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Happy Thanksgiving!

thanksgiving

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving to you! The Thanksgiving holiday is always a fun one enjoyed by all as we stuff ourselves and then resort to the couch to watch football or the start of the holiday tv shows. Here are some tips for you to get through the holiday without putting on all those undesired extra pounds.

  • Survey the entire table before you take any food. Decide what foods are worth eating and what can be ignored, and then stick to that decision. Why waste calories on foods that don’t bring you pleasure?
  • Eat a snack before you leave home. If you arrive at a party starving, you’ll be more likely to overindulge.
  • Eat your calories instead of drinking them.  Stick to lower calorie or calorie-free drinks (diet sodas, water, light beer, or wine spritzer) instead of punches, eggnogs, and mixed drinks that can have up to 500 calories per cup.
  • Sip a large glass of water between every alcoholic drink or non-alcoholic punch or eggnog. This will help keep you hydrated and you’ll drink fewer calories by the end of the night.
  • When you are the host or hostess, include nutritious and lower-calorie foods like fruits, vegetables, and lean meats on the menu.  When you are a guest, bring along a lower-calorie dish to share.
  • Try not to hang out near the food.  Find a comfortable spot across the room and focus on people instead of eating.
  • Watch your portion sizes. Don’t cover your plate completely with food.  In most cases, especially when it comes to holiday sweets and alcoholic beverages, less is better. Use a smaller plate or bowl and have just a sliver of pie like the picture shows.
  • Drop out of the “clean plate club”. Leave a few bites behind every time you eat, especially if you are eating something you don’t really care for.
  • Enjoy your favorite holiday treats but take a small portion, eat slowly, and savor the taste and texture of the wonderful foods of the season.
  • Skip the pie crust and go for the filling.
  • Choose light meat over dark meat.
  • Use home-made cranberry sauce over canned cranberries that are jam packed with added sugars.
  • In soups, sauces, puddings, and desserts:  Replace whole milk or cream with low-fat milk, evaporated fat-free milk, or nonfat dry milk.

Lighten up your recipes:

  • To make dips and toppings: Use low-fat or nonfat cottage cheese or sour cream, or non-fat Greek yogurt.
  • To make salad dressings: Use nonfat Greek yogurt or low-fat buttermilk.
  • In place of 1 whole egg in recipes: Use 2 egg whites or 1/4 cup egg substitute.
  • In place of regular cheese: Use fat-free or reduced-fat cheese.
  • In place of full sugar: replace half with Splenda or reduce half completely.
  • In place of fats: use unsweetened applesauce or oil (1-1 replacement), or prune puree (1 cup of fat=1/2 cup puree).

More importantly is ENJOY your family and friends and all that have to the THANKful for!

-Kelsey

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