay away from cheaper Vodka’s that are grain based. Be Absolut…pun intended-ly sure that they are NOT Aboslut Vodka! That’s just a death wish for the next morning

COGNAC-Cognac is a highly regarded spirit made from grapes from the region of Cognac in France. It is treasured like how American’s look at finely aged Scotch. Cognac is sipped in snifters and is a wonderful sipping alcohol. It’s the type of things people dip their cigars in to get a slight flavoring of Cognac on the tip. Very refined and is perfect if you wish to indulge in say, a Whisky Sour…make it a Cognac Sour. It won’t disappoint. Again, Divino’s or even the Argonaut will FOR SURE have something delicious with which you can experiment.

RUM – It is our wish that you already know that not all rums are created equal. Our favorite go to rum is Zaya (pictured left). Zaya is a blend of 3 to 5 different rums from Trinidad and Tobago, aged in whiskey and bourbon barrels for 12 years. It has a lovely sweet vanilla taste and is not only fantastic over ice plain, but wonderful to splash into Califia’s Egg Nog (pictured above).

If you really want to get your party on, try this Navy Strength Rum – Smith and Cross (pictured below). We are not kidding though. This alcohol is for the serious partier. It can be replaced where one might use bourbon. It is very tasty AND very very strong!

AFTER THE PARTY’S OVER

Remember that recovering your gut health can be sped up with a little help from some of our friends…

1. Underberg – We love Underbergs at YAO. They are these cute little bottles that you can purchase at YAO in singles ($1.99) or in a box of 3. This fabulous bitters formula is wonderful for assisting in digesting what you have just put down the hatchet. We love mixing an Underberg with some plain seltzer water. Keep in mind this is great for indigestion, over-eating, eating off your diet and over-drinking/hangovers.
2. RepairVite – Continue on the RepairVite path! When you return home or are retiring post-party, be sure to mix another scoop of RepairVite into a glass of water and drink that on down. It will most certainly help process things a lot quicker. How does it work? RepairVite contains scientifically researched nutrients, such as flavonoids, antioxidants, plant sterols, glycoproteins, and saponins.The ingredients in RepairVite®(K60), (K63) —including L-glutamine and deglycyrrhizinated licorice extract—support the health of the intestinal lining as it relates to nutritional balance. In addition, slippery elm extract and marshmallow extract soothes and supports the intestines. Aloe vera extract and Spanish moss provide phyto extracts to support healthy gastrointestinal motility and healthy secretion of digestive enzymes, while marigold extract provides natural compounds that may support intestinal comfort.
3. ClearVite – ClearVite contains the necessary nutritional compounds and botanical extracts to assist the body in neutralizing and expelling toxins. It is an excellent source of high quality vitamins, minerals, and other nutritional factors. The protein source is derived from rice or pea protein both of which have little likelihood in creating a food sensitivity or allergic response. In addition, it promotes the breakdown and utilization of fat through the enhanced nutrients, herbal compounds that stimulate formation of bile, bile secretion, and elimination, and botanical extracts that support detoxification reactions. So please add a scoop of ClearVite to a glass of juice run through the blender or a smoothie.
4. Begin Again – Begin again immediately eating and drinking with attentiveness…staying true to your diet and remembering that YOU are the most important in the equation. Every bite and sip counts. The body can tell down to the most microscopic nibble or sip if you have tasted something that contains food that can set your body off. So please remember how absolutely precious you are. How worth it you are to eat wisely. How your choice to eat in alignment with your health affects all those around you.
5. Book an Appointment – Need a little extra TLC? Feel free to call us to set up an appointment. An acupucnture treatment and consult can get you back on your path a lot quicker. Don’t forget that what you choose/chose to ate/eat also affect your skin. Know that YAO Beauty has you covered should you need to get your skin back on track as well.

We look forward to supporting you and your family in the new year. We plan to offer some fabulous specials on new year blood labs as well as some fun shopping trip classes to places such as H-Mart and some online webinars that will support you better in your YAO lifestyle.

Wishing you unity in your heart and mind, unity in friendships and community, unity in family and partnership.

All our best,

TEAM YAO