Gathering for the holidays, important family events, and cultural traditions can be some of the most meaningful moments we look forward to throughout the year. Leading up to these occasions we experience the anticipation of reuniting with loved ones, mull over the decisions of how we’ll budget our most precious resources (such as time, money, and energy), and often face a reckoning between these two—eventually challenging us to act in accordance with that classic phrase “remember the reason of the season.”
Though the reason of the season may differ from person to person in details like rituals practiced, deity prayed to, or historic story retold, many of the principles and values celebrated share areas of common ground. Themes such as light, abundance, birth, hope, faith, family, generosity, and resilience run strong through the winter holidays. To honor these values and themes no matter your family background or cultural celebration, we’ve collected perspectives and tips from multiple experts on how you can enjoy a simple, sustainable, and meaningful holiday season with your wallet, your health, and our environment in mind.
Indulgence Can Exist Within Simplicity
Abundance and generosity don’t need to be synonymous with exorbitant or reckless. By shifting from excess to intention, focusing on mindful spending, thoughtful food use, and simple yet rich dishes, you can indulge over the holidays in a way that’s both luxurious and meaningful—without the stress or guilt.
Erin Rhae Biller, ND, FAIHM, licensed naturopathic doctor, whole foods nutrition recipe developer, and integrative health and wellness advisor, reminds her patients that the impact this reframe can have has benefits on your health, especially.
The holidays don’t need to be a time of excess and gluttony. True indulgence can be found in simplicity, where the focus shifts from abundance to nourishment. A few well-chosen, nutrient-dense meals can be a celebration of health, giving you the energy to embrace the season with ease.
ERIN RHAE BILLER, ND FAIHM
If you’ve historically felt the tug between honoring traditions, staying on budget, maintaining and creating something memorable, and not having to feel the need to “detox” after December, this approach can help you align indulgence with mindfulness, relying on practical solutions to balance these priorities.
Tips:
Choose one highlighted dish, like a roasted turkey, baked salmon, or grilled Portabella mushrooms, and build the rest of the meal around lighter, complementary sides.
Opt for whole, seasonal ingredients like roasted butternut squash or sautéed greens with garlic to create vibrant, satisfying dishes without prep complexity.
Simplify your family’s favorites. Instead of mashed white potatoes drenched in butter and cream, roast sweet potatoes with olive oil and fresh rosemary for a crisp, flavorful choice that helps avoid post-meal bloating and fatigue associated with the former.
Mindful Spending, Meaningful Meals
One of the first things that comes to mind for many when the holidays are around the corner is the cumulative cost the season incurs. Often deemed the season of giving, many go into debt, even if just temporarily, to keep up with societal or self-imposed expectations.
It’s like “keeping up with the Joneses” if the Joneses of decades past (once only enviable from down the street or through a mail-order shopping catalogue) now had a popular social media account with instantly accessible affiliate links. From the convenience of your phone, you’re able to purchase everything from countless trendy trinkets to large items or experiences that most shoppers can only afford over interest-laden installments.
Holiday food and beverages are another category of expenses that end up presenting the same opportunity for seasonal splurge. And that makes sense when many of the idyllic representations of this season are excessive, unrealistic, and often times incredibly wasteful. We can all think of a favorite movie or two involving home kitchens or holiday hotels filled as far as the eye can see with multi-tiered cakes and breads wrapped in bows and sweets wrapped in plastic and gourmet premade dishes aplenty.
But after the initial visual overwhelm of taking in that spectacle, what does this excess of treats add to the holiday that we will actually care about and remember for years to come? What of this represents and gives meaning to “the reason of your season?”
Since food is often what people gather around for many of these traditions, spending intentionally on your own home’s holiday menu and the items you bring to other potlucks can serve as an anchor for your season. This decision alone can help you stay present in enjoying the meal and the moment, and less time afterward clouded by the stress of lingering credit card payments when the season is long gone.
How can we give more meaning to the expense of the holidays? We might start by simply realizing that the money we invest can be an act in itself of honoring the very reason of the season.
If so, then, what’s worth the investment? Where can your hard-earned dollars really make a difference when providing food and beverage for you and those who gather with you?
Erik Oberholtzer, a renowned chef, author, entrepreneur, and founder of Tender Greens, shares a few recommendations you’ll want to save and plan accordingly for your next holiday or family event:
How to Upgrade: Choose a pasture-raised bird that was processed on that same farm and never frozen.
Dr. Biller speaks of her many patients reflecting during their appointments throughout the holidays on the seasonal indulgences that often leave them feeling drained. Beyond practicing mindful spending by collaboratively and proactively budgeting with others in your family unit or circle of friends, she recommends ways of eating during this time that are focused on nourishing foods to make all the difference.
“It’s not about deprivation,” she says, “but about choosing meals that can support tradition as well as long-term vitality, so you don’t have to spend the new year recovering.”
Elevate Flavors with Simple Techniques and Less Waste
Of course, food waste is another essential consideration, not just during the holidays, but year round. Robert Egger, author, nonprofit advisor, longtime board member of World Central Kitchen, and the founder of the iconic DC Central Kitchen (which has produced over 50 million meals, primarily made with donated foods) says Americans waste an estimated 30-40% of the food we purchase every year. So, it’s important to consider not only how much you actually need, but also to prioritize ingredients and main courses that lend themselves to reuse.
Most of us share deep memories of holiday leftovers and casseroles, often made my grandmothers or family elders who seemed to have an encyclopedic knowledge of how to turn whatever was left from a holiday meal into something magical over the next few days.
One of the first steps to elevating flavors is through doing less. There’s no need to get caught up in creating a fancy and complex flavor profile by adding several ingredients, or, spending hours trying out difficult, labor-intensive techniques. Erik shares that tapping into the science of simple cooking methods can actually amplify flavors and certain qualities of ingredients without any added sugars or pricey equipment.
“Organic sweet potatoes and yams are so packed with their own sugars, there is no need to add sweetness.” Erik recommends you “roast them whole in their skin until tender. Peel or not, drizzle with olive oil and sea salt, and serve. For additional caramelization, sear the cooked potatoes in olive oil to crisp, deepening the color, sweetness, and texture.”1
This is where Erik and Robert, shared especially similar advice: plan for intentional leftovers.
Some families cherish food-centric holiday traditions like turning leftovers into creative dishes in the days following a big meal. Turkey soup simmered with vegetable scraps, cranberry sauce baked into grain-free breakfast muffins, and mashed sweet potatoes reimagined as a savory shepherd’s pie topping are a few of many to consider.
Recipes that incorporate ingredients commonly used during the holidays that could be made using leftovers from those big meals (like like chestnuts, parsnips, sweet potatoes, cranberries, butternut squash, and apples):
Chestnut Parsnip Soup: A creamy and savory soup combining chestnuts and parsnips, perfect for a warm holiday starter.
Apple Cider Roasted Vegetables: Seasonal vegetables roasted with apple cider, offering a sweet and tangy flavor ideal for festive gatherings.
Healthy Apple Crisp: A comforting dessert featuring baked apples and a nutty topping, ideal for holiday celebrations.
Robert had a consistent question he asked students enrolled in the Kitchen’s legendary job training program:
I love asking new students, many of whom were homeless or returning citizens, who were really nervous about enrolling in the program, to talk about their favorite food memories. Most of them came from homes where food was used down to the bone, and most would talk about holiday leftover meals like turkey soup, ham and black-eyed peas, or pies and desserts made with aging fruits. It was a fun way to get them thinking about food, food waste, and the magic of cooking—how they could use their family memories to help us prepare meals for folks on the streets. We all have those memories. We need to remember them when it comes time for grocery shopping so we canrealize what we can do if we embrace the real power of food and the idea of no waste.
ROBERT EGGER
Tips:
Focus on fewer, nutrient-dense ingredients. This can enhance flavor and support health by reducing inflammatory triggers found in processed foods.
Save carrot tops, onion skins, and herb stems to simmer into a rich broth.
Roast extra sweet potatoes to use in a breakfast hash with eggs or blended into a soup.
Use cranberry sauce as a base for salad dressings or as a whole food sweetener.
Make It a Ritual to Shop Locally and Seasonally
The path to a great meal begins with the shopping list. I spend the day before a big meal driving around my local food network visiting markets, farms, artisans who offer the absolute best of what is available. I will travel 40 minutes to Metropolitan Seafood for the very best fish, chat with Mark the owner, his crew of mongers behind the counter and taste a few samples for a deeper experience. The same is at Lima, 22 minutes away, where I love driving the long path between pastures of cattle, turkeys, chickens, and lamb all protected under the watchful eye of 9 Great Pyrenees [dogs] before arriving at the small farm store surrounded by tractors, hoop houses, and sorting sheds. The pay off is some of the best meats in the Mid-Atlantic [from] three generations of Lima Family members [who will] share anything one might want to know. Then, to Whole Earth for great produce from Lancaster Farm Fresh Co-op for all organics grown locally.
ERIK OBERHOLTZER
The Delight of Slowing Down
When we slow down and find joy in each step of the holidays, stress and drudgery can fade away, leaving the true delight of the season to shine. Slowing down throughout the winter months is commonly recommended. For example, slowing down your commitments or the budgeting of gift-giving may help reduce seasonal burnout or reduce instances of impulsive or obligatory spending.
Putting more thought and time into prep for festivities rather than last-minute convenience shopping may reduce the tendency to fill holiday decor voids with single-use decorations often made of plastics.
And slowing down and enjoying the actual cooking process can reduce stress, enhance creativity, and foster connection—key tenets of both mindful eating and regenerative living.
Tips on Slow Downing to Improve Health, by Erin Rhae Biller, ND, FAIHM
Mindful Eating: Slow down and engage with your food—chew thoroughly and pause between bites. Try herbal apéritifs and digestifs to further promote digestion.
Movement: Go for light walks. Taking a 10–15 minute walk before and after meals aids digestion, and helps maintain healthy blood sugar levels.
Sleep: Ensure you’re getting adequate rest before indulging in big meals. Sleep plays a vital role in appetite, digestion and energy.
Efficiency in Meal Prep: Work Smarter – Not Harder, by Erik Oberholtzer
Slowing down and enjoying the cooking process can reduce stress, enhance creativity, and foster connection—key tenets of both mindful eating and regenerative living. It’s possible to gift you and your loved ones this slower holiday pace when you allow enough time for what each step truly needs. Giving space in your pace also sets you up for success to be prepared for a multitude of dietary preferences or allergies (e.g., gluten-free, dairy-free) with thoughtful, nutrient-dense options rather than often highly processed alternatives that may be bought last minute just to make sure someone has something to eat.
Pare Down Your Menu: Prioritize time for laughing, eating, and celebrating. Cut the menu down to a handful of your standout dishes rather than trying to cook everything. Erik recommends staples like:
Turkey, roasted and braised
Mushroom Stuffing
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Crispy Brussels Sprouts
Gravy and Cranberry Sauce
Prepare Ingredients in Advance: Avoid last-minute chaos—dice veggies the day before or marinate proteins overnight. Erik’s holiday prep schedule looks like:
Day Before:
Prep the turkey the day.
Cook the leg and thigh roulade.
Make any savory puddings.
Cranberry sauce.
Day Of:
All veggies with the help of those who want to participate: peel, pick, and clean. This way everyone feels involved without getting in the way of the more complicated steps.
Build Rituals Around Cooking: Play music, light traditional candles, or make it a shared activity with family or friends.
The holidays can be indulgent, mindful, and simple all at once, with a little bit of forethought. By prioritizing quality over quantity, reducing waste through intentional shopping and meal planning, and embracing seasonal abundance, you’ll create a celebration that’s both luxurious and meaningful.
If the holidays are already here, don’t stress. Pick one thing you can act on and commit to it. Simplify one dish, shop at a local market, or turn leftovers into something beautiful. Your holiday table can reflect your values—rich in flavor, connection, and joy.
Note: Too much added salt is not recommended by The Paleo Diet. For more information on the dietary guidelines, check out this reference. ↩︎
