STRATEGIC HOLIDAY EATING
I’m not the food police, but I do consider myself and expert on nourishment. If I can influence a person to make better choices, I will. Especially if that person is close enough to me to complain about bloating, gas, indigestion, or excessive laziness.
We can always look to food choices for answers because what you put in your body matters!
Thanksgiving is a holiday and the Super Bowl is an event that normalizes overeating.
‘Eat until you can’t breath without unbuttoning your pants’ is not something I would recommend. Heck, some would consider it Un-American NOT to get stuffed, watch football, and pass out.
With that in mind, I couldn’t help but make a brief guide as to how a person might eat throughout the day without feeling like spontaneously combusting. This is also how I’d talk to my friends and family.
EAT IN THIS ORDER
Raw veggies & olives tray.
Dried fruit & nut tray.
I know there’s chocolate drizzled moose munch staring back at you, GO EASY!
Leafy greens with lemon and balsamic. No Caesar or ranch dressing.
Sweet potato and roasted pecans with cinnamon apples! Clean the plate. HOWEVER, if you can influence any recipe, it’s this one. Use light brown sugar, dates, or sugar-free syrup. NOT the hard stuff i.e. maple syrup. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and gingerbread spice are flavors of the Gods. Lap them up!
MOM. You do not need another Bellini. C’mon!
3-bean salad and wild rice. Yes, FIBER!
Pour a glass of your favorite wine. One glass. Not. A. Pint. Glass.
Broccoli casserole (the cheese + sour cream blend IS the problem, not the bread crumbles), eat mostly broccoli. Try topping it with cranberries instead.
Stuffing. There’s no bacon in this and lots of celery. Use veggie broth.
Rolls are a temptation. I get it. Choose either a roll OR wine OR dessert. Avoid the trifecta.
Eat one plate at the dinner table.
Jell-O is not food. Don’t get me started. Just Google it.
By this time, you’re nourished and you can stop eating.
Seriously, you can. And probably should.
If you want additional protein be it plant-based or flesh, 4 ounces or sized to the palm of your hand is PLENTY. Protein-loaded foods aren’t actually a main dish. We think they are because restaurants tell us so, but a dietitian would say that protein is the nutrient you need the least to be healthy.
Dessert: pretend its sample day at the grocery store. Small bites.
Thanksgiving dinner is never just one meal with the family. Leftovers can last until Christmas Eve and then it starts all over again. 15 pounds later you talk yourself into a crash diet and 30 consecutive days of boot camp. STOP THIS CYCLE right now!
Unless you want the same thing to happen next year.