December is a festive time of year with twinkling lights, fresh baked goods, and lively parties. However, planning menus that meet guests’ dietary restrictions, sticking within a holiday budget, and ensuring safe food practices can be overwhelming. Enjoy a stress-free holiday with resources from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s website Nutrition.gov featuring the new healthy holidays webpage found at www.nutrition.gov/healthy-holidays.
Tips, tricks and information can be found on:

• Maintaining health goals during celebrations by making healthy substitutions in recipes.
• Planning for special diets such as guests with allergies and guests who are vegetarians.
• Meal planning to help stay within a budget with thrifty holiday menus for Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa.
• Maintaining safe food practices with resources specifically for holiday foods and buffets.

In addition to these resources, more resources can be found by visiting the Nutrition.gov’s recipes webpage at www.nutrition.gov/recipes and the food security and access webpage at www.nutrition.gov/topics/food-security-and-access.

For many people holidays and large gatherings can cause a sense of anxiety around meal planning and eating. Give the gift of a stress-free holiday to others by sharing these resources.