Thanksgiving is only days away and I can’t wait!   I love the hustle and bustle of preparing the menu as the big day approaches and mostly, I love catching up with my entire family while enjoying the feast. 

At my house, we make enough food to feed a small army and aim to satisfy everyone’s tastes (in addition to the basics, we make a turkey and ham, two kinds of stuffing and five different kinds of pies!).    And while I used to worry about weight gain over Thanksgiving, I don’t anymore.   Why?  Because it’s all about balance.

 Here are my go-to tips that will help you to enjoy your Thanksgiving Day meal and stay on track with your health goals…no guilt necessary!

1.  You know Thanksgiving is coming, so be prepared.  Be extra careful with your nutrition the entire week leading up to your Thanksgiving Day meal.  Make sure to eat balanced meals and choose higher quality (natural, un-processed) foods as often as possible.    Try not to have any "off" meals leading up to the big day either; being consistent will stabilize your blood sugar and keep you in “fat burning mode”.  Another way to prepare?  Add 10 to 15 minutes of extra cardio each day leading up to Thanksgiving.

2.  Help with the cooking.  Because of my culinary background, I’m responsible for preparing 90% of our Thanksgiving Day meal. Not that I’m complaining; I honestly love every minute of it.  I’ve found that by preparing the food, I tend to eat a lot less when it’s time to eat.  Sure, I’m taste testing here and there but after all of the stress and hard work that goes into preparing a huge feast, I don’t feel the need to completely stuff myself.   I'm not sure why this happens, but every year without fail, it does!  So this Thanksgiving, aim to help out in the kitchen; you may find yourself eating a lot less at meal time.   

3.  If you’re a guest, bring a healthy dish to the meal.  Instead of smothering the sweet potatoes in high calorie marshmallow, mash them with a few tablespoons of brown sugar, a little real butter and sea salt instead.   Prepare a green bean casserole with fresh green beans, low fat milk and low-fat mushroom soup.  Go light on the fried onions or use sautéed onions instead.    Make mashed potatoes with low fat milk in place of whole milk or cream and jazz them up with roasted garlic, sea salt and a little butter.  Find a reduced-fat gravy online that appeals to you.   Offer to bring whole grain rolls in place of white rolls.   Get creative and choose lower fat options when possible.   You can even find healthier versions of your favorite dishes online ahead of time and share with the "chef" in advance to see if you can work together to create a healthier meal.

Bonus: Try bringing our Whole Grain Cranberry and Walnut Stuffing, Roasted Asparagus or Sweet Potato Soup, found in your Recipe Tab (“Sides and Extras”) for a lighter take on some of your Thanksgiving favorites!

3.  Remember to balance your plate.  Choose a protein first then add carbohydrates.  Don’t worry about adding fat; there will more than likely be plenty of fat in each item already.   Load up on white meat turkey for protein (skip the fatty skin) and healthier sides like sweet potatoes, butternut squash and veggies.  If you want to indulge, take smaller amounts of the higher calorie sides like stuffing to keep blood sugar from spiking too high. 

4.  Eat slowly and enjoy.  Focus on your family and friends, not just the food.  Before going for seconds, ask yourself if you're really hungry.  If so, wait 15 to 20 minutes and see if the feeling passes. 

5.  Dessert is fine in moderation.   I say… have dessert but take a smaller portion than what you would normally would and savor every single bite.    If you know that dessert is your favorite part of the meal and you may want to indulge a bit, go lighter on your carbohydrates with dinner.

6.  If you have alcohol, choose a small glass of wine or light beer.  Drink a glass of water in between to keep from bloating.

7.  If you’re hosting the meal, try to give away the not-so healthy leftovers by making to-go plates for your guests.  Save the leaner stuff like the turkey and vegetables to have on hand for meals later in the week.  If you’re a guest, take a to-go plate of the turkey and vegetables and skip the heavier sides.

A few tips:  In general, the least healthy options at a Thanksgiving Day meal are:  Gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and desserts.  White meat turkey, vegetables and cranberry sauce are usually the leanest.

Lastly, most of us do overindulge on Thanksgiving.  And that’s okay!  The key is to get right back on track 3 to 4 hours later with a balanced meal to stabilize your blood sugar.  If it’s time to eat again and you are not hungry, simply have protein and fat. 

For some of us, it takes practice to learn how to let go of the guilt that can accompany a holiday meal.   Obsessing over the fact that you overindulged is never a good idea.  Just pick back up where you left off and get your cardio in the next day.  Your body will never know the difference.

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Venice Nutrition!

My best,

Valerie Cogswell

Lead Nutrition Coach and Head Chef