Start your turkey day off right
Most people feel like starving yourself before the big meal allows them to make up the calories later. However, feeling deprived often leads people to binge and eat more than they would otherwise. Don’t skip meals: Go for a salad or soup and skip the carbohydrates instead.
Make over your appetizers
Start off by offering guests a light start to the meal. Vegetable crudités with hummus rather than mayo-sauces are healthy alternatives. Also, for nut-lovers, try taking raw, plain almonds and toasting them for about 5 minutes they are addictive! Add with some dried cranberries or apricots and you have a healthy trail mix.
Mash more than potatoes
Try a healthy alternative of mashed sweet potatoes, or mix it up with a Creamy White Bean and Vegetable Mash. Or serve chunks of baked potatoes and root vegetables, like squash and carrots, mixed together, cooked with just olive oil, rosemary and sea salt drizzled on top.
Go green
Make sure to have enough vegetables. Start your meal eating the veggies first – it is not only more filling but it helps provide important nutritional value before digging in to the rest. Generally, any veggies tossed with olive oil and sea salt are great baked or sautéed.
Skip sweetening your sweet potatoes
Sweet potatoes are packed with nutrients and are filling. There are many ways to involve sweet potatoes – from baked sides to desserts. Rather than adding extras that only make a naturally good food unhealthy, avoid excess sugars or butter. Instead, try a sweetener like agave or honey. Or bake without adding anything and sprinkle with some cinnamon.
Reduce the fat in your turkey and gravy
De-fat the broth you use to reduce general fat content, and avoid turkey skin-it’s another heavy fat source.
Hydrate right
We hear this a lot, but drink lots of water throughout the day. It will help prevent over-eating and feelings of lethargy. If you are flying anywhere for the holidays, this especially pertains to you. For holiday spirits, try a light apple cider, delicious and more nutritional than alternatives, or boost your immunity with a Spiced Pomegranate Sparkler.
Be choosy about your breads
Thanksgiving often involves rolls or sweet breads like pumpkin. Instead of filling up with processed white starches, go for whole wheat. If you’re baking, substitute whole-wheat flower for white, and olive oil for butter.