The 5 Step Thanksgiving Survival Guide

Posted on 18. Nov, 2009 by Becky in Feed Your Body

You can almost smell that roasted turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes dripping with butter, pecan-crusted yams, and of course, that creamy pumpkin pie.  Yes, Thanksgiving is only days away.  Unfortunately, this annual event could possibly fill your heart with anxiety for a number of reasons, which may or may not include:

1.  You can’t control yourself around those creamy, buttery mashed potatoes

2.  You are in charge of hosting 52 of your closest relatives

3.  You are worried about that 3rd helping of those sweet, savory pecan-crusted yams

4.  You are in charge of roasting a 20 pound bird to perfection.

5.  You are worried that you may inadvertently eat a dozen fresh-baked buttery rolls all by yourself through the course of the day

6.  You need to have an immaculate house despite 4 sets of tiny hands that are set on dumping everything you pick up

7.  You are worried that you won’t be able to choose between pumpkin, pecan, or banana cream, so you might just sneak one of each by saying you are getting them for the kids and running to the guest bedroom to down them before anyone notices the kids are still playing in the basement.

Truly, Thanksgiving can be a hurtle to a happy mom and a healthy diet, but certainly it should not constitute a crisis.  This is a holiday, people!  Just remember, you are in control here!  Here are 5 Survival Tips to keep you from tipping the scales this Thanksgiving  (as for the cleaning, you’re on your own on that one):

1.  DON’T STARVE YOURSELF ALL DAY

So, mathematically you might think the best way to keep yourself on track Thanksgiving Day is to not eat anything until they roll out the cranberry sauce and yams, right?  Wrong.  If you starve yourself all morning, not only will your body shut down into starvation mode and you’ll wind up exhausted and cranky, but you’ll have a voracious appetite by the time Thanksgiving dinner rolls around.  And the typical holiday dishes are not forgiving on a hunger binge:  butter-drenched veggies, cream-filled potatoes, and huge dinner rolls are not low-calorie items.

Instead, your best bet is to eat low-calorie, high-fiber foods throughout the day.  This could be a bowl of bran flakes, a cup of steamed veggies, or a serving of light yogurt.  I like to snack on the foods as I am preparing them all day.  That way, when I get to Thanksgiving dinner, I tend to choose smaller portion sizes since I’ve already had a taste of many of my favorite dishes.

2.  REMEMBER…THERE’S ALWAYS TOMORROW

One of the reasons we tend to overindulge at Thanksgiving dinner is because we put all of our favorite foods in front of us at one time.  We’ve simply got to have it all!  And right now–before it’s gone!  Most families tend to prepare huge portions of foods–more than will ever get eaten at the meal.  Try to work out a system where you can take home some leftovers for the next day.  At my in-laws, we end up eating “Thanksgiving dinner” 3 times as we reheat the leftovers to get us through the busy after-Thanksgiving days full of shopping and other family activities.  And you will never hear me complain about that!  It really helps to say no to seconds if you know you can taste those perfect yams again the next day.

3.  TRY IT ALL…BUT KEEP IT SMALL

No one wants to feel deprived on Thanksgiving day.  In fact, anyone who says, “That’s not on my plan” to delicious family traditions should be stuffed and roasted themselves.  This holiday is all about celebrating the abundance in life, and there is room for a little bit of abundance in any diet.  Yes, you know the recipe for yams calls for 4 sticks of butter, but even so, if you keep your portion size small, you can still enjoy it!  Try to keep your serving sizes smallest on the dishes that you know have been pumped up with the most fattening additives, and do your mindless munching with the veggie tray (and skip the dip).

4.  DRINK WATER

Unless your family tradition includes some very special beverage that you only enjoy during the holidays, buy yourself a few hundred extra calories by drinking water.  You can make water more special by adding sliced lemon or lime, and really, is there anything more refreshing than that?

5.  GO LOW-FAT WHERE YOU CAN

So, those of us who are lucky enough to attend someone else’s home for Thanksgiving dinner trade the convenience of not hosting, not cleaning, and not having a nervous breakdown, for the control of exactly what goes into the food.  We always have Thanksgiving dinner at my in-laws, and I am always helping in the kitchen all day.  Unfortunately, it does mean that I am not in control of what ingredients we put in the food, and therefore we do end up with mashed potatoes with whole milk and butter, and throwing huge chunks of butter in with the steamed corn and carrots.  It’s not the ideal, but it’s a sacrifice I’m very willing to make.

If you ARE in control of the foods that you are preparing for your meal, go low-fat where you can!  Mashed potatoes have an excellent flavor with a little fat-free sour cream and skim milk mixed in rather than butter and cream (this is how I always prepare them for my family).  Steamed veggies can hit the table with nothing but a little seasoning salt.  People can always add their own butter to these dishes, and then you are not sacrificing flavor or keeping anyone that wants to from clogging their arteries.  When you consider that butter contains about 100 calories per oz., you will save a SIGNIFICANT amount of calories by not adding the butter to the food before it is served, and generally, no one will even notice.  People usually want to see the butter melting on their meal and will add more anyway, so do everyone a favor, and leave out the hidden fats.

Good luck with your Thanksgiving Feast!  Enjoy every bite!