Instructions: This month, Virginia Willis, the food stylist for "The Main Ingredient," shares some tips on how to enjoy your holiday meals with a clear mind, and offers some healthy recipes for your Christmas dinner.

As the holiday season unfolds around the nation, people celebrate in a variety of ways according to their religious beliefs and ethnic backgrounds. Traditional holiday meals likewise differ widely across the country. Some people have roast goose or lamb, while others enjoy turkey or beef tenderloin. An acquaintance of mine likes to have poached salmon on the holiday table, and my Cajun friends in Louisiana prepare duck gumbo. As for my family, we usually celebrate with ham.

My traditional Southern Christmas feast is laden with fat and quite unhealthy, needless to say. All of the dishes I mentioned in my Thanksgiving column last month make an encore appearance at Christmas - plus a few more! But I dont dine year-round like I do during the holidays.

The best approach I can suggest for you as you sit down in front of your holiday dinner is to combine good dishes with the bad. Try to mix the salad and vegetables with a reasonable amount of Aunt Jennys macaroni and cheese. Also, watch the eggnog, and walk away from the cheese platter towards the vegetable crudite. Finally, stop when youre full and take a long walk after dinner, instead of sitting on the sofa watching football or the parades!

NOTES : Mix the Healthy Dish With the Heavenly Dish at This Years Holiday Meal

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