It's that time of year again - the holiday season! While indulging in delicious holiday food can be enjoyable, it can also be difficult to maintain healthy habits. Although it can be challenging, it is possible to avoid going overboard. The key is to find a balance between enjoying yourself on special occasions and staying on track with your healthy lifestyle goals.

Keeping Healthy During The Holidays

The food that makes it to your plate is more likely to be consumed. Using a smaller plate will make the quantity of food on your plate appear greater and stop you from adding more to your plate than you actually want.

Choose to fill your plate with vegetables, fruits, green salads, and lean meats before anything else. If you come across a calorie-dense side dish that catches your eye, try a small portion first. If you still feel hungry later, you can always go back for more.

After finishing your small plate of nutritious food, wait for 10 minutes. This gives your brain enough time to signal your stomach if it's full. After that, our hunger is often fulfilled.

Overeating nutritious meals is a trap that is simple to fall into. You might believe that since the meal is healthy, you can consume more of it. But pay attention to serving portions. It can be just as harmful to consume unhealthy food as it is to consume too much of something nice.

When at a party, it's best to avoid chatting with other guests near the food. Instead, take a leisurely walk around or engage in fun activities such as playing board games or football in the backyard. By shifting the focus away from food, you can enjoy the company of others without feeling pressured to eat excessively.

Above all, keep in mind that the holiday is all about enjoying and spending time with the people you cherish. It's simpler to pay less attention to the food when you concentrate more on the fun.

Have you asked yourself what things you are thankful to have today? It might seem like an unimportant question you don’t have time to ponder in this fast-paced world. However, reflecting on what we have right now and feeling fortunate can change our lives for the better.

The impact of thankfulness is far-reaching, from improving our relationships with others to enhancing our mental health. It is gratitude that helps us appreciate the small victories in life, such as when the bus arrives on time, when we reach home before the heavy downpour, or when our favorite snack is back in stock. Each of these little things contributes to a pile of happiness that gradually enhances our ability to perceive good.

How To Practice Gratitude

The feeling of gratitude can manifest as a feeling, emotion, attitude, or behavior. But how can we feel grateful?

Keep a gratitude journal. Write all the blessings, grace, and positive aspects you experience every day. Reflect on moments of gratitude connected to commonplace happenings, your unique qualities, or important persons in your life.

Use gratitude to calm a temper. Focusing on the positive aspects of life is one of the easiest ways to diffuse a stormy mood's energy. Before you lash out at someone, stop and list five things for which you are currently thankful.

Look at the bright side. Even the most challenging obstacles in life have some good sides; you simply need to look for them. A mistake usually offers you a valuable lesson.

Spread gratitude. Showing gratitude could strengthen interpersonal connections. So, be sure to express your appreciation to your partner, friend, or family member the next time they accomplish something you value.

Remember, practicing gratitude differs from engaging in toxic positivity. The aim is to focus on the positive aspects while acknowledging unpleasant feelings and thoughts. The idea is to remind oneself that positive things can still happen even when faced with pressure and adversity.

Holiday shopping can be exhausting and stressful, especially when you're trying to stick to a budget and find thoughtful gifts for everyone on your list. But holiday shopping doesn’t always have to be like this.

Shop Smart This Holiday Season

With some smart shopping advice, you can make this year's experience stress-free, affordable, and even enjoyable. Regardless of whether you love or hate holiday shopping, these will help you make the most of Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the holidays to come.

Set a budget

It's an effective strategy to have a fixed Christmas shopping budget to work with, even though you don't want to restrict your holiday spending. Remember to factor in the price of Secret Santa or group exchange gifts; you aren't required to spend the full amount.

Prepare a shopping list

Before you go shopping or exploring the web, be certain of who you need to buy gifts for. It won't just save you time; it'll also keep you and your bank account sane. Sort the people on your holiday shopping list into groups like close friends, family members, coworkers, acquaintances, and teachers.

Try reward stacking

Combine various rewards programs to receive maximum discounts, points, and cash back. For instance, you can make a purchase using a credit card that provides cash-back rewards and then use a browser extension to accumulate further rewards.

Avoid last-minute shopping

If you wait until the last minute to begin shopping, you will risk having to pay for expedited shipping and may be forced to purchase extremely expensive items simply to have a gift to give.

Make your own gifts

Crafting personalized presents could not only help you save money throughout the holidays, but the person who receives them will also feel much more connected to you. You’ll still have to buy the materials you need so apply all the previous tips!

Keep these tips in mind and you’ll surely have a great shopping experience. Just remember to stay focused, do your research, and have patience.

The World Kindness Movement started World Kindness Day in 1998, intending to spread kindness around the globe. The Global Kindness Movement observes World Kindness Day on November 13 every year. This Day offers us the chance to think about three of the most significant and common human values: empathy, compassion, and kindness.

How To Spread Kindness This World Kindness Day

On this day, we welcome anything that is rooted in genuine kindness. Here are a few ways ideas on how you can celebrate this special day.

Do random acts of kindness

The world could be a better place if you take the time to do something kind for a stranger. Leave more tips than usual. Donate to an animal shelter. Maybe leave a thank-you note to a teacher or neighbor.

Share a smile with someone

It is only natural to smile back at someone who has smiled at you. Smiles are contagious just like yawns, and receiving them has a favorable impact on your mental health. Why not repay the favor while you go about your day's activities?

Pick up litter

These days, trash is everywhere. Though not usually, some of it is purposely left behind. Bring a bag with you that will allow you to dispose of the items. Even a small amount of picking up can help to make the world a better place.

Give yourself a little kindness, too

You cannot give from an empty cup. Be kind to yourself by allowing yourself more downtime to rest and take care of yourself. That is an act of love for both you and those around you.

Let's work together to spread this important trait that unites people of all backgrounds on a day, honoring the great possibilities of tiny and large acts of kindness.

Are you ready to experience a truly frightful Halloween? Examine the list of ingredients in your favorite sweets. Other than sugar, sugar, and more sugar, not much is present. It is challenging to encourage the family to eat well around Halloween. And the onslaught of candies and sweet treats makes it even more difficult to add a bit of protein or something nutritious to their plates.

Is it possible to stay in the macabre mood of the holiday while keeping the sweets in small amounts and making sure everyone in the family loves the food?

Healthy Halloween Treats For The Whole Family

Are you feeling scared of all the Halloween candy you are eating? Don't worry! Here are some healthy tips for party snacks and trick-or-treats that are so good, they're scary!

Banana Mummies. Use white chocolate for the bandages and matching candies for the eyes.

Spiderweb Pancakes. Create spooky webs with chocolate syrup and elevate this breakfast food into one fit for Halloween.

Orange Snack-o'-Lantern Fruit Cups. It's easier than you might think to turn an orange into a fruit-filled Halloween treat. Carve it as you would with a pumpkin and fill it with sliced fruits.

Candy Corn Gelatin Cups. Opt for low-sugar gelatin with colors similar to candy corn. Pour them in a cup and top with whipped toppings.

Spiced Warm Apple Cider. All you need are apples, oranges, and aromatic spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves mixed and cooked in a slow cooker.

Roasted Halloween Vegetables. Use your creativity and cut up potatoes, carrots, and other vegetables into Halloween symbols. Bake with garlic, rosemary, balsamic vinegar, and honey for a sweet and savory flavor.

Now you’re all set for Halloween with these delicious and healthy snack ideas!

Why does happiness sometimes seem so far away, pointless, and unobtainable? How can we truly be joyful in a world that is so full of instability, uncertainty, hardship, and injustice? What concept of happiness might encompass all of that? What will make us happy?

There are so many questions about happiness, from how to define it to what it takes to experience it. But once we stop seeking the happiness that the world defines, we start to realize that the choice to feel happiness has always been available to us. We should not leave our happiness to fate. It is in our hands; a decision we should make.

How To Choose Happiness Everyday

It is not enough to simply recognize that happiness is a choice. Choosing happiness still requires a conscious decision. It might come easy to some, but more challenging for others. You’ll need to practice and try to choose happiness every time. How?

Meditate. Schedule some alone time to meditate. The capacity to disengage is even more important as our environment becomes faster and noisier.

Surround yourself with the right people. Spend time with people that represent the person you aspire to be. Time spent with the wrong group of friends will drain your happiness.

Embrace daily affirmations. Affirmations can reduce stress, boost self-esteem, and alter perspective. Daily affirmations should be carefully crafted, rooted in truth, and focused on present needs for the maximum effect.

Eat healthy. The state of our physical well-being will always affect our emotional and mental wellness. Taking good care of our physical health can significantly improve our mental state.

Help others when you can. Our sense of happiness increases as our sense of purpose grows. Do your best to increase and sustain this by performing acts of kindness, compassion, and service to others.

It is crucial to start small when pursuing happiness every day. You won’t constantly feel happy and will still experience negative emotions which are necessary for us to appreciate happiness more.