Lighten Up!

It is with anxious anticipation and nervous apprehension that I approach Thanksgiving. A holiday so fundamental in its original intent to give thanks for the bountiful blessings in our lives, and yet it has become nothing more than an extravagant celebration of gluttony, in most cases. Being a self admitted food addict, I am terrified about the caloric content of the day, knowing that if I waltz into the aroma filled home of Alex's grandmother without a plan in mind that I'll easily consume 3 days worth of calories in a single meal, and so I've chosen to lighten up.

It's been said many times that I'm a little crazy when it comes to my calorie counting. I'm a little obsessive over what foods I eat, and writing down every calorie consumed. I'm a little crazy when I research the calorie content of a dish at a restaurant before I'll order or when I bring my own food to a dinner get together, and while not wanting to offend anyone on Thanksgiving I've come up with a plan. It is customary every year for each of the adults to bring some type of side dish to the celebration, helping alleviate some of the work load and the expense, and so I've chosen to bring side dishes that are hearty enough to sustain an appetite, but not ruin the meal plan and thought as a whole, I could lighten up the calorie content of the day. Here are my thoughts:

Instead of the rich cream and butter filled mashed potatoes, consider roasted seasonal root vegetables dressed with herbs and a drizzle of olive oil.

Instead of green bean casserole try fresh steamed green beans with roasted garlic and onions.

Celebrate the pumpkin in a means other than pie. Make mini pumpkin muffins using canned pumpkin and a box of spice cake mix. Still a sweet treat with pumpkin but with only right around 45 calories each!

Make baked sweet potatoes, sweetened with honey instead of brown sugar and marshmallows, but feel free to still top with some dry roasted pecan pieces.

Choose to roast just a turkey breast instead of the whole turkey, this will save you both on time and money!

When it comes to hors d'oeuvres choose a veggie or fruit tray and avoid some the more calorie dense meat and cheese trays. Graze on raw veggies before the meal so that you aren't starving and risk over eating.

Consider when the big meal of the day will be served, but do not hold out on eating until that meal. While you will surely want to enjoy all of the delicious autumnal fare, you don't want to wind up resembling the turkey--overstuffed.

Make sure you eat breakfast and even a morning snack to keep your metabolism high and your appetite low, being too hungry when it's meal time will cause you to over eat.

Eat slowly! Hunger cues come from your brain, not your stomach, if you wait for your stomach to feel full, you will have eaten too much.

Don't hang around the kitchen! Hanging around the food will cause you to snack out of habit, or boredom. Removing yourself from where the snacks are will keep you from unconsciously adding to your calories.

Look out for the high calorie drinks like egg nog, soda and alcohol! If you're going to increase your calorie budget today, make sure you use it on things you actually want, like the food. Drinking a single glass of egg nog can cost you as much as 360 calories!! That's the same as 1/2 POUND of turkey breast!

And last but not least here is my pick for this year: Spaghetti Squash with Ricotta, Sage, and Pine Nuts! When I first found this recipe on another blog for easy, healthy and inexpensive recipes, I thought it was too good to be true, even took the time to calculate the calorie content myself because with the creamy deliciousness of the ricotta I thought there was no way we were coming in at under 200 calories, but it's true! I did a dry run with it before testing it out on the masses on Thanksgiving, and in the words of Rachel Ray, "YUMM-O!" It was seriously delicious. Of course, I'm not one to follow a recipe as it stands and I gotta always put my Michelle twist on it so, I cut back to only 1/2 cup of ricotta, and addled about 1/2 tablespoon of Parmesan cheese to each serving, because I felt like it needed a little something, and it was 162 calories per serving! Hello, you're not gonna find any other pasta dish that hearty and that low on calories! Plus, it is a great dish for the fall--very hearty and seasonal with the use of the squash and pine nuts.

Hopefully, I've given you some tips on how to lighten up this Thanksgiving so that we can be truly thankful and not mourning the pants that you can't button as you head out for the Black Friday sales.