With Thanksgiving just around the corner, a local dietician is offering insight on how to have both a flavorful and healthy holiday meal.
“Things that people kind of worry about right around this time of year is obviously going to be overeating,” Lauri Jabalie, Clinical Nutrition Manager and Registered Dietician at St. David’s Georgetown Hospital, told Hello Georgetown. “People, the thought of overeating really stresses them out and they start getting really concerned with what they’re eating, how much they’re eating, and just the stresses and triggers around food is one of the biggest things we’ve seen.”
The Thanksgiving meal doesn’t have to be stressful though, she said. Simple adjustments can help to create both a flavorful and healthy holiday meal for everyone.
Portion Sizes
Naturally, the Thanksgiving meal tends to be a high calorie meal with dishes like macaroni and cheese, high-fat gravies, and desserts.
“While these might be the highest in calories, we don’t necessarily want to sacrifice on our favorite foods for the day,” Jabalie said. “So, it’s really important because these foods are the highest in calories, just to be more mindful of our portion sizes surrounding these foods.”
Jabalie recommends the MyPlate method which she said calls for filling about half your plate with fruits and vegetables, about a quarter of your plate with protein and a quarter of your plate with carbs.
“Just treat your Thanksgiving meal like any other meal,” Jabalie said. “You don’t want to starve yourself and save up those calories, and then overindulge and stuff yourself later. You want to make sure you’re eating, and honoring your hunger that day and through the season, honor your cravings without overdoing it.”
Healthy Food Swaps and Additions
Another way to have a healthy Thanksgiving meal is through healthy food swaps and additions. There are plenty of simple adjustments one can make, for example, cooking food in olive oil instead of butter, Jabalie said, or making a few changes to favorite dishes.
“Instead of having that sweet potato casserole with marshmallows on top, try swapping it out for mashed sweet potatoes mixed in with some seasonal spices, like nutmeg, cinnamon, or sweeten it with just a little bit of maple syrup,” Jabalie said. “Another thing you can do, I always recommend, you can lighten up some of those dishes and add some fiber in there by either cutting the dish or swapping it with cauliflower for things like stuffing or mashed potatoes.”
Adding seasonable vegetables to your Thanksgiving spread is another option, she added.
“I think people always forget about all the wonderful, super nutritious vegetables that are seasonable to the fall, that can make a really great addition to that Thanksgiving meal,” Jabalie said. “So, some of the things that I like to recommend would be things like butternut or acorn squash…Not always a fan favorite, but I really love brussel sprouts. Especially if you roast it up with some pecans and cranberries, you start to get all those fall flavors in there. Of course, having roasted sweet potatoes or roasted carrot, those are seasonable to this time of year, and they’re a really great addition.”
Additionally, using fresh and frozen versions of favorite fruits and vegetables, instead of canned, is recommended.
“It’s going to be your cranberries, your green beans, things like your yams or sweet potatoes” Jabalie said. “You want to go for the fresh made cranberries, your fresh green beans, and your fresh, sweet potatoes and yams rather than what you’re going to get in the cans, just to help cut back on that sodium.”
Treat Thanksgiving Like Any Other Meal
As mentioned earlier, one of the best ways to reduce the stress around and increase the healthiness of the Thanksgiving meal is to treat it just like any other dinner. Rather than missing meals to save up on calories, or piling the plate high, Jabalie said the healthiest decision on Thanksgiving is to enjoy the holiday meal and the leftovers in the days that follow.
“When we’re saving up those calories, we’re adding stress to ourselves,” Jabalie said. “We’re not actually nourishing our bodies the way that they need to be nourished. So, I always recommend, eat a balanced breakfast the morning of Thanksgiving, make sure you’re getting plenty of water throughout the day, have those favorite foods with mindful portions, don’t feel like you have to overindulge to get your fill. Pack up leftovers and have it over the next couple of days, that way you don’t feel like you’re missing out on anything, but you’re getting to enjoy those foods guilt-free and enjoying the holiday season at the same time.”
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