Gentle nutrition is good enough this holiday season

This is me inviting you to relax.

To focus on gentle nutrition & wellness.

Here are some thoughts on eating nutritiously enough to feel good and stay healthy while still enjoying the holiday season. ✨ 🙏 🍂 🌲

Chaotic photo of my husband and me enjoying a turkey leg at Disneyland on Thanksgiving last year 😅

Happy almost Thanksgiving! On the short list of things I am thankful for this year are: my family, friends, my health, and the chances that I have had this year to see new things and travel. With traveling and moving (being between kitchens, trying new restaurants, etc.) came disruptions to my typical eating routine. In this season of change, I have been leaning heavily on the gentle nutrition principle, or what I'm calling "good enough" nutrition. Gentle nutrition is a principle in the larger philosophy of intuitive eating.¹ It's a realistic, thoughtful, anti-diet-culture, game-changing way to approach eating. It is a different way of thinking about moderation and balance, encouraging compassion and care for oneself. This holiday season, I invite you to consider taking a gentle, "good enough" approach to health and nutrition.

Christmas dinner at my parents' house last year 😋 Turkey, egg noodles, Brussels sprouts, and sweet potatoes!!

What is gentle nutrition?

Gentle nutrition is a principle of intuitive eating. It is defined as "making food choices that honor your health and taste buds while making you feel well."¹ The idea is to focus on a sustainable way of healthful eating: consistency and balance over time, rather than overly-rigid or restrictive eating plans.¹ Intuitive eating is a body-weight-neutral, health-centric nutrition approach. Following intuitive eating principles has been shown to improve body image, increase fruit and vegetable intake, increase fiber intake, and improve sleep.^2-4

Finding balance: 7 things to consider

Gentle nutrition prioritizes balance and consistency over rigidity, allowing you to cover the basics for health while also enjoying the treats, travel snacks, restaurant meals, holiday breakfasts, fun times, and more. How do you actually do this, though? Here are some ideas to keep your nutrition healthful and gentle during this holiday season!

1. Power of the pairings

   Aim for healthy food group proportions in your meals and snacks. Pair a treat or indulgent food with another item to make the overall eating occasion more nutrient-dense. If you're having a slice of pumpkin pie, for example, consider adding a glass of low-fat milk on the side to boost the protein content of the overall snack. Instead of subtracting treats from your diet, add a balancing food item or two to the eating occasion.

Keep the MyPlate model, a visual guide for meal planning, in mind when planning a meal or snack! ⁵

2. Honor your hunger and fullness, and avoid getting overly hungry

   Have you heard of the hunger-fullness scale? It is a tool used in intuitive eating to attune to feelings of hunger and fullness.⁶ Try checking in with the scale periodically to get in touch with your hunger and fullness cues this season. On a scale of 1 (starving) to 10 (stuffed), how full are you? Usually, the goal is to stay between a 4 and 7 on the scale, avoiding intense hunger or over-fullness.⁶ Being overly hungry can lead to overeating or less-mindful food choices. To prevent arriving to a party or to the airport with your stomach already growling, eat regular meals and snacks to stay between 4 and 7.

The hunger-fullness scale⁶

3. Fiber is your travel friend

   I find that it's fairly common for travel to upset the GI system. To set yourself up for gastrointestinal comfort, try to ensure that you maintain your fiber intake during travel. Look for snacks/meals with fruits and vegetables, whole grains (wheat bread, brown rice, oatmeal), and nuts/seeds to keep your fiber intake up. There are two different types of fiber, and they help with different GI problems.^7-8 To help alleviate constipation, focus on insoluble fiber.^7-8 To help mitigate diarrhea, focus on soluble fiber.^7-8 Fiber-containing foods have a mix of the two types, but different foods have them in different proportions. For insoluble fiber, picture roughage (think leafy greens, more fibrous breads and cereals, citrus fruits, the outer skin of fruits and vegetables).⁹ For soluble fiber, focus on foods that gel with water added (oatmeal, the flesh of fruits and root vegetables, cooked broccoli, avocado, oats, hummus).⁹ With any amount of fiber, be sure to drink plenty of water too!⁸

Apples and PB oatmeal... a fiber powerhouse 😉 but just an apple on its own works too.

4. Prioritize hydration

   Feel your best and avoid mistaking thirst cues for hunger cues by making sure you're drinking enough fluids.¹⁰ Sipping throughout the day is more efficient and effective for hydration than gulping all at once, so consider carrying a water bottle with you.^11-12 And while we're talking drinks, try a refreshing mocktail in place of the occasional alcoholic drink. To avoid lots of added sugar, though, make it with club soda or sparkling water instead of regular soda. I recommend this post and site for more ideas for healthy alternatives to alcoholic drinks while still having a fun drink.¹³

Hydrating at the Singapore Botanical Gardens with refreshing mocktails featuring ingredients from the gardens!

5. Two (or even one) out of three ain't bad

   If you have a more decadent/less nutrient-dense meal for one or more meal(s) of the day, it can be tempting to continue to eat less-nutritiously for the rest of the day or weekend because you've already "cheated" on your typical way of eating. Avoid this diet-culture-inspired trap! Balance it out by eating a nutritious and balanced meal for the remaining meal(s) of the day. Try flexing this moderation muscle so that you can fully enjoy the more decadent meal, knowing that you'll return to your baseline of balanced eating at the next eating occasion.

As far as pizza goes, this one was pretty balanced!

6. Stay stocked

   During this busy season, it may be helpful to develop a mental list of simple go-to meals or snacks that you can turn to if you need a healthy-enough option when you're low on time or energy. Aim for a mix of food groups and at least one fruit or vegetable to be included in each meal or snack. Some of my personal go-to options are:

   • Whole-wheat pasta with tomato sauce and steamed vegetables (from frozen) on the side

   • Apple slices with peanut butter

   • Berry smoothie (frozen berries, yogurt, milk, banana)

   • Taco salad: lettuce and tomatoes with ground meat + low-sodium taco seasoning w/ low-fat sour cream and cheese on top

   • Part-skim mozzarella cheese stick with clementine OR grapes

   • Kale salad kit from the grocery store + frozen chicken nuggets (I like the Realgood brand)

   Need more ideas for creating your list of go-to recipes? This website is a great one to explore. You can search by ingredient as a starting point for your preferences, and all of the recipes are nutritious, economical, and simple. Many take less than 20 minutes to prepare!

EatFresh.org is a fun site to visit to get ideas for simple, nutritious recipes.

7. Fit movement in where you can

   Physical activity can improve your general health and boost your immune system.¹⁴ "Good enough" movement complements "good enough" nutrition. You don't have to embark on a strict exercise regimen or have a training plan or even go to the gym - just move your body. Walking your dog for 5 extra minutes, jogging even just 1 mile in the hotel gym, walking between stores (instead of driving) while holiday shopping, putting a little more intensity into cleaning the house for company . . . it's all movement and it all counts!

Jogging a bit on the Singapore airport hotel's treadmill during my trip. The treadmill gave me the option to pretend I was running through Maui 😆

Thanks for reading! Have questions or comments? Email me here!

References

1. Tribole E. Principle 10: Honor your health with gentle nutrition. EvelynTribole.com. March 1, 2019. Accessed November 19, 2025. https://www.evelyntribole.com/principle-10-honor-your-health-with-gentle-nutrition/

2. Hensley-Hackett K, Bosker J, Keefe A, et al. Intuitive Eating Intervention and Diet Quality in Adults: A Systematic Literature Review [ABSTRACT ONLY]. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. 2022;54(12):1099-1115. doi:10.1016/j.jneb.2022.08.008

3. Linardon J, Tylka TL, Fuller-Tyszkiewicz M. Intuitive eating and its psychological correlates: A meta-analysis [ABSTRACT ONLY]. International Journal of Eating Disorders. 2021;54(7):1073-1098. doi:10.1002/eat.23509

4. Eaton M, Probst Y, Foster T, Messore J, Robinson L. A systematic review of observational studies exploring the relationship between health and non-weight-centric eating behaviours. Appetite. 2024;199:107361. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2024.107361

5. MyPlate.gov | What Is MyPlate? Accessed October 22, 2025. https://www.myplate.gov/eat-healthy/what-is-myplate

6. Hunger-Satiety Scale. Berkeley Faculty/Staff Wellness. Accessed November 19, 2025. https://uhs.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/wellness-hungersatietyscale.pdf 

7. Freuman TD . Regular: The Ultimate Guide to Taming Unruly Bowels and Achieving Inner Peace. 2023.

8. VanReken DW, Kay RE, Ireton-Jones CS. Medical Nutrition Therapy for Lower Gastrointestinal Tract Disorders. In: Krause and Mahan’s Food & The Nutrition Care Process. 16th ed. Elsevier; 2023:544-578.

9. Fibre. Patient Information, NHS West Suffolk. Accessed November 19, 2025. https://www.wsh.nhs.uk/CMS-Documents/Patient-leaflets/ColorectalandStomaCare/5147-2Fibre.pdf

10. Raymond JL, Morrow K. Nutritional Facts on Fluid and Hydration. In: Krause and Mahan’s Food & The Nutrition Care Process. 16th ed. Elsevier; 2023:1043-1044.

11. Jones EJ, Bishop PA, Green JM, Richardson MT. Effects of Metered Versus Bolus Water Consumption on Urine Production and Rehydration. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab 2010;20:139–44. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsnem.20.2.139.

12. McBride C, Boy T, Green M, O’Neal E, Renfroe L. Hydration Efficiency of a Protein Beverage Consumed in a Bolus vs. Metered Pattern during Recovery. Int J Exerc Sci 2020;13:1476–86.

13. 11 Tips for Ordering Healthy Mocktails at a Bar. The Sober Dietitians. June 22, 2021. Accessed November 19, 2025. https://thesoberdietitians.com/tips-ordering-healthy-mocktails-sober-curious-dietitians/

14. Nieman DC, Wentz LM. The compelling link between physical activity and the body’s defense system. J Sport Health Sci. 2019;8(3):201-217. doi:10.1016/j.jshs.2018.09.009