Healthy Living: Giving Thanks at Thanksgiving...With No Guilt

'Tis the season to eat big.  After all it's Thanksgiving and that's a green light to eat like it's 1999.  Let's pig out on mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, yams, sweet potatoes, and the ubiquitous stuffing.  All the ingredients that tickle your taste and have you seeing Pilgrims yucking it up with Indians after your meal. (should have laid off the wine a bit).  

So, should we feel good about Thanksgiving but have waves of guilt for how much we ate and how full of fat our meal was?  Of course not.  I would suggest that Thanksgiving dinner should be balanced by loading up on the things that are good for us...turkey, beans, corn....and lighten up on the potatoes, stuffing, and pies.  I think it's important to eat the whole meal, but parts of it can be taken in moderation.  Oh no, there's the M word.  

I must confess that I grew up saying that anything worth doing was worth overdoing, and the same went for good food.  In my later years, I've developed an appreciation for the benefits of moderating the high calorie stuff while still allowing myself to enjoy it.  Can't we enjoy food and still maintain healthy eating?

Surely, there are ways we can prepare traditional Thanksgiving foods with low-fat margarines and oils, and cut sugar from pies and desserts without compromising taste.  There are scads of recipes for Thanksgiving dishes that cut the fat and sugar that can be easily found on the internet.  It's a beginning.

So eat your Thanksgiving meal as part of your plan for healthy living and don't apologize.  After all, it's only one day a year and should be celebrated as a special day with once-a-year foods you love and look forward to.  After dinner, why not get out and take a walk.  Get your blood pumping and burn some of that wonderful meal off.  You'll be ready for more before you know it.  

Enjoy your Thanksgiving, remembering what makes this country great and give thanks we can live here.   Meanwhile, enjoy your journey to healthy living and healthy eating.  I'll see you along the way.