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Tips to Eat Healthy on Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the holiday season and the beginning of tempting foods that may or may not be good for you. If you want to eat healthy this holiday season, you need start with a plan to eat healthy on Thanksgiving Day. Without a plan of action you are more likely to fall prey to foods that are neither healthy for your body, nor good for your waist line.
 The first step toward success requires you to learn what Thanksgiving foods are okay to eat and what foods you should avoid. For a healthier Thanksgiving meal, you should choose:
- White turkey meat over dark meat because white meat is less fattening.
- Sweet potato instead of mashed potato because they have less calories and a lower glycemic index.
- Green beans instead of stuffing because green beans are low in calories and carbohydrates.
- Pumpkin over apple pie, if you simply cannot resist dessert. Pumpkin pie generally has fewer calories.
Remember, it is not just the food itself, but how it is prepared that you must pay attention to as well. If you smother your turkey in gravy, this increases the calorie and fat content. Green beans are a healthy vegetable, but green bean casserole may not be as healthy.
Another approach to eating right on Thanksgiving and throughout the holiday season is to eat everything in moderation. This is not a bad approach, but once again it requires planning. You may be able to eat that delicious apple pie, but you need to know just how much you can eat. With this approach you may only be able to eat a bite or two and this means you need to have a great deal of self control.
There are so many high fat and high calorie foods on any given Thanksgiving Day table that one bite may be the limit depending on calorie and fat content.
Tips for Eating Healthy Throughout the Holiday Season
- Offer to host and do the cooking. It is a lot of work, but you will have control over what kind of food ends up on the table. You can choose healthier recipes over more calorie intensive and fattening ones.
- Eat more turkey than fixings because it has no carbohydrates.
- Make a holiday exercise plan. If you like running, train for a road race on Thanksgiving.
- At the very least go for a long walk before or after a holiday meal because even a small amount of exercise will help your metabolism.
- Do not show up at a holiday party or gathering famished because you are bound to make unhealthy choices. You can combat this by eating a healthy snack at home before you go to the function.
Take the Guilt Out of Thanksgiving Mashed Potatoes
by Chef Noche
They taste so good, but mashed potatoes are not all that good for your waist line. However, there are ways to prepare mashed potatoes that make them lower in calories and fat as well as tasty substitutes for mashed potatoes.
In addition, healthier recipes give you a little room for some small indulgences during the holidays.
The ingredients that make mashed potatoes high in calories and fat are generally cream and butter, but if you can find healthier substitutes, you can significantly reduce the calorie and fat content.  Some substitutes for cream are chicken broth, skim milk, nonfat buttermilk, and nonfat Greek yogurt. When looking to replace butter with a healthier alternative try olive oil. The great part about learning these substitutes is you can use them in many different recipes. You may have to experiment a bit to figure out what suits your taste buds, but it is worth it for the health benefits. Believe it or not, cauliflower can be use instead of potatoes and is consider a low carbohydrate substitute for potatoes. Cauliflower may not seem like the most exciting vegetable due to its lack of color, but it is packed with nutrients and flavor. It contains such nutrients as folate, fiber, vitamin C, and water. Plus, you will find the preparation of cauliflower mashed potatoes to be much easier because there is no peeling of potatoes. Here is one of many recipes to try:
Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients:
* 3 chopped garlic gloves
* 2-3 tablespoons of skim milk
* 14 ounce can of low-sodium chicken broth
* 2 tablespoons of parsley
* Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Break cauliflower head into florets and boil them in chicken broth along with the garlic as well. You may need to add water to cover over the florets.
2. Boil for about 10-15 minutes or until cauliflower is soft enough to mash.
3. After draining all of the broth, hand mash or use a food processor to make the cauliflower into the desired consistency. As you mash or process the cauliflower add the 2-3 tablespoons of milk according to your liking.
4. Add salt and pepper as you desire and top the dish with parsley.
Approximate Nutritional Information
Calories - 86
Fat Calories - 16
Fat - 2 grams
Carbohydrates - 14 grams
Protein - 8 grams
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