What are you ladies planning for thanksgiving dinner? My mom said I can plan whatever sides I want ( I told her healthy sides) for thanksgiving and she'll go with me to buy the ingredients...
What are you planning or might be thinking for thanksgiving?
This year i bought a small bird (well usually we get a 25lb bird, this year we got a 15lber). Im not doing my usualy huge bowl of mashed potatoes, im going to just make a small batch, and not use too much butter (and use Light margarine instead of full fat). I havent really decided what veggie(s) im going to do but whatever it is, they will probably just be steamed anyway. Plus the stuffing that goes in the turkey.. The stuffing is an old family recipe, but isnt TOO bad for you, and this year smaller turkey=less stuffing :-).. Im going to do a low sugar chocolate cream pie made with skim milk instead of my usual apple and pumpkin pies. Im undecided on if im going to do biscuits or not, and im probably going to get cranberry sauce and green olives for the side like usual..
Usually i cook for a house full of marines, but this year i think its just going to be me and Jason, so i dont feel bad making it a lower cal dinner. My goal is to make sure my dinner is still good, but good for me too!
That's awesome that you guys are in charge of the cooking. It is tradition that we go to my aunt's, and there's always more than enough for a small army there. Most of them don't worry about their weight either (I am the only female cousin in the family so they want to "fill" all of the boys up) so nothing is cooked in a "healthy" way.
I allow myself to to have what I want on big holidays, like Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. There are several reasons for this. One, I'm a veggie, which already keeps me out of quite a bit of the really bad stuff (stuffing, turkey, jello side dishes, sweet potatoes with marshmallows...). Two, I find that if I restrict myself too much on the big day, I usually end of bingeing the next day because I'm feeling so DEPRIVED. Three, my family doesn't cook super-unhealthy things. Our potatoes aren't made with cream or half-and-half, usually good old 2%. In fact, most of the time, we have baked potatoes instead of mashed. We've never had a deep-fried turkey. There are always lots of vegetable side dishes. My family tends to cook with olive oil or margarine, not butter. Also, my family likes to go on walks, so we usually take a walk before and/or after dinner, which helps offset some calories.
My main rule is that I don't want to leave the table feeling stuffed. So, I try to keep my portions reasonable (more than I need, certainly, but not ridiculous either). Also, I try to stay away from too many desserts. I try to limit myself to one or two choices. I also find that it helps me feel more in control when I don't go to dinner starving.
I would have all of your favorites, but just use it is an opportunity to be at your absolute best at portion control. That way you don't feel like you're missing out on something you traditionally eat. I think making the small batch of mashed potatoes is an excellent idea, marineswife! I always try to eat lots of green beans and salad... but I cannot have Thanksgiving dinner without noodles
Well, Thanksgiving has already passed in Canada, but this year my (soontobe)mother-in-law took a couple things in to consideration (both of us are trying to lose weight). She cooked a small turkey, and a small ham so that everyone could have choices. We made the stuffing homemade, which didn't have too much bad stuff in it. This was the first year that a salad was included, and the mashed potatoes were made with skim milk instead of cream. Also, we nixed the yams because of the sugar. We also made cranberry sauce from scratch, and served green beans, peas, steamed carrots, and steamed broccoli, which is more veggies than normal.
The weight loss goal has been a huge bonding tool for the both of us
Thanksgiving Dinner
