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Healthier Thanksgiving

Dear Nutrition Twins,

Thanksgiving is at my house this year. I am nervous because most of the members in my family are overweight and tend to really overeat at holiday time and family gatherings. I know that I can’t get them to eat less, but I was hoping that I could at least make Thanksgiving healthier since they will be eating so much. Do you have any advice?

Carla, Atlanta

Dear Carla,

Most people can really sympathize with your situation as most of us overindulge during the holiday season. We all want to do minimal damage to our own health and our family’s health, while not packing on the pounds. We do have a few suggestions to making your cooking “lighter”.

First, when it comes to appetizers, stay away from serving crackers and cheese or chips and dip. Most crackers served are high in fat and calories, like Ritz crackers. Topping such items with cheese only makes matters more troublesome as each ounce of full fat cheese is 100 calories. Top a few slices of cheese on a couple crackers and suddenly you’ve eaten 500 calories! Most people don’t need more than 500 calories for their entire meal in order to maintain their weight! So instead, try serving different vegetable slices and use your favorite dip recipe, but substitute low-fat or nonfat yogurt or nonfat or light sour cream for regular yogurt, sour cream and mayonnaise. Be sure to use colorful vegetables to make your tray look very appetizing. And instead of chips, try spraying whole wheat pita bread with butter spray and then toasting it in the oven. You will get a crispy snack and you can season it with garlic powder, onion powder and other spices too.

To save calories on stuffing which is always a family favorite, substitute low-sodium, low-fat turkey or chicken broth for butter in the recipe. Use about 3 to 4 cups of broth which provides moisture and great flavor. Then, replace half the bread crumbs with vegetables. Use about 4 cups of bread crumbs and 4 cups of veggies. (Of course if you have a bigger family, you can double or triple these amounts). You can try using onions, celery, carrots and mushrooms and cook them in the broth. Then add the breadcrumbs and your favorite seasonings, like sage. And you can always add more broth to moisten the stuffing. Your new version of stuffing will have 50-75 calories per half cup serving compared to 200 calories in the original. And let’s face it, most people who overeat, will eat more than a half cup serving of stuffing so the calorie savings will be even greater!

When it comes to the sweet potatoes, try serving them plain and baked. If you know the family won’t go for those, leave out the butter and marshmallows from the sweet potato fluff recipes and just add a dash of light maple syrup and cinnamon to your mashed sweet potatoes.

Save the family additional calories by avoiding using butter in mashed potatoes and in vegetable preparations. Also, try to serve the turkey without the skin. This will cut the fat and calories in half.

These changes alone can save each one of your relatives over 600 calories on this evening alone. Good luck!

The Nutrition Twins

www.nutritiontwins.com

November 8, 2005 in Weight Loss Q&A | Permalink