We eat at my mom's. The plan is no nibbling. Make a plate, eat it and be done. Just 1 helping. And then 1 dessert, so I better pick wisely. It's just a meal. I think if I make it 1 meal, even if I go over some in calories, it won't be so bad. It's the eating all day that gets me.
Small group and I am having exactly what I had last year:
-a small amount of turkey (was never a big meat-eater)
-a medium and small (respectively) amount of mashed sweet potatoes & cranberry sauce
-a medium-sized side serving of steamed brussel sprouts
-half a small-to-medium whole-wheat roll
-4.5 oz of my red wine (my current favorite wine, Old Moon from TJs)
_and_
a very small slice of my own low-sugar apple pie.*
I'm cooking most of the above. I'm doing a trial on the homemade wheat rolls right now, actually, as I haven't made them previously. There will also be pumpkin pie and green bean casserole -- not made by me -- but I'm not having any of those.
*I'm actually planning on having another slice of pie, small-to-medium slice as opposed to very small slice, over the weekend after thanksgiving, on a day when I'm having a lower-cal dinner.
im going over to my moms so no left overs at home house either.. Im gonna load up on veggies and enjoy some turkey. But im gonna have to be up early to stand in lines for black friday.. how many of you are going...i many pack turkey sandwhiches as snacks
Well, we had Thanksgiving last month and I didn't find it at all difficult, but I don't think that the CDN version is as much of a food-fest as the American version. I don't like pumpkin pie, so skipped it altogether. We just had squash, turnip (bleh), potatoes, turkey, gravy, stuffing, and some other veggie...maybe broccoli? Anyway, it wasn't so bad. I did feel very full after dinner, though, so went for a REALLY long, brisk walk afterwards.
I will be alone on Thanksgiving so I am not sure what I will do. I might do as I did last year, cook the feast, but spread it out -- that is soup course one day, veggies next, turkey next. etc.. this strategy helped me control the calorie count and enjoy the idea of a feast too!
I'm not worried - we eat Thankgiving type food often (turkey, cranberry sauce, etc etc) and my MIL is cooking, and she does an amazing job and is a health nut too. Dinner will likely be turkey, gravy, light stuffing, cranberry sauce, orange yams, asparagus, and my spice bread for dessert. They send us home with leftovers, but there are no unusually high calorie items in the lineup.
I'll do what I normally try to do - plan out my calories and load up on veggies first.
Mine's pretty simple: planning! I'm looking up the calories before hand (we have the same thing every year, so i know what to look up) and I'll cut down on what i eat the rest of the day (if i have to) because i wont deny myself something if i really want it.. and of course I'll be bringing my handy dandy measuring cups
I, luckily, don't like a lot of Thanksgiving food. I don't care for stuffing, gravy or mashed potatoes. So those are all out.
I'm going to be baking a sweet potato at home and bringing it with me, to avoid the canned and marshmellow dotted ones my grandmother makes (can't eat marshmellows anyways, so thats fine). My mom is bringing a healthy salad that I love, so I'll eat a fair amount of that. White meat turkey, one roll, some applesauce(since we always have it) and any veggies left over from appetizers. Depending on what deserts we have, I might one a small piece, but I'm not a huge pumpkin pie fan so unless I have another option, I might just avoid it all together.
I'm going to be pressured into drinking alcohol this year, since its the first holiday since I'm 21 and everyone is going to want to celebrate. But I'm not a huge wine drinker and I don't forsee much vodka being there so I'll have a celebratory glass of wine that I will hide behind some poor, unsuspecting plant.
I am helping my grandmother make the pasta next weekend. Meatballs are made already.
I plan on having a high protein breakfast the morning of before I leave for the city they live in. I will also have water in the car with me for the hour drive. My grandmother is in a wheelchair, and her sister broke a shoulder & wrist last year right before Christmas, so I'm guessing that means I will throw on an apron & do whatever my grandmother wants me to.
I'll take realistic portions of things I'm craving & load up on salad & fruit. Usually I don't get to sit down to eat until everyone's already eaten; there are dishes to do, and my gram is very meticulous about how she wants things done. She doesn't have daughters, so I am it. I don't mind. We usually feed 20-30 people with the traditional Italian meal, but sometimes there is a turkey as well.
I can post my fruit salad recipe, it went over well. I was lucky to get even a small bowl!!!
Thanksgiving will be in Florida this year with my in-laws and I hope to bring something healthy to prepare at their house...along with this plan I'm going to be eating on my typical small plate & just doing portion control.
Regular food I can handle...I normally go overboard on sweets & there they always have things like pecan pie (yuck! thank goodness).
When I started my plan...I promised that I wouldn't change the way that I eat on holidays or on Vacation. My thought is...what's the worst thing that can happen if you splurge on one day? I feel like I would just be deprived and sad if I didn't have what I wanted on holidays.
With that being said...since I've started my new plan I am sure that I will WANT to eat less. Anytime I eat something too rich or fatty now I feel uncomfortable and my tummy becomes kind of upset.
And just because I splurged on that day...doesn't mean that the next day I need to eat leftovers or say the whole week is ruined.
I plan on savoring every bite, eating slowly, eating what I want, but stopping when I'm full.
It's definitely a personal choice...if you're an all or nothing kind of person...it might be better for you to make sure you make yourself a different meal or create some new traditions for your family to eat on Thanksgiving.
Bottom line though...even though this answer might be unpopular on here, I say go for it. Don't build resentment toward your new lifestyle...have some wiggle room. For me...it's something to look forward to that actually KEEPS me on plan...let it be something motivational for you. For instance, my office is having a Thanksgiving party with BBQ everything and I'm going to eat before I make an appearance. (because I know I want to save my splurge for actual Thanksgiving day).
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Enjoy no matter how you choose to celebrate!
I finally made some Tday decisions. I'm cutting out the stuffing this year (was a struggle, bec that's my favorite dish). My indulgence will be some champagne to go with dinner. I'm making a winter greens with mushrooms (a recipe someone here recommeded), a pork roast (loin, very lean), scalloped potatoes, cranberry sauce. I'm waffling on getting a small pumpkin tart from the bakery for us to share (definitely no home baking).
I think that has a nice sense of being a treat/holiday dinner without going hog wild overly indulgent.
thank goodness).
