5 Tips for a Sweeter, Tastier Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving coming soon, I’d like to help you savor the holiday in a more meaningful way. Here are 5 tips to help you have a sweeter, happier, more nourishing holiday meal that contributes to your feeling energized, cheerful, energized and focused. In other words, I’m here to help you Stop Sugar Shock this Thanksgiving. My intention is to give you tools and tactics so you will NOT get depressed, moody, anxious, brain-fogged, hungover and libido-sapped after your Thanksgiving meal. Feel free to spread these simple strategies to your friends and family members.

1. Pick a party purpose that’s not about the food.

Arrive at your Thanksgiving celebration with a non-food-focused mindset. Instead, select something substantive to accomplish that evening or afternoon — long before you stuff your mouth with sugary concoctions like candied yams, apple pie and cranberry sauce.

For instance, you may choose as your party purpose to get to know a long-lost relative better. Or perhaps you want to go for a half-hour walk after your meal or walk your host’s dog. Or maybe you’d like to make yourself useful by cleaning the dishes. Just do something that keeps you from over-focusing on the food.

2. Nibble before you nosh.

Before you even arrive at your destination (or before you open your door to guests), take time to have a small, healthy snack or mini-meal which includes some protein, quality carbs and healthy fat.

For instance, you could have a hard-boiled egg with a couple of sticks of celery or an organic apple. Or maybe you could eat a few raw almonds with some grapes. You may even wish to have a few bites of turkey, along with a couple of chunks of raw cauliflower.

When you nibble before you nosh, you’re basically taking out an insurance policy against pigging out at the party. Also, make sure NOT to skip meals on Thanksgiving day with the idea that you’ll be eating a lot that evening. Passing up on meals that day will just set you up for a binge that evening.

3. Zero in on the people, not the pies.

Remember that Thanksgiving is about being grateful that you can celebrate a bountiful meal with loved ones. So pay attention to the cool folks at your gathering.

Promise yourself to learn something that excites three of your relatives. Or for that matter, choose to talk to three spouses of relatives or three children of relatives. But make a point to draw them out and tell you about a hobby, job or passion that moves them. Thinking about what moves three people gets you out of yourself, involved in other people and less focused on food.

4. Please partake of polite portions.

I’m realistic that most of you will want to savor some, if not all, of the sugary foods offered at your gathering. But there’s a way that you can go about this that’s less intrusive on your body.

First off, make sure to have a well-rounded meal before you go for the sugar. That means you’ll eat some protein (a piece of turkey, I suspect); quality carbs (like vegetables) and some healthy fats (like olive oil on a salad.)

Before that evening even arrives, make a decision to mindfully select which sweets you’ll taste and how much you’ll eat. In other words, plan to slowly, deliberately, savor polite portions of desserts.

When you eat in a mindful, conscious manner, you’ll enjoy your food more and feel less inclined to gorge on the sweets that could send you into sugar shock.

5. Bring your own goodies.

Whenever you go to a party or family gathering, it’s best to expect that very few, if any dishes, will be healthy. It’s more likely — especially given the fact that 65 percent of Americans are overweight or obese — that you won’t have that many healthy options from which to choose.

The best way to combat this party conundrum is to bring some healthy foods that you’ve prepared and give them to your host. For instance, you could come to the affair with some raw veggies and a hummus or avocado dip. You could prepare a fresh fruit salad with almonds. Or perhaps you could make a whole-grain stuffing.

For those of you in the dark as to what to prepare to bring along to the party, check back here later today, because I’ll post recipes for three tasty, sugar-free Thanksgiving dishes prepared by culinary consultant Pamela Morgan.

• Sweet Potato Heaven
• Cranberry-Walnut Relish and
• Spiced Baked Apple