Here is a staggering statistic that I love to remind people of at Thanksgiving time, at the average Thanksgiving meal each person consumes 2 sticks of butter! That is 1/2 pound per person of pure dairy fat! That butter hides in pie crust, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing just to name a few. Now this does not mean you should not indulge and enjoy the holiday but here are a few simple suggestions to make one of our favorite holiday meals just a bit better for our health and waistlines.
- Use chicken or vegetable broth to add moisture to stuffing and potatoes to drastically reduce the amount of butter needed
- use lots of fresh herbs such as Rosemary, Sage, Parsley and Thyme to add flavor, and always remember that fresh herbs are also dark green leafy vegetables which adds loads of vitamins and minerals to your favorite dishes
- use gravy sparingly, a good gravy should have a rich enough flavor that you don’t need you meal to be smothered
- skip the crust, unless it is truly your favorite part, eat the filling of the pie and leave the butter and refined flour crust on the plate to avoid lots of extra calories
- Don’t starve yourself all day before you eat, be sure to have a protein and fiber rich snack before eating to help control your appetite, think Hummus and veggies as a snack during football
This is a start and won’t make huge changes to your mealtime. Remember it is all about balance so aim to eat loads of fresh veggies early that week and that weekend to help your body recover from the onslaught that is the Thanksgiving meal,
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