We all know the story by now… Holidays come, and pounds come along with them.  If you’re in the flow with your workouts, then the holidays show up and throw a wrench in your program.  If you’ve yet to start watching your waistline, then the Holidays can often push you back even further.

Well this year we’re making the holidays exactly what they’re supposed to be.  Time with family, good food and laughs, and feeling GOOD all the way into the new year.  Here are 5 essential foods to have with your Holiday meals to keep you sexy and fit all the way there.

1. Chocolate: That’s right, the cat’s out of the bag… Chocolate is actually good for you!  What makes conventional chocolate into the fatty food that people have connected it with is the added sugar, pasteurized dairy, and toxic preservatives.  The REAL chocolate is the food that all chocolate products are made from, which is known as cacao.  It’s the highest antioxidant food ever discovered, which means that it’s the #1 food to keep you young and sexy.

Cacao has compounds known as phenylethylamines which function as appetite regulation in your body.  Cacao stimulates the production of healthy hormones, and even provides vitamin C to help you ward off the winter colds.

Make your hot chocolate and desserts using real cacao powder, cacao butter, and cacao nibs.  Use the natural sweeteners that you like, so that YOU are in control of the sweetness.  The best picks are: organic maple syrup, raw honey, and stevia.

Here’s my favorite source for raw chocolate, hands down: Organic Truly Raw Cacao

2.  Broccoli: This one can be an absolute lifesaver for people.  Getting in the green goodness is super important over the holiday season.  When I was a kid, broccoli was the only vegetable that I would eat, so my grandma always used it to her advantage.

Broccoli is rich in sulfur and Vitamin C, which are both fantastic for your skin. You can simply add some steamed broccoli to the holiday menu, or what everyone loves over my way is the Raw Vegan Cheezy Broccoli dish.  It’s AMAZING.  Many people who’ve never had raw food before devoured it last year!  I was a bit upset when I came back for seconds, and only saw the traces of spoon marks in an empty bowl.

Here’s the recipe for you tasting pleasure:  Cheezy Broccoli

3.  Pickles: Who would have thought that the “Pickle Dish” many families have is actually really good for us?  Pickles provide an important class of foods known as ferments.  These are the foods that provide our body with the good bacteria to protect us from the unfriendly bacteria.

A pickle is a cucumber that’s been pickled in a brine (water and salt) or vinegar.  It’s a fantastic food that’s been enjoyed for thousands of years, and prized by historical figures like Aristotle and Julius Caesar.  Pickles are so valuable because they provide enzymes and cultures that aid in proper digestion and nutrient assimilation.

The tip here is to go for the high quality pickles.  Don’t settle for conventional brands that are certainly using sub-standard ingredients.  Visit your local health food store, or make your own at home.  Just be sure to take advantage and have some pickles on your plate.

4.  Cranberries: These are definitely a bonafide superfood.  The phytonutrients and antioxidants found in cranberries provide potent cancer protection as well as anti-inflammatory properties.

Lots of people enjoy cranberry sauce for the holiday, but that’s not the only way you can add this nutrient rich food into your meal.  You can add cranberries to your stuffing, make wonderful desserts and juices, and you can even use it to make a delicious salad dressing.

5.  Coconut Oil: Now this is a new one for some people.  This one substitution alone can help you radically improve your health.  For the last few decades we’ve been bombarded with marketing to use vegetable oils for our cooking.  Now it’s finally becoming common knowledge that cooked vegetable oil is one of the most dangerous things we can possibly consume.

The oils made from soy, corn, olive, canola, etc. are very high in Omega 6 fats which are EXTREMELY volatile to light and heat.  When these oils are heated, they oxidize very quickly and flood your body with dangerous free radicals.

Coconut oil is an absolute miracle.  Because it’s almost entirely saturated plant fat, it’s very stable against excessive heat and oxidation.  It’s rich in rare medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs) which are important for your immune system, nervous system, and thyroid.

Switching from using artery clogging vegetable oils to using coconut oil to do your cooking, can be one of the easiest and most powerful ways to get into the best shape of your life this year.

Leave your comment down below and share what YOUR favorite healthy Holiday food is.