Thanksgiving is my favorite American holiday. And that has nothing to do with the food but all with my fiends and my adoptive American family. Over the years we have created our own traditions in the shape of gatherings, dinners, Christmas tree lighting viewings. I also have made some of my worst moves on a few Thanksgiving Eve’s and am thankful to my friends for saving my behind….but we won’t get into that today…
Thanksgiving comes with less expectations than Christmas I think. It is just all about food, family, friends, shopping, going out and foot ball. But I will agree that we may have an expectation of a juicy turkey! Food is a huge part of this holiday. All bets are off for me around the holidays, it’s ok….food is fun, food is part of our social interaction….this is the common denominator in most cultures and religions.
Fun fact: the average American consumes about 3000 calories during Thanksgiving dinner, add in desserts and appetizers and this number will most likely reach 4,500. But it’s ok! You got this! As long as you don’t do this everyday. Casseroles are a culture shock to me…any thing…literally anything you would like to mix together can go into a casserole. Not my cup of tea honestly. My favorite was my sister in law’s sweet potato pie…until she told me how many sticks of butter she added in order to achieve such deliciousness. Phew! Due to unforeseen circumstances, I have had to part ways with her pies….butter was not one of them.
Just keep a few things in mind. First of all; food is your friend! The size of your portions matter as always. Start with a small serving of everything you love and you can always go back for seconds. Turkey is your friend too; low fat, lotsa protein…
This one is important: don’t fast before dinner. Not eating before big meals tends to make your body store fats from foods when you finally do eat. Plus we all know that you don’t want to show up for Thanksgiving dinner hungry, you will be way more likely to overeat when you do so! Even worse “hangry”; you will over eat and be lousy company…
Thanksgiving morning is a great time to go for a walk or any other (more fun) activity that will get your heart rate up. Black Friday you can walk it off in the mall!
Last but not least: have fun! The more you stress out about food the more it will have an affect on you.
Basically keep the “happy” in Thanksgiving and be grateful for everything in your life!
