Let’s face it- it’s the month for celebrations and we all are tempted to overindulge, and most likely will. People we care about put a lot of time and effort into creating appetizing entrees and devilishly good desserts, and we want to appreciate their efforts by eating what they prepare. However, some times that’s not all that good for us and we can wind up bloated with indigestion, or exhausted with a post-indulgence “sugar coma”. Before heading out to that next holiday party, here are 5 tips to help you win the holiday buffet battle:

1. Have a snack before you leave the house, like a handful of raw nuts, such as almonds or cashews. This way you aren’t starving when you arrive at the party and all those good smells coming out of the kitchen encourage you to eat all the cookies on the platter.
2. Reach for the fresh veggies that most people offer as an appetizer. If you are hosting, buy organic vegetables and choose a healthy dip to serve them with, like hummus or a low-fat yogurt based dip.
3. Choose complex carbohydrates, such as sweet potatoes, or whole grain crackers over white ones. Complex carbs have more fiber and help us feel fuller faster than refined ones.
4. Have an 8 ounce glass of water in between every alcoholic or caffeinated beverage you consume. This will prevent against dehydration and potentially save you from drinking too much booze or coffee that depletes energy in the long run.
5. Add as much color to your plate as possible. I’m not talking about choosing the cookies with the colored sprinkles! I’m talking about vegetables!

This way, when the cookie platter and other desserts appear on the table, you won’t be so tempted to overindulge.

If you’re thinking of adding a furry friend to your home this holiday season, you might want to adopt a pet from a shelter or rescue. Pet adoption saves a life and may even extend yours.

Most pet owners will tell you about the immediate joy a pet brings to their lives, but did you know that if you adopt a pet, it can have measurable health benefits, too?

Having a furry friend can ease loneliness, reduce stress, promote social interaction, encourage exercise and playfulness, and provide unconditional love and affection.

Caring for a pet may even help you live longer. The American Heart Association has concluded that having a pet can reduce blood pressure and even reduce the risk of heart disease.

There are more than 30 million puppies and kittens born in the United States every year. As many as 12 million of these animals end up in shelters for one reason or another. Others are abandoned in rural and urban areas.

But, research suggests that pet owners are happier and live longer than non-pet owners. That, in my mind, is a great reason to give a fluffy, love-sponge a good home.

Here are a few resources to help you find your forever friend.

The Humane Society Of The United States

Adopt-a-pet

Blue Buffalo Home 4 The Holidays Program

Petfinder.com

Happy Mission Monday! ‘Tis the season of giving. Do you participate in gift exchanges or Secret Santa games? If you’re a Secret Santa on a mission, we want to know who the most deserving person you’re giving back to this Holiday season and why. You know our mission is to create a wide range of food items for the natural and organics arena so that you and your loved ones can enjoy better living. So why not give the gift of natural and organics this year to spread some holiday cheer.  We hope you take a moment to answer and play along on Twitter or Facebook.

Which person in your life would you like to bestow a Wild Oats product surprise on and why?

If you’re playing along on Facebook, simply comment in our Mission Monday post before 11:59 p.m. ET tonight to be entered to win!

If you’d like to play along on Twitter, simply tweet us your answer with #wildoatsmission #sweeps by 11:59 p.m. ET today to be entered to win!

Good luck! Full Sweepstakes rules and details can be found here Twitter and Facebook.

Of all the food additives out there, BVO, or brominated vegetable oil, might be one of the most bizarre.

You probably first heard about it in headlines last year saying “Flame retardant used in drinks and sodas.” But it’s been around for a long time.

And before I tell you more about BVO, first, here’s what it’s used for. And it’s very, very important, so listen carefully.

BVO is added to beverages so…

You don’t have to shake them. Everything stays all mixed together and things won’t look “cloudy.”

Yes, that’s it! And food companies seem to think that’s a perfectly good tradeoff for a chemical that has been found to damage your heart. One that’s been banned in numerous other countries.

And it’s been in regulatory limbo since 1977, when it was relegated to an “interim” list – that is, a special category of “food additives permitted in food or in contact with food on an interim basis pending additional study. “ (In fact, the category was created specifically to accommodate BVO by the judge in a case brought against the FDA asking that the chemical be suspended until its safety could be established – something that was supposed to have been done within two years.)

Well, nearly four decades should be ample time to study the effects of an ingredient, wouldn’t you think?  And, in fact, we have learned some things about BVO that should have made it pretty obvious that this is not a particularly desirable substance to be ingesting from a health standpoint – like the fact that it can accumulate in fatty tissue and was found to cause heart damage in animals during laboratory testing.

And while we’ve been waiting for the FDA to quit dawdling, Japan, India and Europe all decided BVO should be banned to protect their consumers. And several cases of bromine poisoning came to light that were suffered by individuals who binged on soda containing BVO, including one reported in 1997 involving “severe bromine intoxication” in a patient who drank two or more liters of orange sodas every day. (So much for the FDA’s “safe limit” of 15 parts per million.)

Those instances were cited in an article in Environmental Health News, which also pointed out the resemblance between BVO and toxic brominated flame retardants. One such compound,PBDE has been found in dozens of species of freshwater and marine fish, birds, reindeer, bird eggs and even whales throughout the world.

That and other media attention to this similarity has resulted in BVO being taken out of some products – but it’s still present in others. That’s yet another reason why you need to look at the ingredients listed on product labels before you buy them.

BVO is on the Wild Oats “NO NO” list of 125 unwanted ingredients.

Brighten your home with some clever handmade holiday decorations. From bright ornaments and creative wreaths to a fun and playful reindeer like the one here, there are tons of holiday crafts you can make with your kiddos that only require items most every household has. Your kids will love to help out and you’ll love it because they are inexpensive options.

Here’s an idea starter for a homemade holiday decoration!

Here’s what you’ll need:

A planter’s pot (new or slightly used)
Pipe cleaners
Construction paper or felt (in the colors you choose)
Super glue
Stick-on googly eyes
Wild Oats Organic Elbow Macaroni
Scissors
Something for the red nose (perhaps cotton balls or fabric)

How to get started:

Since there is no wrong way to make DIY Decorations, we encourage you to let your creativity take-over. Here are a few tips to get you started:
Use the planter’s pot as the base
Lay out the materials you have and plot out the reindeer’s face on sketch paper or on a work table
Go to town, making ears, nose and placing the eyes
From there, let your imagination run wild!
Let all glue dry thoroughly before you showcase your new decoration!