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Tips for Healthy Eating on Thanksgiving

Posted November 21, 2007 at 12:00 PM by Megan Hueter

Section: In The News, His Nutrition, Healthy Eating, Diets

turkey Do you know that the average Thanksgiving dinner has over 2000 calories? If you’re not careful, Thanksgiving could be the beginning of a downhill roller coaster of weight gain from Thanksgiving all the way through the Christmas season. If you’re trying to watch your weight gain this Thursday, below are some healthy tips from Healthcastle.com.

If you are a guest of a Thanksgiving dinner:
Don’t go to the Thanksgiving dinner hungry: we often eat faster and more when we are hungry - therefore eat a wholesome breakfast and lunch on the day to avoid overeating at dinner time.
Thanksgiving dinner is not an all-you-can-eat buffet: Fill your plate half with vegetables, one quarter with a lean meat and the rest with a starch of your choice. Eat slowly and stop when you are full.
Turkey - go skinless: choose your 4-oz turkey portion skinless to slash away some fat and cholesterol. Save your appetite for the side dishes and desserts.
Side Dishes - watch your portion size: go for smaller portions. This way you can sample all the different foods. Moderation is always the key.
Make a conscious choice to limit high fat items: high fat food items can be found in fried and creamy dishes as well as cheese-filled casseroles in a traditional Thanksgiving meal . For instance, mashed potatoes are usually made with butter and milk; green bean casseroles are often prepared with cream of mushroom soup, cheese and milk and topped with fried onions; candied yams are loaded with cream, sugar and marshmallows. If you cannot control the ingredients that go in to a dish, simply limit yourself to a smaller helping size. Again moderation is the key.
Drink plenty of water: alcohol and coffee can dehydrate your body. Drink calorie-free water to help fill up your stomach and keep you hydrated.

If you are the honorable chef of a Thanksgiving dinner:
Substitute high fat ingredients with lower-fat or fat-free ingredients. Learn about the 5 easy steps to recipe substitutions.
Leftover Turkey? Instead of turkey sandwiches, use the leftover turkey to make a pot of soup with fresh chunky vegetables.
Experiment with new recipes: we did a search on Google and found numerous delicious yet healthy low-fat contemporary Thanksgiving recipes. Experiment!