A Healthy Holiday Celebration

Thanksgiving is almost here and it is just the opening gun as far as delightful holiday grazing occasions are concerned. This is no time to diet but one thing we can be thankful for is that we live in an age where it is possible to celebrate with feasts which are healthy and sensible as well as delicious. It should be possible to enjoy a big dinner and still respect ourselves in the morning

Thanksgiving and other important holidays are worthy of our respect and sometimes replete with important food-related family traditions. Nutritional values shouldn't be top priority for these occasions. For instance, a popular addition to many families' tables is a casserole made of green beans, cream of mushroom soup, and canned French fried onions. I have never tasted this but it is apparently so delicious that some people seem to anticipate this dish more than the entire rest of the dinner. It's easy to see that just plain green beans seasoned with a little butter, salt and pepper would be better for us on a day when there are so many other rich things on the menu but if Great Aunt Trudy has brought her Green Bean Casserole to the holiday table for years and everyone looks forward to it eagerly, then that's the most important thing. Sometimes people's feelings have to take precedence over nutritional values and an important holiday dinner is one of those times. By the same token, there is nothing wrong with also offering healthier options along with the traditional stuff. Here's the first tip:

Don't think you have to do everything yourself.

Just because you are the host or hostess doesn't mean you can't accept help from others. If somebody asks what they can bring to the party, be ready with definite ideas ... and one good idea would be for someone to prepare an assortment of raw crudites or fixings for a tossed salad to pass around at the table for the first course.

For many holiday dinners, the star attraction is a massive roasted bird, which in itself is not a bad thing. A couple ounces of roasted turkey light meat contains 110 calories with 42 calories from fat, no trans fat, 42 mg. Cholesterol, and 36 mg. Sodium. A little richer is the same amount of dark meat which contains 124 calories with 38 calories from fat, no trans fat, 50 mg. Cholesterol, and 42 mg. Sodium. A serving of roast turkey delivers 16 grams of Protein along with zero carbs and sugars.

Alas, roast turkey is just the start and is followed by that delicious stuffing which takes a big hit and, of course, mashed potatoes and gravy which are important too ... but even here, there is hope. Homemade mashed potatoes are better in many ways than even the best commercially prepared options, it wouldn't hurt anyone's feelings to offer a few healthy veggie options along with that Green Bean Casserole and even the worthy nutritional value of cranberry sauce can be enhanced if someone cooks up a batch of the homemade version which doesn't contain the dreaded high fructose corn syrup found in the commercial product.

I have written about "Lighter, Healthier Dessert Alternatives" in another article and some guests may welcome them but if Mom's pumpkin pie is her special pride and joy, then that's important. A celebration like this only comes a few times a year and adjusting what we eat during the rest of the day and the dinner would leave plenty of room for a piece of the type of pie we might not get to enjoy too often.

What It All Boils Down To

Food is not the most important thing about Thanksgiving or any other holiday. Sometimes even good things like holidays can be stressful for people. A lot of us may have to cut back on our menus this year or may not have time to get too fancy about dinner but our most important gift to ourselves and the ones we love may be to just try to appreciate each other and what we do have. Despite a dark and uncertain economy, this is still a great country and that is still something to be thankful for.

Sources:

NutritionData.com
Personal Experience