Just because this is a fitness and health blog, it doesn’t mean that I still don’t enjoy Thanksgiving dinner any less than the average eater. It’s almost impossible to resist a warm slice of apple pie or pumpkin pir to go along with that gravy-topped turkey. But I think we can all agree that post-meal, our bloated stomachs are also full of a little regret. Am I right?
So I’m bringing you some creative ways to keep your day on track as well as activites that will help burn off those HUGE calories that maybe ingested on Thanksgiving. Make sure to get moving now, and after the holiday feast, you will see a bigger difference in your weight if you keep your fitness and healthy behaviors consistent.
#1 Tip: Eat your normal breakfast! Don’t starve all day to save up for the meal, that will slow down the metabolism and when you do eat more at one sitting your body has a harder time digesting the food, leaving you with an unsettling stomach ache.
Some of us think that skipping breakfast will “save” calories that we can use later for the big meal. Not true! Meal skipping leads to overeating later — you start to eat, and then become over-hungry, with less control over your food choices, not more. When our blood sugar is low the first thing that we do is eat whatever is convenient and quick. So make sure to start your day off with a normal breakfast and you will not have the fighting urge to eat everything that is on the table.
#2 Tip: to help with the cooking for the big day!
Replace the fat in stuffing with low-sodium chicken broth and add a bunch of chopped vegetables to “dilute” the bread.
Many recipes have 2 to 3 sticks of butter or margarine as the “liquid” to moisten the bread stuffing. Replace all that fat with equal amounts of low-sodium chicken broth (the boxed variety is fine — no need for organic) for extra flavor without calories. A cup of chicken broth is around 10 calories — compared with an ounce of butter at 100 calories. (A stick of butter/margarine is 800 calories.) Also, rough-chop celery, mushrooms and onions to “bulk up” the volume of your stuffing, without the calories of bread, so the calories per serving are reduced. By replacing the fat and adding more vegetables, you’ll save 250 calories per serving.
#3 Tip: Alternate your alcohol. Have a drink, then a seltzer or diet soda — cut your calories in half.
Alcohol contains a whopping 7 calories/gram — almost as much as fat (which is 9 calories per gram; protein and carbs are 4 calories/gram). It’s a long afternoon/evening when people tend to imbibe more than usual. Cutting just two to three mixed drinks from your celebration will cut 500 calories. An average Mai Tai has 350 calories; a martini, 225 calories. Also — no one knows what is in your glass (a common worry among people). Another tip: If you’re a wine drinker, you can alternate as above, or choose to make a “spritzer” through the evening — half wine and half seltzer.
#4 Tip: Replace high calorie ingredients with lower calorie ingredients.
As far as baked goods:
Try to eliminate as much oil and butter in the recipes with apple sauce, pumpkin puree, prune puree, avocado (this one is higher calorie but a good healthy fat replacement) or mashed bananas.
Chocolate: Use fewer chocolate chips than a recipe calls for or substitute with cocoa powder. OR I just recently found Lily’s ® Dark Chocolate Mini Chips, which are lower in calories, carbs, and sugar. You can find them here: http://lilyssweets.com/ they are a slight more expensive, but if you need dairy free/gluten-free these are it!
As far as using the Whole Milk, Whipping Cream–Lower fat milk or imitation whipped cream will reduce your calories greatly or you can also use unsweetened almond milk and 1 serving of vanilla protein powder.
Fats:
Replace Shortening with real butter-check the label so there is nothing added, or coconut oil.
Vegetable shortening is an ingredient that is highly used for baked goods, but this solid fat made from vegetable oils, is very rich in fat. Of the 13 grams of total fat found in shortening, 3 grams comes from saturated fat. But, shortening undergoes a chemical process, called hydrogenation, to make it solid at room temperature, and this process leads to the generation of trans fats. Trans fat is the most harmful type of fat you can consume, which hopefully that ingredient/process will be eliminate from our foods soon.
“Trans fat will also boost your harmful blood cholesterol levels while reducing the level of good cholesterol in your bloodstream. Ideally, you nutrition should not contain any Trans fats,” according to the University of Rochester Medical Center.
Salad Dressing:
Salads may seem super healthy, but just a tablespoon of some salad dressings can set you back 100 calories. Instead use reduced-calorie salad dressing, lemon juice, reduced-fat cottage cheese, or herb-flavored or wine vinegar, or salsa.
Cheese:
Instead of the usual cheese, try reduced fat cheese. I bet neither you nor your family will be able to tell the difference. Just a little reminder, cheese is not a protein it is considered a fat because with the ratio of fat and protein, fat wins.
Sour Cream, Mayonnaise:
Use a plain fat free Greek yogurt–it has the same texture and similar flavor to both sour cream and with some extra ingredients it can also be replace the flavor of mayonnaise.
Gravy:
Put your gravy into the refrigerator before serving. Once it gets cold the fat will collect at the top, skim it off, defrost, and serve.
#5 Tip: Use a tablespoon to serve yourself instead of a ladle! Built-in portion control.
Compare a tablespoon in serving size to a typical serving spoon — about one-third to one-half cup. With two kinds of creamy potatoes, stuffing, creamed spinach, cranberry sauce and all kinds of other family favorites, like macaroni and cheese, downsizing your serving size with a tablespoon saves you about 150 calories/dish. Then you get the best of both worlds, you get a taste of it, and not over indulge!
#6 Tip: Cutting out some extra calories from the turkey:
For a 4-ounce serving of turkey, taking off the skin saves about 300 calories. It doesn’t make much caloric difference whether you eat white or dark meat — what does save the calories is skipping the skin.
#7 Tip: Love pumpkin pie? Try making a crust less, pumpkin pie! And also make them individualize in small ramekins. Bake until firm. Top with some chopped walnuts or a swirl of whipped cream.
The crust is fat laden, and most people don’t even miss it. This works for apple pie as well — put the apples in a small ramekin, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon, and bake. Another way to save 200 calories is swap out a slice of pecan pie and have a single-crust apple pie with some walnuts mixed in instead.
#8 Tip: Choose a simple when it comes to potatoes, either white, red or sweet.
Go plain for the potato — and sprinkle with fresh or dried herbs and seasonings, including ground pepper and chives.
Skip the fats on the potato or choose just one:
Butter (or measure out 1 tbsp.)
Cheese (or 1 oz.)
Sour-cream (or 1 tbsp.)
Also, skip the brown sugar in sweet potato casseroles (brown sugar is not a “health food” and has the same calories as there is more sugar and fat in most recipes than is needed, and no one will notice the difference if you skim calories by using alternatives.
#9 Tip: Meal Time
What to serve for appetizers:
Serve meat and cheese tray with Canadian bacon, turkey, and goat cheese, have a raw vegetables tray, with dip made with Greek yogurt, and/or homemade salsa. Here is a veggie dip or ranch dip that is made with Greek yogurt, make it a day before so the ingredients really blend well together.
Dill Dip or Ranch Yogurt Dip.
Lean the meat:
Make your meats lean by removing the skin and fat before eating.
How to fill up your plate the right way:
Fill up half of your plate with lower carbohydrate vegetables like salad, green beans, spinach, or broccoli.
Use portion control:
If you have trouble with portion control, drink large glasses of water right before you start your meal and continue to take sips between bites and slow down your eating.
#10 Tip: Desserts:
Sweets: Bring your own sweets, and make a protein rich dessert that no one with even notice that it is lower in sugar and high in protein, check out my dessert recipes on my website, there are a lot of them and they are free recipes! www.daynadetersfitness/recipes/
Fruit: Poached or baked fruits with a light whipped topping also make great desserts. Pineapple, apples, and peaches are super good baked! I have a peach recipe here that is
yummy to try out: http://daynadetersfitness.com/recipe/baked-peach-treat/
Sweet breads: When grabbing a bread Gingerbread is a lower sugar alternative to the usual breads. Or make your own pumpkin bread that I have also on my site that you can’t even tell that it’s high in protein and low glycemic. Here is another great recipes to try out: http://daynadetersfitness.com/recipe/pumpkin-power-bread/
#11 Tip: Drinks:
The drinks can make a meal of calories, so make sure to drink your water to will help with the excess bloating from all the food. You can even make spritzers with sparkling water or club soda and add some fruit for flavor.
If you are going to drink choose light beer, wine, or drinks made with club soda or sparkling water. If you choose to drink make sure to alternate between alcoholic drink and water to stay hydrated and keep calories down.
#12 Tip: Get active after your meal:
I know most are like WHAT!? I HAVE TO DO WHAT? But it will make you feel better and not so lethargic. So make activity a habit after your meals–whether it be a walk or an interactive game, get the whole family involved so that you can all burn a few extra calories and lead a longer, healthier life together.
Here is a quick workout for Turkey Day Morning:
Let the sweating begin!
And lastly, if you are wondering how much exercise it takes to burn off Thanksgiving dinner, here it goes!
Happy Thanksgiving and THANK YOU for allowing me to help you with your health and fitness needs!