It is hard to imagine Thanksgiving without thinking of turkey, mashed
potatoes and gravy, pumpkin pie...and a bulging stomach after dinner.
But just because it is a holiday doesn’t mean you have to forget about
good nutrition habits.
Shelly Summar, a dietitian at Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics,
says to remember that Thanksgiving celebration is one day, not one week
or one month.
She offers the following list of Thanksgiving nutrition
tips to make celebrating on that one day enjoyable:
Have a plan. Don’t go to Thanksgiving dinner hungry -- hunger
leads to overeating.
Drink some water and have a piece of fruit or some lowfat
crackers before going to a holiday party. Plan what you’re going to eat
if you have an idea of what is going to be served.
Don’t skip once-a-year favorites - skipping can lead to
frustration, feelings of deprivation, and ultimately overindulgence.
Enjoy those things in moderation.
Eat on smaller plates - this forces the serving sizes to be
smaller.
Don’t stand around the food table - this encourages mindless
snacking and overeating.
Bring a low-calorie or low-fat item so you know you have an
item you can fill up on if necessary.
Try to be more physically active on the days you have parties
to go to. You may also want to be more active the few days before and
after. Plan a physical activity as a game at children’s parties.
Learn how to decrease the fat in some common holiday
favorites. Some suggestions are using evaporated skim milk, skim milk
or 1
percent milk in place of cream or whole milk. It can be used for
gravies, sauces, casseroles or pumpkin pie. Applesauce or other fruit
or vegetable purees can be used to replace some of the fat ingredients
in recipes for breads, muffins, or cakes.
