Thanksgiving 2022; My Top Delicious and Good For You Ideas
Oct 03, 2022
Updated from Oct 2021
If you approach the holidays feeling like you are going to be restricted or will be missing out, you will not be inspired to make good choices. Throwing all your good habits out the window will leave you feeling terrible both physically and mentally. So what’s the answer? I have found a lot of success in the progress not perfection approach and using the strategies highlighted in this blog post.
First and foremost is the magic of meal prep. There are two things around meal prep that I apply to every holiday - host and delegate. Hosting comes easy for me as I love to cook and it allows me to have some control over the menu options that are included. Delegating helps to keep the stress and overwhelm to a minimum. Special occasions are supposed to be about having fun and making memories so the last thing anyone wants is a stressed-out host/hostess. When someone asks what they can do to help, I encourage you to offer up some suggestions and welcome assistance. Just because you are hosting, doesn’t mean you have to do it all on your own.
So what will be on our family’s menu this year? I like to stick to our tried and tested favorites and then usually add in something new. For inspiration, check out my Easter and Christmas blogs. To keep it interesting for my guests, I am going to put together a tasty charcuterie board to kick start the afternoon.
Once the menu is finalized, I then look to see what I can do to help keep myself on track before, during, and after the meal. Here are my top six suggestions:
- Consider fasting leading up to the holiday meal. If you have not fasted before, I would suggest that you start off with a 12-hour fast. If you are experienced in fasting, you may want to lengthen the period of time and try fasting for up to 16 hours. Any amount of fasting will be beneficial and provide some much-needed rest for your digestive system ahead of the big meal.
- Move before - Move after. Exercising before you eat and doing some light movement (like going for a walk) after you eat has many proven benefits. This is not to say that you can exercise your way around a not-so-great diet, but it will certainly minimize the impact if you overindulge. Also, movement will increase your endorphins and encourage you to make “better than” choices or not be so hard on yourself if you feel like you have gone off track.
- Half / Quarter / Quarter. I break my plate into three parts. Half of the plate gets filled with veggies (in this case, potatoes should not be considered a vegetable), one-quarter of the plate is for protein and the other quarter is up to me to decide. We always have mashed organic potatoes because our kids love them and I make gravy using xanthan gum (see Christmas blog for instructions) so I don’t feel guilty if these take up the last quarter of my plate.
- Eat your foods in the best order. There is research and data emerging about how we can impact our glucose levels by eating food groups in a certain order. For best results consume your meal in this order: vegetables (fiber) first, proteins and fats second, and carbs/starches last. This can help slow your body’s ability to break down the carbs/starches into glucose which keeps your blood sugar more steady. The more our glucose levels spike throughout the day, the more challenges we experience with things like focus, energy, cravings, fat storage, and hormone imbalances.
- Wine with dinner? Red wine has many health benefits so enjoying a glass with dinner on special occasions is not uncommon for me. I have also substituted wine in some cases with clear alcohol like vodka or gin mixed with soda water. The important thing is to limit your consumption and not use soft drinks or fruit juices as your go-to mix for drinks. (Pro tip: remember to increase your water intake when consuming alcohol to offset any lingering effects the next day).
- Dessert? Yes, but low-carb, please. We have had great success swapping out all-purpose flour for almond or coconut flour and using erythritol as the sweetener in our traditional family recipes. If you are not one to experiment, there are lots of great low-carb recipes available. You can find links to some of our favourite recipes and websites in our past Christmas and Easter blogs.
My last thought for you as Thanksgiving approaches is this - remember It is ONE MEAL. Don’t lose focus on what matters this week worrying about a special occasion meal next weekend. Use this week to make the choices that best serve your health goals. And most importantly, if it ends up that you are not proud of your choices, don’t let it derail your entire health routine. Perfection is not required for success, but self-love and consistent steps in the right direction are.