Happy Thanksgiving collegiettes! Enjoy time at home with your family, friends, and the food. As Thanksgiving is a holiday almost completely centered around a meal, there are a few things to consider. When it’s all about the food, how do you walk the line between enjoyment and over-indulgence?

We fully support a serving of Grandma’s super rich gravy, or a slice of your Dad’s famous pumpkin pie. With that said, wolfing down an entire pie by yourself or eating so much turkey you can’t even walk to the couch… we wouldn’t stand by. There’s no need to go extreme (in either direction!) on this wonderful holiday, so we’ve talked to James Madison University professor and registered dietitian Dr. Melissa Rittenhouse RD, CSSD to learn what’s good, what’s fowl (gobble gobble!), and how you can improve each classic Turkey Day dish.

What you need to know:
“Many traditional Thanksgiving foods can be modified to have less calories, fat and sodium by substituting ingredients and/or cooking methods. However, the traditional foods can also be enjoyed the old fashioned way as long as portion sizes are controlled and you limit yourself to one plate of food rather than multiples.”- Dr. Rittenhouse, RD, CSSD

Here’s a quick rundown of our T-Day staples so we know where things stand to start with:

Turkey
Serving: 4 oz dark meat with skin
Calories: 206 cal, 8 g fat, 2.4 g saturated fat, 132 mg cholesterol
4 oz white meat, no skin: 153 kcal, .8 g fat, .3 g saturated fat, 94 mg chol

Stuffing
Serving: 1 oz or ½ C
Calories: StoveTop Mix: 160 kcal, 1 g fat
Homemade approximately 250 kcal

Sweet potatoes
Serving: 5 oz
Calories: 390 kcal, 12 g fat, 7 g saturated fat

Mashed potatoes and gravy
Serving: ½ C
Calories: 120 kcal, 4.5 g fat, 1 g saturated fat

Cranberry sauce
Serving: ½ inch thick slice
Calories: 86 kcal, less than 1 g fat

Green bean casserole:
Serving: ½ C
Calories: 130 kcal, 7 g fat, 3.5 g fat

Pumpkin pie
Serving: 1 piece of 9-inch pie (cut into 8ths)
Calories: 316 calories, 14.5 g fat, 5g saturated fat

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Holiday Eating Anxiety

If you get worried about overeating during the holiday months, you’re not alone! We asked for your thoughts and got a serving of insight. Here are some of the responses:

“I do get kind of worried about overeating during the holidays, but I always try to remember that the holidays aren’t just two days – we have a over a month to experience all the foods we love. I try to pace myself and not eat too much at once.” –Anonymous college girl
“I do worry about overeating during the holidays and it does stress me out sometimes, but I try to remind myself that our bodies are made to adjust to different amounts of food intake, and that if you eat happily what you want when you want it, you are not likely to overindulge.” –Anonymous college girl
“It’s all about listening to what your body wants and needs, and if your body wants that extra piece of pumpkin pie or Christmas cookie because it’s rockin’ with the holiday spirit, go for it. It’s a time to relax and be happy, not to stress about skinny jeans.” –Anonymous college girl
We are here to help you navigate your way through Thanksgiving with some healthy holiday tips, start to finish!

Healthy Substitutions In The Kitchen

There are some easy healthy substitutions that you, or your family, can make this Thanksgiving that can save you calories and cut out excess fat.

Turkey: remove the skin
Stuffing: omit extra butter, use fat free broth, opt for chicken sausage vs. Italian
Sweet Potatoes: Leave out extra butter, sugar, and marshmallows
Mashed Potatoes & Gravy: Nix the heavy cream and use fat free milk and low fat sour cream
Green Bean Casserole: Top with almonds instead of fried onions, try a vinaigrette dressing
Pumpkin Pie: Trade the crust for low fat graham cracker crust and use egg whites and fat free evaporated milk in the filling

Navigating the Appetizers

Before the ‘main event’ there’s quite a spread laid out! So how do you start the festivities off in a healthy way?

Skip the tortilla chips and opt for vegetables, fruit, or hummus. Fill up on things that are nutrient-dense which will not only keep you from overeating later in the day, but will also give you essential vitamins and minerals.
Grab a glass of water. It may seem tempting to have soda or wine as your drink of the day, but caffeine and alcohol both cause your body to become dehydrated. Dehydration is often mistaken for being hungry, so alternate drinks with water for best results.

The Main Meal

Mentally draw a line halfway through your plate and make it your goal to fill it with vegetables. By committing to a mostly veggies meal, you’re headed in the right direction.
Know the food will be there later. If you’re eating as much as you can because it’s a special occasion food, remember you can always come back to it later when you’re hungry. Put your dish in the refrigerator, and once your hunger cues are back, you know where to go.

Sweet Success

Walk it out. Are you eating because the food is there, or because you are hungry? Before dessert, suggest a family walk around the neighborhood to get in some family bonding, exercise, and get back in touch with your satiety levels.
There are bound to be several kinds of pies, ice creams, or cookies to pick from. This does not mean you need to eat all of them! Pick your favorite and have just a bite of the others—not a whole slice.

The Leftovers

Don’t eat out of the leftover container. Serve it into a dish and go sit down to enjoy. Many of us are guilty of using visual cues to ‘stop’, not our internal hunger signals.
Use the leftovers and health-ify them! Think of what you have in the fridge as a starting point and make it your goal to add whole grains or vegetables to improve the nutrition quality. Here are a few of our favorite healthy left over recipes from EatingWell.com: Shredded Turkey & Pinto Bean Burritos and Turkey Squash Soup.

We asked our HC writers what their favorite Thanksgiving foods were—see who you match up with!

“Mashed sweet potatoes, stuffing (sausage, carrot, celery raisin), and pumpkin cheesecake! My mom makes the best, and I mean THE BEST, pumpkin cheesecake. It literally makes me want to die – or sing in joy, hah.” – Valentina Palladino, Syracuse University, 2014

“My favorite foods are cranberry sauce and those dinner rolls you pop in the oven. I only really get to eat both at this time of year.” – Shannon Kirk, DeSales University, 2011

“My favorite Thanksgiving food is definitely my mom’s mashed sweet potatoes (with lots of brown sugar and granny smith apples on top — sounds weird, but it’s amazing).” – Abigail Dupree Howard, Duke University, 2011

“Being a vegetarian, I actually don’t eat turkey on Turkey Day (gasp!), or any other day for that matter. In fact, my favorite Thanksgiving foods are the appetizers my family sets out before dinner. We have everything from veggies and dip to hummus and pitas to cheese and crackers and everything in between.” – Kerry Coppinger, HC Intern

Sources:
www.Calorieking.com
Dr. Melissa Rittenhouse RD, CSSD
HC Writers: Abagail Dupree Howard, Shannon Kirk, Valentina Palladino, Kerry Coppinger
Eating Well, Thanksgiving Recipes
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/shredded_turkey_pinto_bean_burritos.html
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/turkey_squash_soup.html
http://www.wholeliving.com/photogallery/thanksgiving-recipes?lpgStart=1&currentslide=3&currentChapter=2

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