The holidays are a great time of year, it's the time of year when family, friends and visiting relatives can all get together and bond once again. Unfortunately, after the bonding is over and everyone has returned back to their normal schedules we are faced with the fruits of our labor. It's funny how you never seem to notice the increased weight until after the holiday is over. Maybe last year was going to be different, you had plans to avoid gaining weight, and you tried your hardest only to find it hard to fit into to your old wardrobe.

Because the holiday season lasts do long, it poses a tremendous dilemma for many weight and health conscious people. During this time of year most people anticipate a weight gain and for good reason. The holiday duration is longer then any other; it lasts for 2-3, months, consider the commencement of Halloween, followed by Thanksgiving, December holidays, the New Year and then Valentines Day. It's no wonder everyone expects to put on a few pounds. Each holiday seems to be centered on food, which magnifies the problem and makes it more difficult to manage. Although it may seem hard, there are steps that you can take to help reduce your chances of gaining unwanted pounds during the holiday season.

One helpful hint is to avoid starving yourself on the holiday. Do you typically avoid eating all morning and afternoon in anticipation for the upcoming meal? Once you become hungry, the primal instinct to seek food will override everything you know about nutrition and you will more than likely hear yourself saying. "I don't care what it is, just give me food." A better strategy would be to eat breakfast and lunch, and then when dinnertime finally arrives you won't be as ravenous. The end result is being in more control and less over eating.

Realize that holidays only last for one day, not weeks! That's why it's called a holiday not a holi-month. This will help you feel more control and less overwhelmed. You can choose to let that particular day to be a maintence day, as opposed to a dieting day. Allowing yourself to have a day to enjoy the food, desert and wine, will help relax you around your guests and not bring attention or social pressure onto yourself. Since your healthy eating habits should be for life, the goal is progression not perfection. Likewise, holidays and celebrations are a part of the real world and you should learn how to manage them as opposed to letting them get the better of you. By viewing your eating in this manner you will find it easier to relax and enjoy the occasion.

There are three actions that people engage in at any social gathering, and by not partaking in one of these three actions, you immediately call attention to yourself. Can you guess what those three things are? At every social gathering everyone is eating, drinking or smoking. We live in a society where festive occasions are centered on food and because most people engage in those actions, we associate them with "having a great time". Let's face it, if you are not doing one of those three things; social pressure is lurking around the corner. This year let's implement a few simple strategies to cope with this unwanted pressure. Next time you are invited to a party bring a low fat appetizer, or side dish. Don't just bring some for yourself; bring enough for the other guests as well. (By the way, don't mention that the recipe is low fat!) Your host and other party goers will complement you for being such a gracious guest. Secondly, if you have chosen to limit your alcohol intake, don't stand around empty handed. Why not take a cocktail glass fill it with diet soda and garnish it with a lime? Or perhaps take a wine glass and put some fruit punch in the glass with a little tonic or club soda.

Another helpful hint is to acknowledge that you have choices. Decide in advance what you want to do. You can choose to put butter, gravy, and other high fat items on the table but you don't have to use them. You can choose to purchase or bake a pie and insist that your company take the leftovers home with them. Or, you can choose to bake a pie that you don't like and have a low calorie dessert available that you do like. Or perhaps you may decide that the whole family should eat healthfully and remove the skin from the turkey and offer only low fat choices for the holiday. However you decide to handle the holiday is up to you; just remember to accept the responsibility for your decisions. If you decide to eat junk, don't complain and feel bad.

Every family has their own favorite recipe for baking a turkey. All herbs and seasoning are allowed, so use whatever spices, herbs and seasonings you like. The turkeys that you purchase from your local supermarket are usually self-basting. These self-basting turkeys are injected with lard and contain an incredible amount of fat. Compound the injected fat with the skin and the low fat turkey you thought you were baking actually turns out to be quite high in fat!

The best way to avoid the high fat that is injected into your turkey is to purchase your turkey from a local butcher. You can request a fresh turkey without any injected fat. If you bake a turkey with the skin on the fat content of the breast meat after you remove the skin will be about 30% fat. If you bake the turkey without skin the fat content of the breast will be 9% fat. Keep in mind that the fat content of turkey thigh meat is 45% fat. So if you are trying to cut back on your fat intake avoid the thigh meat and focus around the breast meat. The fat content of a turkey, which has been injected with fat and cooked with skin on, could easily reach the 50% fat mark!

Try these festive dishes use them for any special occasion!

The Turkey

15-20 pound Turkey

Rosemary Sage seasoning:

2 tbsp. fresh Rosemary

2 Tbsp. fresh sage

2 tsp. black pepper

2 tsp of paprika

2 tsp. garlic salt

Pam vegetable Spray

Or purchase LaMadeline's rosemary sage seasoning.

Clean the turkey and remove the packaged giblets around the outside of the turkey. Place the turkey in a shallow pan. Bake in a preheated oven (325) degrees); for 3-4 hours, or until meat thermometer registers 190 degrees or when the leg can be easily pierced with a fork. Every 20 minutes, spray the turkey with water to keep it moist.

For a low fat option: Begin by removing the skin from the turkey. Repeat all of the above steps. Prepare an aluminum foil tent (cover turkey with aluminum foil loosely.) During the last 10 minutes of cooking, remove the aluminum foil so the turkey can brown.

Herb Stuffing

1 cup chopped celery

½ cup chopped onion

1 cup fat free chicken broth

1 medium apple (diced)

½ c raisins

2 cups fat free whole wheat crackers crumbled

1 tsp sage

1 tsp thyme

Mix all ingredients well and stuff into the turkey. This recipe is enough for a 10-12 pound turkey.

Mashed Yams or Potatoes

4 large yams or potatoes

¾ cup skim milk

1 tbs. molly Mcbutter

1 tsp garlic salt

Either bake the yams in the oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or place them in the microwave on high for 13-18 minutes or until soft. Remove the skin. Place them a large bowl and mash with milk and seasonings. Serves 4.

Cranberry Rice

1 cup brown rice

1 cup wild rice

4 cups fat free chicken broth

2/3 cup dried cranberries

Optional: essential fatty acids or chopped pecans

Boil the rice in chicken broth until rice is tender. Toss in dried cranberries an stir well. Let the rice simmer for a few minutes. Serves 4.

Fat Free Spinach Dip

1 box Knorr's Vegetable Soup Mix ( 9 oz.)

1 cup fat free sour cream

2 cup fat free mayonnaise

10 oz. frozen chopped spinach

1 small can sliced water chestnuts

¼ cup chopped scallions

1/8 tsp garlic powder

Optional: 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Thaw spinach in the microwave. Squeeze the fluid out of the spinach using paper towels. Place spinach in a large bowl and add sour cream and mayonnaise and mix well. Fold in soup mix, water chestnuts, the scallions and cayenne. Mix well. Chill for two hours. Serve with vegetables, fat free saltine crackers or fat free tortilla chips.

Vegetable Medley

2 cup broccoli

2 cups sliced carrots

2cups cauliflower

¾ cup red onion

1 tsp molly McButter

¼ tsp. garlic salt

Place a steamer rack over a sauce pan with water. Place carrots on steamer and bring to a boil for five minutes. Add cauliflower for five minutes. Then stir and add broccoli for five minutes. After five more minutes stir and add in red onions and seasoning for 3 minutes. Serves 4.

Strawberry Passion

1 pound fresh strawberries

1 cup red raspberry vinegar

1 quart blueberries, mulberries or raspberries

Equal as desired

Fat free cool-whip

Cut off stems and slice strawberries in half. Place in a bowl. Pour in red raspberry vinegar. Stir well coating all the strawberries with vinegar. Let the strawberries stand in refrigerator for 1 hour or more. If desired, add fresh blueberries, raspberries or mulberries. Drain strawberries and place them in a large wine glass. Sprinkle with equal and top with Fat Free Cool Whip. Serves 6.