If you're anything like me, on thanksgiving day I pile my plate high and wide with all of the food that is forever associated with Thanksgiving: Turkey, Stuffing, Taters and Gravy, Mac & Cheese, Green Bean Casserole, Candied Yams and the list goes on and on...
So, how do we make it through the holiday season without another New Year's Resolution that is bound to be broken?
Ok. First off you have to WANT to do this. It's not going to come easy. If you're going to have your cake and eat it too then guess what, you gonna look like you ate cake! Not that cake is bad...
The point is, the choice is up to you as to how you want to handle the holidays. If you want to commit to a healthier version of the traditional holiday meals it starts with the little things.
Here are 12 simple ideas to help you traverse your holiday family meals with a little less food guilt.
1. Use a smaller plate. The bigger the plate that you use the more your gonna put on it. Go small...
2. Once you have your plate in front of you, take the time to really enjoy it. Don't just inhale the food. Taste it! Chew each bite, savor it, get the most out of each bite you take. Follow each bite of food with a drink of water. Not a gulp, but enough of a sip to clean your palate to get you ready for the next bite.
3. Pass on the butter. For your dinner rolls and mashed potatoes and cornbread and sweet potatoes, hold off on using additional butter. I promise you that there is plenty of butter already in the dish, you do not need to add more. By skipping the butter, you are saving yourself loads of cholesterol, fat and calories that you honestly will not even miss.
4. This next one is a little touchy so be ready... If you are like most Americans, Thanksgiving dinner has as many emotional pitfalls as Golden Coral has deserts. If you are emotionally charged, don't eat! Take a breather, maybe a little walk or something like that. The point is, if you are using food to calm you down, all hopes are lost in trying the eat healthier.
5. When dishing up your plate, us a small spoon. Most of us use a serving spoon that can serve up a cup and a half of mashed potatoes. Try using a soup spoon instead. You portions will be smaller and it will be easier to manage your intake.
6. After you have gorged yourself on the bird and all the other fixins, take a walk. It's a great time to talk to a sister or brother or friend that you've not had a chance to catch up with in a while, plus it gets your body working on using all of that fuel that you just consumed.
7. I don't know a person alive that can pass up a pecan pie or a pumpkin pie on Turkey day. So, instead of having 1/8th of a pie to yourself, buddy up with someone and have them take half of your piece.
8. Alcohol. Based on my family experience, alcohol is best left out of the equation for Thanksgiving. However, if you do consume alcohol, set a household limit to two drinks or something along those lines. This will limit your intake and it can also help to diffuse difficult emotional stuff that seems to pop up at family events.
9. Dress up for your dinner. Wear your favorite jeans or dress, your favorite top and shoes and all of that. Dress up and dress nice. If you are looking good and feeling good before your meal, you'll still want to look and feel good after your meal and that will help curb your eating.
10. Take your vitamins. If you are a daily vitamin person, then don't skip on this day. Give your body what it needs.
11. When dealing with leftovers, get stuff in the freezer right away. If you reserve some leftovers for grazing the next day then that is great, just get the rest of it in the freezer for soups or casseroles or whatever you are going to make with them. The less that is readily available to eat, the less you will eat.
12. Remember, Thanksgiving was originally celebrated after years and years of unbearable hardship from the original settlers of this great country. It was the Native American's benevolence that allowed the settlers to survive. You may want to echo that same idea. Take your leftovers to the local fire house or to a church that is serving lunch that day to the homeless.
So, there are 12 solid ideas that you can do to have a fun filled holiday meal and also help keep the pounds away.
So, how do we make it through the holiday season without another New Year's Resolution that is bound to be broken?
Ok. First off you have to WANT to do this. It's not going to come easy. If you're going to have your cake and eat it too then guess what, you gonna look like you ate cake! Not that cake is bad...
The point is, the choice is up to you as to how you want to handle the holidays. If you want to commit to a healthier version of the traditional holiday meals it starts with the little things.
Here are 12 simple ideas to help you traverse your holiday family meals with a little less food guilt.
1. Use a smaller plate. The bigger the plate that you use the more your gonna put on it. Go small...
2. Once you have your plate in front of you, take the time to really enjoy it. Don't just inhale the food. Taste it! Chew each bite, savor it, get the most out of each bite you take. Follow each bite of food with a drink of water. Not a gulp, but enough of a sip to clean your palate to get you ready for the next bite.
3. Pass on the butter. For your dinner rolls and mashed potatoes and cornbread and sweet potatoes, hold off on using additional butter. I promise you that there is plenty of butter already in the dish, you do not need to add more. By skipping the butter, you are saving yourself loads of cholesterol, fat and calories that you honestly will not even miss.
4. This next one is a little touchy so be ready... If you are like most Americans, Thanksgiving dinner has as many emotional pitfalls as Golden Coral has deserts. If you are emotionally charged, don't eat! Take a breather, maybe a little walk or something like that. The point is, if you are using food to calm you down, all hopes are lost in trying the eat healthier.
5. When dishing up your plate, us a small spoon. Most of us use a serving spoon that can serve up a cup and a half of mashed potatoes. Try using a soup spoon instead. You portions will be smaller and it will be easier to manage your intake.
6. After you have gorged yourself on the bird and all the other fixins, take a walk. It's a great time to talk to a sister or brother or friend that you've not had a chance to catch up with in a while, plus it gets your body working on using all of that fuel that you just consumed.
7. I don't know a person alive that can pass up a pecan pie or a pumpkin pie on Turkey day. So, instead of having 1/8th of a pie to yourself, buddy up with someone and have them take half of your piece.
8. Alcohol. Based on my family experience, alcohol is best left out of the equation for Thanksgiving. However, if you do consume alcohol, set a household limit to two drinks or something along those lines. This will limit your intake and it can also help to diffuse difficult emotional stuff that seems to pop up at family events.
9. Dress up for your dinner. Wear your favorite jeans or dress, your favorite top and shoes and all of that. Dress up and dress nice. If you are looking good and feeling good before your meal, you'll still want to look and feel good after your meal and that will help curb your eating.
10. Take your vitamins. If you are a daily vitamin person, then don't skip on this day. Give your body what it needs.
11. When dealing with leftovers, get stuff in the freezer right away. If you reserve some leftovers for grazing the next day then that is great, just get the rest of it in the freezer for soups or casseroles or whatever you are going to make with them. The less that is readily available to eat, the less you will eat.
12. Remember, Thanksgiving was originally celebrated after years and years of unbearable hardship from the original settlers of this great country. It was the Native American's benevolence that allowed the settlers to survive. You may want to echo that same idea. Take your leftovers to the local fire house or to a church that is serving lunch that day to the homeless.
So, there are 12 solid ideas that you can do to have a fun filled holiday meal and also help keep the pounds away.
We here at CFL would like to wish you and all of your family members an amazing, joy filled Thanksgiving day. Remember, kindness has to start somewhere, why not with you. Bon Appétit!
Tell us what you think!!
Chef Pat @ CFL
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