Eat Less at Thanksgiving and Christmas with These Holiday Table Tricks

You can hear the table groaning under the weight of all the delicious Thanksgiving and Christmas food offerings. If you don't want to be the one groaning under the added post Holiday weight, try these Holiday table tricks so you will eat less while still enjoying the food and festivities.

Covered Dish

This Holiday feast season, put a whole new meaning on the term 'covered dish'. Serve all tempting, calorie laden side dishes in a covered dish and keep the cover on the dishes. It's the old 'out of sight out of mind' trick that will help you eat less. Take a small portion of mashed potatoes, stuffing and gravy, then cover the dishes with lids so you won't see the food and be tempted to take a second (or third) helping.

Use Smaller Plates and Glasses

We tend to set the holiday dinner table with a variety of advancing sized plates to accommodate the advancing sized serving portions each meal course brings. Save on calories and dish washing by just setting the table with one size of plate - small. Eating all Holiday meal courses from a small salads or dessert plate will trick the eyes into thinking the plate is fully loaded and send the same tricky message to the brain. You won't feel deprived when eating from an overloaded, howbeit, smaller plate.

Use this same trick for drinking glasses. Forgo the tumblers that hold a quart of a favorite sugar laden beverage like sweet tea or soda and use tall, skinny glasses which trick the eye into thinking there's a larger portion of your favorite beverage inside than there really is. Use smaller serving utensils so smaller portions will be taken too.

Decorate for Relaxation

The Holiday table décor which relaxes and soothes will enable you and guests to relax and savor the meal. Decorate the table with candles to inspire a relaxed mood. Choose unscented candles or candles which have the aroma of some of the Thanksgiving and Christmas foods (like cinnamon) so the candle scent won't clash with the delectable food aromas.

The traditional Holiday colors of bright orange for Thanksgiving and bright reds and greens for Christmas arouse the appetite while more subdued colors diminish the appetite. Decorate the Holiday dinner table with shades of soft blues and greens to suppress the appetite.