Thanksgiving is around the corner, and to many people that means over-indulging and consequently feeling stuffed, lethargic and tired. While we love to repeat our holiday traditions, this year I want to propose a new ending to your Thanksgiving feast: a comfortable satisfaction and easy mobility. Here are my top three tips to avoiding Thanksgiving food coma.
1. The week of Thanksgiving: I often see people over-indulging at Thanksgiving because they deprive themselves days before the holidays. To avoid overeating during Thanksgiving, allow yourself small treats through out the week. Try a guiltless dessert, like my raw vegan apple pie (recipe below). When you indulge a little bit during the week, you may be less likely to over-indulge in pumpkin pie after the big dinner.
2. Thanksgiving Day: Make sure you eat small balanced meals throughout the day, especially before the big turkey or Tofurky dinner. The impulse may often be to dramatically restrict your calories beforehand, but that may backfire when your eyes become bigger than your stomach. Instead of starving yourself, enjoy small, portion-controlled, balanced meals with your favorite holiday flavors. That way when dinner comes around you won’t be anxious to dig in. Instead, you’ll make better food choices for yourself.
3. During Thanksgiving dinner: When you find yourself sitting in front of all your holiday favorites, the first thing to do is to take a deep breath and make a conscious plan of what dishes you would like to indulge in first. Fill up half of your plate with green veggies and salad, one quarter with your favorite starchy side dishes and leave a palm-sized space for the protein (plant-based protein will be better for your digestion and well-being).
Slow down during the meal and focus on enjoying the conversations with family and friends. Wait 20 minutes after you’re done with your plate before reaching for seconds. If you choose to get more food, eat it slowly and with gusto and pleasure. By taking your time, chewing every bite and enjoying every morsel, you will help your body do its best to digest the food and leave you happy and satisfied.
BONUS Z-Tip: Make your own healthier version of a thanksgiving favorite and bring with you to the dinner. That way you will have a healthy and delicious recipe to enjoy and to share.
Savory veggies for Thanksgiving:
Delicious pumpkin mousse:
Apple pie filling video and full recipe below:
12-Minute Apple Pie
Crust:
1 ½ cups of almonds
1 ½ cups of walnuts
1 ½ cup medjool dates
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla powder
Blend all ingredients in a food processor with an S blade until dough is formed. Don’t over process, but don’t leave it chunky either. Put dough into the pie shell, molding it to the shape of the dish.
Filling:
6 Golden Delicious apples
4 medjool dates, pitted
2 teaspoons ground flax seeds
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla powder
½ cup raisins
Shredded coconut
Mix 4 apples with dates, flax seeds, salt, cinnamon and vanilla in the food processor until you reach an apple sauce consistency. Transfer for bowl.
Using a slicing blade, slice 2 apples and mix with the rest of the mixture in a bowl. You can also chop these two apples by pulsing them in the food processor with an S-Blade.
Add raisins to the mixture and combine together with a spoon. Pour into a pie crust, sprinkle with cinnamon and coconut.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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About Alina Z.
Alina Z., aka “The Green Goddess,” is a certified holistic health coach, detox specialist and raw-food chef (she conducts occasional classes at Whole Foods in Boca). Prior to moving to Florida, Alina hosted her own TV show in Maryland—“Entertaining A to Z”—for people who didn’t have time to cook but wanted to eat healthy. Catch one of her web episodes at eHow.com, visit Alina’s website at alinaz.com, or follow her on Facebook (facebook.com/CoutureFood) or Twitter (@CoutureFood). The Green Goddess blog runs every other Wednesday at bocamag.com.
