Thanksgiving: Turkey and More......

The start of the holiday season officially starts with Thanksgiving. What an introduction! That's six weeks of being inundated with not only images of food, but real food with all of the aromas and tradition associated with them. So, how do we manage to make it through that enticing time without eating our way through it?

Let's take it one step at a time, starting with Thanksgiving. Most everyone considers this a lost day with regard to maintaining any dietary regime. And, unfortunately, some people consider the whole season a lost cause for maintaining good nutritional practices. But, it need not be. Let's take a different approach to the season.

Thanksgiving falls right after the major fall harvest of wonderful fruits, vegetables and nuts. Squashes, sweet potatoes, apples, persimmons, pomegranates, walnuts, pecans to name a few and depending upon the area you live, local broccoli, cauliflower, beans and peas may be available. Don't think of this season as one full of temptation to overindulge in sweets and the like, but rather a time to incorporate luscious garden produce into your meal plans. When you eat a well balanced meal, jam packed with wholesome, nutritious food, you have less of a desire to eat things that don't contribute to your health and may take away from it.

In advance of Thanksgiving, anticipate the wonderful colors, flavors and textures of the healthy, less processed foods. When the day arrives, make sure you stay well hydrated with water (a splash of lemon with it), save your appetite for the main meal (don't overdue it on the appetizers) and when sitting down to eat, go for the light turkey meat, have a smallish serving of mashed potatoes keeping the gravy and butter to a minimum. Load up on the fresh vegetables, skip or limit added butter.

Plan ahead of time to fill your plate only once. Although it may seem like a lot of food to put on your plate, you may eat less seeing the volume of it all at once as opposed to eating many small platefuls of food.

Once the meal is over, entice the group you are with to go for a nice long walk. That will improve digestion and potentially keep your appetite down for dessert. When it is served, take a small portion of the various offerings rather than a whole serving of each. DON'T feel obligated to eat everything that is offered. Eating in moderation will leave you feeling better, happier and healthier.

Happy Thanksgiving!
JS