If you’re anything like me, you love to eat - which lends itself to the flurry
of holidays coming up right around the corner. Following the candy lovefest
that is Halloween comes Thanksgiving (always good for gorging), then Christmas (party
food abounds) and New Year’s (one word: booze) shortly thereafter. Each of
these means loads and loads of calories packed into each delicious bite of
turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, pumpkin pie and all the other
mouth-watering dishes that line tables across the country on these glorious
holidays.
Some of my favorite memories come from Thanksgiving meals with my mom
and other family members. Mom would spend hours making a ham, lathering it in a
spread of honey, mustard and brown sugar (trust me, it tastes better than it
sounds) to create a sweet crust – and an explosion of different flavors as I
bit into the sweet, juicy ham. Other times, we’d have a turkey. The turkey
would be filled with stuffing that had absorbed the turkey juices as it
roasted, making it one of my favorite parts of the meal. After the meal, we’d also have leftovers with
which to make delicious turkey sandwiches - with stuffing and mayonnaise of
course - making Thanksgiving the holiday that fed you for days afterwards as
well! Little did I know (or care) as a child, but now I realize that it’s important
to pay attention to the types of foods you’re going to eat when you indulge in
mega-meals on holidays - and the impact that they’ll have on your health once the
holidays have passed.
According to one study, Thanksgiving dinner can often pack an extra
3,000 calories onto your frame by the end of the meal. For those of you keeping
track at home, 3,500 calories equals a pound, but where those extra 3,000
calories come from could have additional health hazards. Traditional Thanksgiving dinner dishes contain a lot of sodium – which isn’t
good for your health, either.
Thankfully (no pun intended), there are dozens of recipes out there to
help you make Thanksgiving and other holiday meals a lot healthier- while still allowing taste to be the priority
for guests who make their way to your humble abode during the holiday season.
While it’s always nice to indulge every once in a while, consider a few healthy
options when you’re making your holiday meal plans by finding ways to cut down
on fat and other bad-for-you ingredients that might make the holidays a little
less jolly.
For more on how Thanksgiving dinner can pack on the pounds:
(http://www.newsnet5.com/health/3947798/detail.html)
For some healthy Thanksgiving recipe ideas:
(http://www.megaheart.com/kit_thanksgivingdinner.html)
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