Five Ways to Beat Calories This Thanksgiving
November 3, 2011
•Le Cordon Bleu
•Chicago
• 0 Comments
Five Ways to Beat Calories This Thanksgiving
“Oh, would you look at that pumpkin pie!” says Aunt Clara. “Save me a drumstick,” shouts your nephew Timmy. “If I eat another bite of that green bean casserole, I’m going to explode,” says Grandpa. Oh, the sounds of Thanksgiving dinner.
There is no doubt that Thanksgiving has driven more diets and healthy lifestyle choices off the rails than any other day. You are diligent all year long and then your mom sets her famous Thanksgiving table and all bets are off. But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can still enjoy Turkey Day and make sensible choices that won’t leave you full of pecan pie and guilt.
Whether you are cooking in Chicago or elsewhere, most Thanksgiving culinary techniques and recipes call for an abundance of sugar and fats to add those delicious Thanksgiving flavors. And unless you are cooking your own low calorie dinner, you’ll have a hard time avoiding those extra calories.
We put together five helpful guidelines to help you navigate one of the most calorie dense days on the calendar.
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Pick and Choose
Just because it’s on the table doesn’t mean you have to eat it. Choose your favorites and stick to them. If you have to choose between two favorites, choose the lower calorie option and reward yourself with a little more of it. Instead of a piece of sweet potato pie, have a little more white meat turkey.
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Control Portion Size
As you’re choosing your favorites, nothing is more important than controlling how much of it you eat. Even moderate portioning can add up to 2,000 or more calories at the Thanksgiving table. Resist the urge to have just one spoonful. With so many choices at a typical Thanksgiving feast, those extra spoonfuls will really add up. Multi-course meals have used this culinary technique for centuries to reduce the amount of calories even as the amount of food is increased.
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Make the Day about More than Food
The feast is the centerpiece of the day, but don’t make it the most important thing. Cooking in Chicago usually means a kitchen full of food and bellies filled with more than their share of it. Take the time to do family things or other activities that are people or activity centered. Take leftovers to a local food charity. Play in the neighborhood Turkey Bowl football game. Get everyone together for a brisk fall walk after dinner. Do things that get you and everyone else to move away from the dinner table.
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Send Food Home with Guests
Often times overeating at Thanksgiving is a matter of guilt. You’ve made so much food it would be a shame to waste it. You don’t throw it away, but you don’t have to eat it all either. Send leftovers home with guests. It’s good for both your body and your brain. How many days in a row can you eat Thanksgiving leftovers without going batty anyway?
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Make a Plan
This is extremely important. Don’t just approach the day and hope to rely on your self-control. It won’t work. Make a plan and stick with it. Decide before Thanksgiving Day what and how much you will eat, determine how much exercise you want to do to counter the inevitable extra calories, and then write it down. It makes it more permanent and less avoidable. While you’re at it, make a plan for how you’ll deal with the entire month from Thanksgiving to New Year’s.
And one last piece of advice: Don’t feel guilty if you do overindulge. Just get back on your program the day after. Enjoy the day, and enjoy the food. Thanksgiving is only once a year and a onetime indulgence won’t ruin your hard work.
This article is presented by Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Chicago. Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Chicago offers culinary arts and pâtisserie and baking training programs in Chicago, Illinois. To learn more about the class offerings, please visit Chefs.edu/Chicago for more information.
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