Practicing Mindful Eating This Thanksgiving

We know you’re a lean, mean soccer machine and you’re probably not too worried about indulging some of your fave comfort foods over the holidays. You’ll burn it off right?

Well, there are holiDAYS and then there is HOLIDAY SEASON which in spite of the constant jolly commercials, does not necessarily give us the green light to reckless eating. The Thanksgiving meal can be a slippery slope to a starchy, sugar loaded three month “holiday.” Kick off good habits by starting with your Thanksgiving meal to set yourself up for the season. 

Go pro.

Max out on protein when loading your plate this Thanksgiving. Experts suggest to fill two-thirds of your plate with turkey and veggie side dishes. Minimizing the starchy side dishes will help you maintain energy levels. Get a handle on the leanest protein by picking at the bird’s white meat and leave behind the drumsticks.

One perk of all those turkey leftovers, is the stack of protein in your fridge. But don’t go overboard boarding your bird. Remember to only keep cooked leftovers around for two to three days in the fridge. You can freeze freshly cooked and cooled turkey for up to 1 month. 

If you’re going for it, just go for it.

Low fat alternatives to desserts are an awesome innovation of the twentieth century, but they leave us wanting, especially on big holidays. If your low fat portion is five times the size of the real deal to “make up for” missing out on the classic, just go with smaller sized full blown version of your fave Thanksgiving dessert. 

Treat dinner like dinner.

There is this strange concept of “saving yourself” for the turkey dinner on Thanksgiving. Don’t fast all day only to indulge in the whole pie after dinner. Treat this holiday dinner as a slightly more festive dinner with the family, versus the last meal of your life. You’ll avoid feeling like a stuffed turkey. 

Feature image via Adobe Stock @anaumenko

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