Although Thanksgiving may look different this year, we hope you’re still able to celebrate the holiday with loved ones, and all your favourite food. For some, Thanksgiving meals can feel overwhelming. Whether you have weight loss goals, health concerns, or a challenging relationship with food, we’ve written up our top 10 tips for a healthier Thanksgiving.

  • Aim for ½ your plate in vegetables. This tip applies to a typical healthy plate composition, and Thanksgiving is no exception. Vegetables are low in calories, high in vitamins and minerals and can be delicious sides at Thanksgiving. Keep your plate model in mind and serve yourself lots of vegetables.
  • Choose seasonal vegetables for more flavour. Shopping seasonally is beneficial financially, and it’s a great way of ensuring your vegetables have fresh flavours. Some vegetables that are currently in season are artichokes, yellow & green beans, bok choy, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, carrots, corn, cauliflower, eggplant, leeks and many more.

 

  • Try out new herbs & spices for seasoning. Some people have traditional recipes that they like to follow at Thanksgiving, while others may not. Looking up recipes for the best ways to season vegetables is a great way of ensuring they turn out tasty. Fresh herbs tend to be more flavourful, so this is something to keep in mind. Try out some new herbs or spices if you’re looking to add more flavour dimensions to the meal.
  • Start with a soup. It feels festive to start Thanksgiving with a nice, warm soup. Vegetable soups tend to nutrient dense and they may help limit portion sizes of other richer food items. A homemade soup is the way to go here. Canned soups tend to be high in sodium and are not as nutritious.

  • Choose a mix of white & dark turkey meat. It’s a common belief that white meat is healthier than dark meat. Both white and dark turkey meat are great sources of protein. Although dark meat is higher in fat, it’s also higher in certain nutrients, such as iron, zinc, B vitamins and selenium. Have a mix of the two meats, why limit yourself to white meat?
  •  Make homemade desserts for better ingredient control. Homemade cooking and baking are almost always the better option because of ingredient control. For example, it’s possible to cut the added sugar in a recipe by a quarter or half, without impacting the taste or texture. It’s all about experimenting. There’s lots of recipes online with healthier yet still mouth-watering desserts: Check out the “cookspiration” website, by Dietitians of Canada

  • Don’t skip breakfast and lunch, eat three meals! This tip is crucial. If you’re someone who skips meals, you’re likely familiar with those overwhelming bouts of hunger. These are indicative that your body needs food. By skipping breakfast and lunch on Thanksgiving Day, your body will be starving by dinner time, and you may feel less in control of your hunger. Eat three regular meals with snacks in between just like any other day.
  • Don’t overly restrict yourself. This tip is important for building a positive relationship with food. Just like eating too much can be negative, eating too little can also be harmful. If you drastically limit your intake, you will likely still be hungry and eat lots more snacks and treats. Aim for a regular dinner quantity at Thanksgiving and be kind to yourself with appetizers and desserts. Enjoy your meal!

  • Choose healthy and tasty alternatives. There are lots types of food which are both extremely nutritious and delicious. Sweet potato is one example. It’s super tasty, yet it’s also high in vitamin A and fiber, so it will help fill you up more.
  • Be active with your family. Go for a walk or hike as a family and enjoy the weather if it’s nice. This can be a great way of burning some energy and getting your body moving which is beneficial for preventing chronic diseases and overall health. Just remember that any type of physical activity will create a calorie deficit, so you’ll need to make up those calories – include healthy snacks as needed!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all from our team at DRRD Nutrition!