Thanksgiving is only a few days away and to get ready for the start of holiday eating, Covenant registered dietician and nutritionist Lauren Blechle shared some advice on what to do to keep things healthy.
“Let’s look at having some vegetables that are going to contain a lot of fiber on at least half of our place, and then the other side can be left for those goodies,” Blechle said.
Some of her advice also comes in the cooking process with some swaps you can make.
“You can always use Greek yogurt, it works really well as sour cream, mayonnaise, you can use it for buttermilk or heavy cream, any of those,” she said.
Blechle said sweet potatoes are a source of vitamin A. “We don’t always have to add that marshmallow fluff on top, we can roast sweet potatoes instead, put some Brussels sprouts with them, maybe some butternut squash, and make a nice roast,” she said.
It’s not just the food to think about. Blechle said to also think about what you plan to drink, too.
“Whenever we’re going out to a potluck or any kind of party even, maybe try to stick to just drinking water or sparkling water instead of some of the alcoholic beverages or sodas, anything like that that’s just going to be a sugary beverage, we can reduce a lot of calories that way,” she said.
Before you even head to a holiday gathering, Blechle had some advice for what to eat.
“I would say absolutely still go ahead and eat your breakfast, or if it’s going to be a dinner meal, maybe go ahead and have some lunch, maybe eat a light snack, maybe about 250 calories an hour before you go, that way you’re not as tempted to eat all those appetizers whenever you get there,” she said.