Turkey? Pass the gravy. Stuffing? More gravy please. Bread? Pass the butter. Time for seconds! More gravy. More butter. Got room for pie? Add a scoop of ice cream.
The holiday meal is irresistible, but all those calories add up. A traditional holiday meal can total 2,500 calories or more, a day’s worth of calories in just a couple of hours. Even for the most healthy conscious families, this time of year presents a challenge.
We are taught that holidays like Thanksgiving are about celebration and indulgence. We can always start that diet in January, right?
Is there room for compromise? Indeed there is. It just takes a little creativity. Follow these five steps, and you can cut hundreds of calories from your family’s holiday meals – and they won’t even notice.
1. Think ahead
The reason many restaurants serve bread is to get you on your way to feeling full, with the idea of getting you on your way faster so another customer can sit down. While you aren’t trying to get rid of your guests, some strategic snacks before dinner can get things off to a healthy start, and calm those cravings once the savory stuff comes out. Try some crunchy vegetables and light dip to get them started.
2. Sweet potatoes are a must
Not only do sweet potatoes satisfy that comfort food craving, they are really good for you. Several nutrition organizations have ranked them the single healthiest vegetable you can eat. Why? First, they are nature’s best source of beta carotene, which the body turns into vitamin A, and that helps protect our cells from damage. It can help in the lungs and the brain, and can even stave off cancer. And studies have shown the benefits to be especially effective in kids. Add in the vitamin C, copper, vitamin b6, potassium, dietary fiber, vitamins B1 and B2 (we could go on) and you have snuck a multi-vitamin in your meal.
3. Butter doesn’t make everything better
To some, a holiday meal without butter is like Christmas without presents. And margarine, with all its chemicals and preservatives, isn’t much better. Moderation is key, and finding a few substitutes helps. Research shows that a little fat actually helps with the absorbtion of vitamins like beta carotene. Sour cream has almost ¼ the calories and fat as the same portion of butter. Some light salt and olive oil on vegetables is surprisingly good too. Save the butter for your bread.
4. Separate the stuffing
Cooking stuffing inside a turkey does two things – it sucks some of the juices out of the turkey, and loads up the stuffing with fat. There are several ways to make stuffing more healthy, and more interesting. Look for recipes that swap out the traditional bread for something more wholesome. Some options include barley, bulgar, corn bread, multi-grain bread and even wild mushrooms. Add in some apples, raisins or something else sweet and your kids won’t care about the bread.
5. Easy as apple pie
One slice of apple pie can have as many as 700 calories. Add ice cream and your dessert has as many calories as your meal. Don’t skip the apple pie, just try something different with the crust, which is where many of those calories hide. A whole wheat flour based crust with canola oil is still light and flaky. Replace the ice cream with the low-fat variety, and you can cut the calorie and fat content almost in half.
Lowell General Hospital's Community Health & Wellness department offers community education programs and support groups. Topics include CPR, childbirth classes, baby and child care, nutrition, teen classes in safety, self defense and preparing to drive, and parenting classes including Boot Camp for New Dads®, potty training and infant massage. Most classes are free or have a modest fee. See all programs at http://www.lowellgeneral.org/health and register online or by phone at (877) 544-9355.
