Poll: Frustrated about holiday travel???

[kwormann]

We live in Houston and our families are in IN. I get frustrated because I never get to have family at my house and to plan the big meal. My husbands family also is as far from healthy as you can get, so its is scarey when it is there year...this year!

Anyone else have this problem? How do you solve it/deal with it???

Kim

[Vanessa]

Hi Kim. WE don't have family near either. My husbands is 7 hrs away (car) mine an ocean away....This year all holiday plans are in the air because of work schedule. Usually my parents came for either Thanksgiving or Xmas. My in laws came once for Thanksgiving and we went once there and one Xmas.
A solution to your dilema could be planning to have the holiday at your home and inviting lets say one set of parents for one holiday Thanksgiving) and the other set for the next holiday. You can say you are looking fwd to trying new recipes or that you want to have the family at your place so they can enjoy & this way they can have a break from cooking etc. Of course everyone can help with clean up.

[This message has been edited by Vanessa (edited 11-06-2000).]

[acorreia]

Kim,
My in-laws are Portuguese. So, when we go to their place for the holidays, it's all about the food - 24x7!!! And, traditional Portuguese food contains lots of olive oil and salt. They are also big on bread, rice, potatoes, and sweets. Out of all of the above mentioned ingredients/food, I eat NONE of these!

Here's what I do. The morning after we land, I go to the local Stop-n-Shop and buy "my food," which is usually stuff like egg-whites, sugar-free jello, crystal lite, low-sodium/low-fat tuna, fresh fruits and veggies, etc... My mom-in-law know "my deal" and is cool with this arrangement. They don't usually eat breakfast, so this is not a problem. But for lunch and dinner, I'll eat any fresh seafood or other protein dish if it has not been cooked with tons of oil. If it has, then I sometimes rinse it off with hot water before I eat it (I do this discretely of course). So, I'll use the tuna as an emergency standby, in case there is nothing I would venture to eat at either lunch or dinner.

-ac

[kendra]

I say just eat a smaller amount of food in a situation where you are served high fat items. I think anything can be enjoyed in moderation. Being healthy doesn't mean we have to be obsessive! Just my 2 cents.