Dr. Jill Wagner, PharmD
Healthy Thanksgiving Meal Ideas
Thanksgiving Day is right around the corner, and with this holiday comes one central theme: food. In fact, lots and lots of food. Most of us grew up looking forward to certain favorite home-cooked traditions on Turkey Day. In fact, I would argue that this can be one day where we relax a bit and enjoy what the holiday has to offer. However, there are ways to employ lifestyle modifications, lighten food up, and swap certain ingredients—without sacrificing taste—so you don’t feel “blah” by the end of the day or wake up regretful the next morning. It also helps when eating leftovers. In addition, what often starts out as an intention to have one celebratory day often turns into a long weekend, which is then closely followed by December festivities/parties, and is finished with a common “I’ll start over again on January 1st”. With many of us on health journeys, there are several things we can do to prevent one day of celebration turning into one month. Below are ideas of healthier food substitutions and lifestyle modifications, as well as some websites that have healthy Thanksgiving recipes.
Try filling half of your plate with vegetables (especially) and some seasonal fruit. The fiber will help fill you up and make it less likely to overeat, and you will provide your body with important phytonutrients.
Watch the amount of butter and oil you are using to make certain dishes. Do you really need that much? Many recipes call for more than is needed. Also, try using butter or ghee from grass-fed cows.
Consider reduced-fat versions of items such as heavy cream, whole milk, cream cheese, and sour cream, or consider replacing it (when appropriate) with an alternative such as Greek yogurt. When baking, substitutions such as applesauce, pumpkin puree, and yogurt can often replace some of the fat.
For healthier oil choices, use olive, avocado, and coconut oil in your cooking and baking. Sunflower, canola, soybean, and cottonseed oils contain high amounts of omega-6 fats that most people already have too much of, creating an imbalance.
Consider using mashed cauliflower instead of mashed potatoes, or doing a combination using half of each.
Try finding turkey meat that is raised humanely without antibiotics. Ideally organic is best, but it can be difficult to find and also pricey. Just try your best here, and don’t make it worse by stressing about it.
Use salad dressings that do not have a lot of added sugar or additives.
Swap the canned version of cranberry sauce for a healthier homemade one.
When baking, use natural sweeteners, such as maple syrup, honey, and coconut sugar.
If you are using anything from a box or can, look at the ingredient list. Is the list long (spices/herbs aside)? Do you know what each ingredient is? Does it sound ultra-processed? If so, it might be best to skip it or find a healthier alternative.
As you can see from most of the recommendations above, it is generally healthier to make your own versions of recipes, as you will have full control over what goes into your food.
Try to eat the fiber and protein on your plate first followed by any carbohydrates (obviously with combination dishes this won’t be possible). For example, eat your Brussel sprouts and turkey first, followed by your mashed potatoes or biscuits. This will slow down the rate at which sugar is absorbed and lead to lower blood sugar and insulin spikes. Along the same lines, save room for that pie or dessert at the end of a meal, not in the middle of the afternoon by itself. Your pancreas will thank you.
If possible, go for a walk after your Thanksgiving meal. A simple slow-to-moderate paced walk will do, as anything more might divert blood flow away from your gut and cause indigestion (especially after a large meal). When you walk, you are using your muscles, and muscles have the unique capability to take up glucose during contraction without the aid of insulin. So once again, you are lowering the amount of insulin your body will need to put out to assist glucose into your cells. Over time, this can make things such as insulin resistance and metabolic disease less likely.
Healthy Thanksgiving Recipe Websites:
Healthier Baking or Food Substitutions:
Primal Kitchen Dressings
Chosen Avocado Oil
Kerrygold Irish Butter
4th & Heart Ghee
Happy Thanksgiving from the team at Delta Neuro Health!
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