JohnR41
11-24-2008, 01:09 PM
Cranberry sauce is loaded with corn syrup so forget that. Pies are loaded with sugar 'n' fat. And how many starchy items can your health take in one meal? There's mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes, white bread, corn, cornbread, cornbread stuffing and white rice. My good health is about to explode just by thinking about it.
What would you recommend as a healthful Thanksgiving meal? What foods in what portions?
What would you recommend as a healthful Thanksgiving meal? What foods in what portions?
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auntjudyg
11-24-2008, 02:33 PM
Roasted turkey is a healthy meat. Depending how the gravy is made, it does not have to be THAT unhealthy.
Homemade cranberry sauce is very easy to make. (It has become my father's contribution to the meal.) But it does have a significant quantity of sugar. But, it is also easy to make something along the lines of a cranberry chutney mixing cranberries and orange and some sugar and spices (there are lots of recipes on the web).
Our Thanksgiving meal always includes green beans or brussel sprouts.
Pie crusts are the main source of fat in desserts. I would think a crustless pumpkin pie would come out pretty well (but it generally only has the lower crust anyway).
Homemade cranberry sauce is very easy to make. (It has become my father's contribution to the meal.) But it does have a significant quantity of sugar. But, it is also easy to make something along the lines of a cranberry chutney mixing cranberries and orange and some sugar and spices (there are lots of recipes on the web).
Our Thanksgiving meal always includes green beans or brussel sprouts.
Pie crusts are the main source of fat in desserts. I would think a crustless pumpkin pie would come out pretty well (but it generally only has the lower crust anyway).
rheanna
11-24-2008, 04:32 PM
JohnR41,
auntjudyg has some excellent suggestions. :)
And you, John, have shown in your helpful posts here that you have an excellent grasp of food categories and portion sizes. :)
I am going to take the audacious liberty of changing the focus of your question (which means, of course, that you are free to ignore my audaciousness!). I have a few suggestions.
First, if your circumstances allow, bring a dish to share with lots of veggies and lots of flavor, but with little fat. You will know then that you will have at least one "sensible" dish you can eat.
Second, think of this as just another dinner. Really, it is. We are primed for a month beforehand to anticipate a feeding frenzy when everything is placed on the table, which makes it hard to ignore when we are in the middle of it. But another important part of the holiday festivities is getting together with other folks (hopefully ones we love and get along with, but, well, we don't always have a choice of who our family members are.) At this get-together, we have the opportunity to learn more about the folks in attendance, or watch a football game, or play charades, or whatever the other activities are. Concentrate on those other actitivies rather than on the food.
This might mean eating a healthy meal before you arrive so that you are not ravenously hungry. It might mean surveying the table and looking first for the veggies, and filling your plate with those, and then small portions of a few other things that might look like they vaguely fill those other food groups.
Eat slowly so that you are still going through your first plate while everyone else is on thirds.
Talk a lot. Ask other people questions so that they are so busy talking that they don't notice that you are eating slowly.
When the bowl of cheesy flippy snacky thingies is passed during the football game, say thanks and simply pass it on to the next person. Then shout out something rah-rah and footbally to get the crowd focusing on the game.
This is pretty much what I'm going to do, except for the football (we'll be traveling from Germany to England for the weekend, so American football isn't going to reach that far). Yes, I will probably eat more than I would in a normal meal at home. But I won't be eating nearly as much as I used to years ago. In fact, thank you so much for raising this question -- It's a reminder to me that this holiday is more about getting together with beloved friends than about stuffing myself into pain.
So my question for you is -- what does Thanksgiving mean to you?
--Rheanna
auntjudyg has some excellent suggestions. :)
And you, John, have shown in your helpful posts here that you have an excellent grasp of food categories and portion sizes. :)
I am going to take the audacious liberty of changing the focus of your question (which means, of course, that you are free to ignore my audaciousness!). I have a few suggestions.
First, if your circumstances allow, bring a dish to share with lots of veggies and lots of flavor, but with little fat. You will know then that you will have at least one "sensible" dish you can eat.
Second, think of this as just another dinner. Really, it is. We are primed for a month beforehand to anticipate a feeding frenzy when everything is placed on the table, which makes it hard to ignore when we are in the middle of it. But another important part of the holiday festivities is getting together with other folks (hopefully ones we love and get along with, but, well, we don't always have a choice of who our family members are.) At this get-together, we have the opportunity to learn more about the folks in attendance, or watch a football game, or play charades, or whatever the other activities are. Concentrate on those other actitivies rather than on the food.
This might mean eating a healthy meal before you arrive so that you are not ravenously hungry. It might mean surveying the table and looking first for the veggies, and filling your plate with those, and then small portions of a few other things that might look like they vaguely fill those other food groups.
Eat slowly so that you are still going through your first plate while everyone else is on thirds.
Talk a lot. Ask other people questions so that they are so busy talking that they don't notice that you are eating slowly.
When the bowl of cheesy flippy snacky thingies is passed during the football game, say thanks and simply pass it on to the next person. Then shout out something rah-rah and footbally to get the crowd focusing on the game.
This is pretty much what I'm going to do, except for the football (we'll be traveling from Germany to England for the weekend, so American football isn't going to reach that far). Yes, I will probably eat more than I would in a normal meal at home. But I won't be eating nearly as much as I used to years ago. In fact, thank you so much for raising this question -- It's a reminder to me that this holiday is more about getting together with beloved friends than about stuffing myself into pain.
So my question for you is -- what does Thanksgiving mean to you?
--Rheanna
littleshelly
11-25-2008, 07:25 AM
Roasted turkey, whole grain pasta, sweet potatoes baked without sugar and crap on them, veggies, salad, fresh fruit, whole grain bread or rolls,
JohnR41
11-25-2008, 01:11 PM
Many thanks to rheanna, auntjudyg and littleshelly. Rheanna, I see that you caught on to my game....trying to bring some awareness to "sensible eating" on Thanksgiving. You had some great ideas as did the others.
>>>So my question for you is--what does Thanksgiving mean to you.<<<
Unfortunately, it has come to mean less and less. Not that I don't have a lot to be thankful for but it's just not the same since I moved to a new location a few years ago. Also, I changed to a plant based diet around May of 2006. That means "no turkey". ;-)
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!!
>>>So my question for you is--what does Thanksgiving mean to you.<<<
Unfortunately, it has come to mean less and less. Not that I don't have a lot to be thankful for but it's just not the same since I moved to a new location a few years ago. Also, I changed to a plant based diet around May of 2006. That means "no turkey". ;-)
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!!
littleshelly
11-25-2008, 07:26 PM
You're welcome. Happy Thanksgiving to you too.
lam41565
11-26-2008, 09:31 AM
Instead of mashed potatoes, I make mashed cauliflour. I put spray butter, just a little skim milk, salt & pepper to taste. It is really good and I don't miss the mashed potatoes at all. You can also add a little cheese if you like that kind of thing. My hubby even likes the cauliflour. I still do make the mashed potatoes for everyone else though.
I make alot of veggies....green beans, squash, peas, corn.
It is just me my hubby, our 2 kids (teenagers) and my mom so I can get away with making what I want. They know I am watching what I eat so its no biggie.
Also, for dessert I am making a low sugar pilsbury yellow cake mix (made with natural applesauce instead of oil, with fat free chocolate pudding put between the two cake layers and covered with fat free cool whip as the frosting. Drizze a little chocolate syrup over top for show and it is awesome. Kids don't even know this is virtually fat free.
But then again my mom does bring a blueberry pie! Hubby loves that!
I make alot of veggies....green beans, squash, peas, corn.
It is just me my hubby, our 2 kids (teenagers) and my mom so I can get away with making what I want. They know I am watching what I eat so its no biggie.
Also, for dessert I am making a low sugar pilsbury yellow cake mix (made with natural applesauce instead of oil, with fat free chocolate pudding put between the two cake layers and covered with fat free cool whip as the frosting. Drizze a little chocolate syrup over top for show and it is awesome. Kids don't even know this is virtually fat free.
But then again my mom does bring a blueberry pie! Hubby loves that!