Thanksgiving fast approaches and I know many of you will be out this weekend shopping for groceries in preparation for the upcoming week.  I also know that the upcoming week starts the madness of the holiday season in which people tend to gain, gain, and gain some more weight.  But it doesn’t have to or need to  be that way.

Take just a minute and ask yourself;

• Why this time of the year has to be so much worse than any other time of the year when it comes to eating.
• Why is it necessary to gorge ourselves with one fatty food after another, or eat until we’re literally sick to our stomachs. Those same foods can be prepared at any time of the year…their not in limited supply!
• Why do we need to drink ourselves silly in order to have fun and enjoy being with family and friends. Hey, I’m all for having a good beer, but I don’t need to throw down 8 of them in the course of an evening order to enjoy the holidays or any day.

It seems we just have this tendency to get wrapped up in everything that’s going on around us and we ALLOW ourselves to be swayed into habits that aren’t typical of who we are any other time of the year.

Remember, just because you are visiting family or friends who don’t believe in your cause of getting into great physical shape and creating a happier, healthier, and longer life…doesn’t mean you have to give in to their bad habits. There’s no reason you can’t ask what the menu will be for a lunch or dinner so that you can prepare yourself. If you know the foods available are going to be on the “bad” list then you have at least two choices;

1. Eat prior to going to the event and then either eat nothing when you arrive or simply have a small serving of the healthiest dish you can find. If you’re going into someone’s home on a full stomach, all those fatty foods that will surround you aren’t going to be all that appealing.

2. Take food with you. It’s not always a bad idea to let the host/hostess know that you are going to be bringing a plate of food for yourself, maybe your whole family. Doing this simply gives the host a heads-up and won’t leave them feeling insulted when you show up with plates in hand. Start doing this enough and people will expect of you and won’t think twice about it. If someone gives you a great deal of grief for bringing your own, healthy food alternatives then perhaps its not worth your time, energy, and headaches to make that trip.

Malinda and I have shared these two possibilities with a great many people and sometimes we’ll get this look of disbelief which is sometimes followed with something like, “that would be rude of me to bring my own food to a dinner party, etc.”

I disagree. I believe it’s rude for someone to offer up a bunch of high calorie-fatty foods with no alternatives. And, if those people know you are on a mission to better your life then its ten times worse for them to put out a spread of poor food choices that can only sabotage everything you’ve worked so hard to accomplish and then get mad at you for not eating the stuff!

Assume you are diabetic and you head over to the in-laws home for Thanksgiving dinner. You walk in to find a table full of high-carb/high-sugar foods that could quite literally KILL YOU! Now, you don’t have to eat those foods right? Of course you don’t! But isn’t it rude and inconsiderate of your in-laws to not have something available for you to eat since they know you are diabetic? I think so.

Let’s say you are vegan. You walk into your good friend’s home and there sits a plethora of meats prepared in more ways than you can count. Sure, there are veggies on the table but they border those plates of meat as a garnish. Seems pretty insensitive to me that your “good friends” would put out a meal that completely goes against your strong personal views as a vegan. What will you do?

My point is simply that you have to take care of yourself, and if that means bringing along a plate of food that you know is a safe and intellligent choice for you….then so be it and those around you should understand and respect your decision.

Let me stop myself right there and get on to the good news.

Like I said, the holidays can be a difficult time for alot of people, especially those trying to stay fit. So, if you are heading off to visit others or if you are staying home but having guests to your house, I want to give you two recipes that taste great and will easily replace to high-fat/high-calorie staples of the Thanksgiving Meal. Those are;

Sweat Potato Casserole  and Apple Turnovers.

Below are great recipes for both of these dishes and I know if these are dishes typically found at your Turkey Day Meal then you and your loved ones will enjoy these new and improved recipes!

Sweet Potato Casserole

Serves 6

2 1/4 lbs. Sweet potatoes (3 large) peeled and cubed

3 egg whites, beaten

3 Tbsp. maple syrup

1 tsp. Vanilla extract

Topping:

1/4 cup chopped pecans

1 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 tbsp. butter, melted

1/8 tsp. Ground cinnamon

1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped

1/3 cup dried cherries, chopped

Directions:

Place sweet potatoes in a big cooking pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until tender. Drain and place in a large bowl; mash. Cool slightly. Stir in the egg whites, syrup and vanilla. Transfer to an 8-in square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Combine the pecans, brown sugar, butter and cinnamon; sprinkle over the top. Bake  uncovered at 350 degrees for 30- minutes. Sprinkle with apricots and cherries. Bake 5-7 minutes longer or until a thermometer reads 160 degrees and the fruits are heated through.

Apple Turnover Sundae    

 Serves 1

1/2 cup fat-free, sugar-free apple turnover-flavored or other apple flavored yogurt

2 Tbsp. crunchy, high fiber, low sugar cereal (Grape Nuts)

1/3 cup chopped apple

Pinch of ground cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp. raisins

Directions:

Spoon the yogurt into a small deep bowl. Sprinkle the cereal over the yogurt, followed by the apple. Top with the cinnamon and then the raisins, if using, and serve.

Want to share your healthy and delicious recipes? Send us an email with your recipe and we’ll post it on the blog.

Chuck Walker MA, LAT, ATC, CAFT
Imagine Fitness
www.ImagineFitness.net

This entry was posted on November 19, 2010 at 6:56 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Posted in Fat Loss Nutrition Fat Loss Strategies Rants & Raves Recipes by Chuck No Comments Yet