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Feast smarter, not harder

You don’t have to gorge to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner

By: Shamona Harnett

Posted: 10/3/2011 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

You don’t have to gorge to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner

If you believe the health experts, next weekend you’ll start to pack on the five obligatory pounds you’re set to gain between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.

It’s a claim that makes sense if you’re the type to treat your Thanksgiving dinner as a free ticket to gorge on turkey, potatoes and pie until your pants button pops off.

Instead of becoming a statistic, why not make a pact to enjoy your holiday feast with more restraint?

Here are some tips that will help you keep your weight (and overall health) under control this Thanksgiving:

Load up with fall nutrients

Certain Thanksgiving staples are nutrient-loaded. Fill your plate with these items and you’ll be taking in health-promoting vitamins and phytochemicals rather than empty calories. Think orange-fleshed sweet potatoes — gems that contain unbelievable amounts of beta-carotene that significantly raises your blood levels of Vitamin A. (Three-and-a-half ounces of sweet potato gives you about 90 per cent of Health Canada’s daily recommended dose). Cranberries are also nutrient superstars, containing respectable amounts of vitamin C. (Avoid sweetened, canned, cranberry jelly and opt instead for cranberry sauce made with whole cranberries. Make it yourself so you can limit the sugar). Turkey, by the way, is a lean meat that contains relatively little fat and a high amount of protein. Avoiding skin and opting for whiter cuts of meat will limit your intake of saturated fat.

Segregate your plate

Create imaginary lines on your dinner plate. Reserve each section for certain food groups. One option: Fill half of your plate with vegetables. (These tend to be lower in fat and calories while high in vitamins). Another quarter of the plate could be reserved for lean protein while the other quarter could be reserved for (preferably) slow-digesting grains or starches such as beans or sweet potatoes.

This ratio of veggies to protein to starches will be better for the blood sugar and overall health.

Limit your drinks

Liquor dulls the senses, diminishes your inhibitions and can lead you to overeat. Not to mention that an eight-ounce serving of wine, for example, can cost you an extra 150 to 160 calories that can sneak up on you because they don’t fill you up. Meanwhile, a sweet and creamy alcoholic drink such as Bailey’s and milk contains about 400 calories for every 1.5 ounces. To avoid effects of alcohol on your waistline, limit yourself to just a small glass or two of nonsugary wine or liquor. To prevent the booze from affecting your decision-making abilities or your health, alternate with a glass of water.

Hold the cream

Need to have that piece of pumpkin or pecan pie after your meal? Believe it or not, there are nutritional benefits to each. Pecans — like all nuts — contain plenty of heart-healthy fats while pumpkin is full of vitamin A and fibre. Keep the fat and calorie content of your pies down by holding the ice and whipped cream — or at least by limiting yourself to just a dollop of whipped.

(One tablespoon of un-whipped whipping cream contains about 56 calories, almost 90 per cent of which comes from saturated fat. Meanwhile, one cup of vanilla ice cream contains about 540 calories, 22 grams of saturated fat and 42 grams of sugar).

De-fat your gravy

If you have a moist, succulent turkey, do you really need the gravy? If so, remember that most gravy is really just fat — drippings from the bird. You can keep your gravy high in flavour and lighter in fat content by refrigerating it after cooking. When it cools, most of the fat will harden on the top of your container. Remove this top layer and reheat your tasty, fat-reduced gravy.

Create a calorie deficit before you feast

A week before your Thanksgiving dinner, make a pact to eat reasonable portions of food and exercise every day for at least one hour. As well, take the stairs whenever you can. In doing this, you’ll help yourself create a calorie deficit so you’ll be less likely to pack on the pounds when turkey day rolls around.

Forget seconds

Feeling the urge to go back for second and third helpings of turkey, mashed potatoes and/or pie? If you fill your plate with the right proportions of fat, fibre and protein, you shouldn’t feel truly hungry after your first helping. Rather than blindly going back for more, listen to your body and ask yourself if you’re truly hungry.

And remember that it’s important to keep some leftovers; Thanksgiving meals are perfect for reheating for tomorrow’s lunch or dinner.

Don’t starve yourself before dinner

If your instincts tell you to avoid food all day so you can save room for your Thanksgiving feast, don’t listen to them. Instead, make a point of eating a balanced breakfast and lunch that contains a healthy mix of carbs, protein and fat. Doing so will ensure that you keep your metabolism revving and avoid gorging after a day of starvation.

Have an interesting story idea you’d like Shamona to write about? Contact her at shamona.harnett@freepress.mb.ca

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