How-to Eat a Healthy Thanksgiving Meal

A Low-fat Guilt-free Solution to the Traditional Holiday Dinner

Sep 30, 2009 Kimi Bynum

It is easy to eat Thanksgiving turkey, stuffing, and dessert without feeling guilty. Just substitute ingredients, use portion control, drink water, and exercise.

The typical Thanksgiving dinner is filled with over 2000 calories. That is the total reccommended daily allowance for the average adult, and much higher than the maximum allowed for someone on a diet. Even for a thin person not on a diet, 2000 calories is an awful lot of food to ingest in one sitting.

The solution to this fat-packed, calorie-laced holiday meal is simple: 1) substitute fattening ingredients with healthier choices, 2) use portion control, 3) drink plenty of water, and 4) do some light exercising after the meal.

Substitute Fattening Ingredients with Healthier Choices

Instead of using high-fat ingredients, use substitutions. The food will still taste great, but with the calories and fat cut out, a person can eat Thanksgiving dinner without feeling guilty about it

• If a recipe calls for one whole egg, use two egg whites instead.
• When a recipe calls for sour cream or milk, substitute for a low-fat or a fat-free option.
• For those times when heavy cream is needed in a recipe, instead use a one-to-one ratio of flour whisked into fat-free milk.
• And instead of using whipped cream, use chilled evaporated skim milk.

It is not very difficult to make these types of smarter choices. It is simply a matter of choice. Splenda and Truvia are two common sugar substitutes that taste practically the same as sugar. Or try a sugar-Splenda blend, with half sugar and half Splenda. Use light butter instead of full-fat butter. Simply swapping out regular ingredients for low-fat and reduced-sugar, or fat-free and sugar-free ingredients will spare the calories and fat, but the food will still taste amazing.

Use Portion Control

Moderation is essential to eating healthy during the holidays, especially when the buffet-style meal makes it tempting to indulge. Sometimes a person will skip both breakfast and lunch in order to eat anything and everything he or she wants during dinner. This is not a good idea. Starving oneself all day in order to indulge later that night is a recipe for disaster. By the time the person sits down to the table, the food will smell too good to resist any temptation, and this is when he or she will overeat.

Keeping the metabolism regulated during the day is important for portion control.

• Eat breakfast and lunch in order to keep from pigging out when all that tasty food is on the table that evening.
• Breakfast and lunch do not have to be feasts. Eat a piece of fruit with some yogurt for breakfast.
• For lunch, eat a lean protein and some vegetables.

When the family is finally sitting down for the main meal, do not load up the plate with carbohydrates and meat. Instead, balance the portion sizes. Fill half the plate with vegetables, preferably leafy green ones. A quarter of the plate can have turkey or ham, or whatever type of meat there is to eat. Four ounces of meat is a healthy portion size. A quarter of the plate should have a starch, such as potatoes. If there are more than one type of meat or starch, by all means, sample all the choices. Just make sure to stick to smaller portion sizes of each.

Drink Plenty of Water

Water will keep a person hydrated and will help make him or her feel fuller during the meal. This is another way to keep from overindulging. An added bonus of water: it is good for the body. Water helps flush away fat and calories, so if someone does happen to eat a little too much stuffing, he or she does not have to feel too guilty about it.

Do Light Exercising After the Meal

Once the meal has settled (at least thirty minutes), go for a walk around the neighborhood. It will help shed some of those calories consumed during dinner, and it will make a person feel good. Take the family to the park and let the kids run around and play for a while. Take the time to sit on a bench, relax, and think about the things to be thankful for. Like making it through a Thanksgiving meal without the bloating and the guilt.

The copyright of the article How-to Eat a Healthy Thanksgiving Meal in Healthy Cooking is owned by Kimi Bynum. Permission to republish How-to Eat a Healthy Thanksgiving Meal in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Thanksgiving Can Be Healthy

Portion Control is Key During Thanksgiving