Do you love Thanksgiving? I do. It’s my favorite holiday because it requires nothing but food. No shopping, no wrapping, no hiding baskets. Just food.
Lots of people start their Thanksgiving day with the Turkey Trot and good for them, I say. As a runner myself, you would think I would be one of those people. NO. I did it once and that was enough for me. It’s cold. It’s crowded. And it interferes with my ability to enjoy my morning the way nature intended – watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. At 9:00 all activity stops so I can turn on the tv. I watch the parade while working on the meal. After Santa has made his way through the parade route, it’s time for the dog show. I love that too. My favorite are the corgis. Watching tv in my warm house, with all the delicious scents of food cooking, is a perfect Thanksgiving for me. (Full disclosure – sometimes we go out for a run before the parade starts, but that’s just around our neighborhood. No crowds involved and I’m home before 9:00.)
Since I stopped eating meat several years ago, our Thanksgiving main dish has become mac and cheese, inspired by a song The Child learned in preschool, about a boy who became friends with his Thanksgiving turkey and decided to have mac and cheese for Thanksgiving dinner instead. Otherwise, our meal is pretty traditional, with stuffing, mashed potatoes and a bunch of veggie sides. Sometimes I cook a small turkey, depending on who’s joining us.
There’s a commonly held belief in the wellness community that Thanksgiving is the only day of the year when Americans eat their recommended daily allowance of vegetables. I have no idea if that’s actually true. However, veggie sides do play a big role in the traditional Thanksgiving meal. Unfortunately, the way we serve veggies at Thanksgiving isn’t always the healthiest preparation. Consider the sweet potato. A plain roasted sweet potato contains about 112 calories, basically zero fat and about four grams of fiber (assuming you eat the skin, which you should). That’s the way we eat them in my house most of the year.
Thanksgiving day? No way. I roast them, peel the skins off, mash the flesh, dump them in the crockpot with beaten eggs, brown sugar, orange juice and milk. I top that concoction off with more brown sugar, melted butter and chopped pecans all mixed together. I don’t know the nutrition facts off the top of my head, but I’m confident that there’s less fiber, more fat and way more calories than a plain roasted sweet potato. (I reconcile this in my mind by reminding myself that I, at least, do not add marshmallows.)
Green beans get a similar treatment. Steamed green beans have 31 calories per cup, almost no fat and three grams of fiber. For Thanksgiving, everyone mixes them with cream of something soup and tops them with crispy (read: fried) onions. We did not have green bean casserole growing up so I do not make it. Hubs’ family did, my mother-in-law makes it every year and The Child loves it too. We are not having Thanksgiving with my mother-in-law this year and there is some panic over who is making the casserole. I don’t know, but it won’t be me.
A quick search of the Campbell’s website (who, after all, produces all the cream of something soups) tells me that one serving of traditional green bean casserole contains 231 calories. I couldn’t find any info on fat or fiber. That’s a 200 calorie difference.
Let’s face it. Thanksgiving dinner is not the healthiest meal. The average American consumes about 3,000 calories and 150 grams of fat in their Thanksgiving dinner. That’s way more than any human being needs in a day, let alone for one meal. Also, that doesn’t count the pre-meal snacking and the calories in your drinks. Most estimates put the total count for the day between 4,500 and 6,000 calories – three times as much as the average American needs in a day.
Now, having said all of that – Thanksgiving is a day to celebrate. It’s ok to eat a little more than you normally do and to eat foods that you don’t get to enjoy at any other time of the year. And I’m not saying that you shouldn’t have your favorite recipes. I’m just saying that maybe we could have some healthier veggie sides to balance out the less-healthy ones.
One veggie that’s always on my table for Thanksgiving is Brussels sprouts. I don’t do anything special to them. I clean them, cut them in half if they’re really big, toss them with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast them at 400 degrees for twenty minutes. Boom. Done. All of the nutritional value, none of the bacon or cheese. Usually, I also do butternut squash. Peel it and chop it into slices or chunks and plop it into a pan on the stovetop with a small amount of butter (maybe a tablespoon) and a little fresh or dried rosemary, salt and pepper to taste. Add enough apple cider to cover the squash and simmer, uncovered, until the squash is tender and the cider evaporates and forms a glaze on the squash. You could even – hear me out – buy the already cut-up butternut squash from the grocery store if you’re in a hurry. Sometimes I kill two birds with one stone – I roast the Brussels sprouts and the squash together and toss a few dried cranberries in at the end for a colorful, healthy, not-too-sweet side.
Then, yes, you can have marshmallows on your sweet potatoes and cream of something green bean casserole.
What about dessert? Assuming you’re choosing from the traditional Thanksgiving dessert choices, pumpkin pie is the most nutritionally sound. Pie crust is always going to contribute a good chunk of fat and calories, so choose a one-crust pie over a two-crust pie. Pumpkin pie usually doesn’t have a lot of fat or sugar and the pumpkin provides nutrients as well as fiber. Keep your dollop of whipped cream on the small side and you’ll come in around 350 calories. Not fantastic, but way better than pecan pie (around 650) or a two-crust apple pie (anywhere from 400-600 calories and a lot more fat than the pumpkin pie).
One last tip to control your calorie intake. Watch the drinks. A glass of wine or a beer can have up to 200 calories, depending on what you’re drinking. Even non-alcoholic drinks like apple cider or pop will increase your calorie total quickly. Again, it’s a holiday, so enjoy yourself, but be sure swap out for calorie-free beverages from time to time. Flavored sparkling waters can be fun and festive and you can even find holiday versions out there, like cranberry. Pour them into a pretty glass and add a garnish.
The bottom line is to enjoy your holiday and eat the foods that you most look forward to all year (I’m looking at you, stuffing). Don’t waste your calories on foods you can have anytime. Be mindful of your calorie budget and get the most bang for your calorie buck. If you’re looking for help to determine your calorie budget, consider wellness coaching.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thanks for being with me on this wellness journey. Go Bills!
PS – When you’re pausing at Thanksgiving to show gratitude or give thanks with your family, take a moment to remember the farmers who grew everything on your table. Thanksgiving is, at its root, a harvest celebration and without them, there would be no harvest. In my house, we are so grateful for Fenton’s Produce, Mrowka Family Farm, Schwab’s Farm Market, H.G. Miller Farm and Reiter Farm, as well as many, many others.
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