Thanksgiving: What I'm Eating

Yesterday, my son told me about a child in his third grade class who “loves vegetables.” When the teachers rewarded the children with Starbursts after completing a writing assignment (hmn), this little girl turned the candy down. My son reported all of this completely flabbergasted. I wouldn’t necessarily have turned down starbursts at 8 years old but I would now. When I think about our family Thanksgiving tomorrow, I will do the adult version of snubbing the starburst. On Monday, I provided you with my top turkey day tips that I wholeheartedly endorse However, when I got to thinking about my personal plan and plate for Thanksgiving it didn’t require special rules.

You might say, “you’re a nutritionist of course you eat well.” The truth is I do not. Always. Often times when I travel, I like to sample the local fare, tastes I feel I haven’t come across and may never again. The same thing happens on restaurant menus when something peaks my interest. For me, and no offense meant to what I’m sure will be a delicious spread at my sister’s home, Thanksgiving foods are mostly things I have had before. Cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes and pie are available almost every day.

I fully comprehend the holiday mindset. It’s a holiday, happens once a year and our healthy rules should bend a little. What I am suggesting is that the flexibility works for some but no need to flex if you don’t want to.  My Thanksgiving meal will go something like this. My sister has vegetables, dip and cheeses out when we arrive. I will have some crudité and a glass of wine. My mother will make soup as a first course; I’ll have some. For dinner I’ll have turkey (maybe dark meat, love it), the Brussels sprouts and chestnuts and edamame succotash I am cooking, some sweet potatoes and this cosmopolitan cranberry sauce (with triple sec) my sister is serving. To me, this meal sounds unbelievably delicious. I would choose these items over pumpkin pie and also starbursts any day.

Are you someone who will flex on tomorrow? Do you eat differently on holidays? Do you feel it's being a party pooper not to?

Thanksgiving Bright Side: carb of choice

Market Melissa (Foodtrainers' Melissa O'Shea) told you about leeks and Brussels sprouts and last, but certainly not least, in our “bright sides” series is spaghetti squash.

While I have never met a squash I didn’t like, preparing them is another story. I’ll admit, after a few battles with a butternut squash, I often resort to the prepped and cut up variety offered at most stores. Spaghetti squash is not offered this way, but I assure you it is worth the effort to cook one of these up.

Like most varieties of winter squash, you will find loads of potassium, Vitamin C and beta-carotene in spaghetti squash.  When selecting your squash you may spot white and green spaghetti squash, but look for the orange ones which taste a bit sweeter. Spaghetti squash has lower calories and grams of carbohydrates per cup compared to butternut squash, pasta or a sweet potato plus, it looks and can be used like spaghetti. It's a favorite of our clients at Foodtrainers.

1 cup spaghetti squash: 40 calories, 10g carbohydrates

1 cup butternut squash: 80 calories, 21g carbohydrates

1 cup pasta: 212 calories, 42g carbohydrates

1 cup sweet potatoes: 180 calories, 42g carbohydrates

You can bake, broil, roast, steam or even throw it into a crock-pot or slow-cooker.  If you have a crock pot, place the whole squash into the cooker, pierce it with a fork, add water and cook on low for 8-10 hours. The seeds you will find inside can also be roasted, similar to pumpkin seeds.

To bake a spaghetti squash:  Cut the squash in half (place in the microwave for a few minutes to soften the squash to make it easier to cut open), scoop out the seeds and place the halves face down into a baking dish.  Add a little water, just enough to cover the sides of the squash.  Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes on 375 degrees Fahrenheit, until the flesh is tender.  Pull a fork lengthwise through the flesh to separate into long strands that resemble spaghetti, hence the name spaghetti squash. 

You can top the squash with your favorite tomato sauce or try one of the recipes below. Now is the perfect time to look for spaghetti squash at your Farmer’s markets or local stores so what are you waiting for?

Mediterranean spaghetti squash

Cheese and pepper spaghetti squash

Herbed spaghetti squash

Happy Thanksgiving and we hope you all have some bright sides on your table this year.

What sides are you planning for your Thanksgiving meal? Would you consider the sides we’ve featured Leeks, Brussels Sprouts or Spaghetti Squash?

Thanksgiving: food coma avoidable

Thanksgiving pushes many of our food buttons. This week my email will be filled with messages like the following: “What do I do about Thanksgiving?  My happiest day is a giant bowl of mashed potatoes.  I could eat my body weight in mashed potatoes given the opportunity.  I don't really eat many other sides  just potatoes with a side of turkey  Do I splurge for the one day?  I'm very stressed out about it.”

Here is a post I wrote for my favorite site Blisstree 

If I tell you that it’s not actually a requirement to overindulge on Thanksgiving, will you hate me? Wait…I do have some good news: You also don’t need to be the weirdo with two Brussels sprouts and a sad, thin slice of turkey on your dinner plate on Thursday. As a nutritionist, I’ve spent years trying to strike a balance for my clients between strategy and satiety, special and silly.

Many of you already know the “good” items on the Thanksgiving table: White-meat turkey, cranberry sauce (ideally not gelatinous kind), sweet potatoes (later, marshmallows), and non-bastardized vegetables (and not drowned in melted cheese). The killers – and yes, in large volumes they are killers – include stuffing (so good, yet soooo bad), dark meat, turkey skin, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, and any creamed vegetables or those given the casserole treatment. What you may not know is that the difference between a good plate and a bad plate can be enormous. A good meal will hover around 400 to 600 calories – including wine and extras. The killer? Multiply that number by three or four.

So what can you do if you cannot fathom a holiday without a serving or two of killer stuffing? First, commit to the One Plate Rule. Observe the offerings and formulate your strategy.

– Reserve ¼ of your plate for carbs including sweet potatoes, stuffing, corn, bread, and regular potatoes.

– Then you’ve got ¼ of your plate for turkey or another protein.

– Half of your plate should include vegetables (ideally the green kind), or salad – even if you have to steal the garnish from something. Eat your vegetables first; this aids digestion and fills you up on fiber.
Savor this plate of Thanksgiving goodness because there are no second helpings at dinner on this plan. Seconds and thirds lead to unbuttoning your pants in inappropriate places – not to mention serious regrets. The One Plate Rule leaves you feeling lighter and self-righteous.

Prior to Thanksgiving dinner, you must exercise. If you’re going to eat a sweet and fatty feast, get moving. Walk, dance, run, swim, spin, or practice yoga. But whatever you do, exercise is a prerequisite that will help your mindset later in the day. When dietary devil attempts to take over, appetite angel can reply: “No, don’t do it, you worked out and feel great – and there will be no unbuttoning at the dinner table!”

So you’ve worked out, eaten your virtuous one plate, and are feeling good. And then the pies, crumbles, tarts, and tortes arrive. I can hear you negotiating. (My clients try to negotiate, but I really believe that you’ve already had your pie before dessert.) You’ve had sweet potatoes topped with candy or  Jell-o disguised as sauce, and if we’re being adults about this – you really don’t need the pie. Now, much like my stuffing example, if you’ll cry or die without pie, then you need to pick your poison/pleasure. Choose mostly “goods” at mealtime, and then you can have your (tiny sliver of) pie and eat it, too.

Aren’t you thankful for Foodtraining?

What are your favorite Thanksgiving day treats? Does the plan above sound reasonable? Anything need negotiating? Let’s hear it.

Market Foodtraining: Bright Sides

This is a guest post by Melissa O'Shea aka Market Melissa

It’s already November which means Thanksgiving is only a few weeks away. I never understood the logic behind using this day to gorge ourselves with lots of fatty food. Maybe it is because I am a nutritionist, but why can’t we celebrate, give thanks AND be healthy? For those of you who are with me on that, try celebrating seasonal foods with some of these nutritional powerhouses, yet sometimes forgotten veggies. Each week this month we will highlight a veggie we feel should make its way onto your dinner table, and a recipe we think we will be a homerun with your entire family.

 We often find when we’re eating something and can’t figure out why it tastes so good, there are often leeks involved. Leeks are in the allium family, related to garlic, onions, shallots, and scallions. They actually look like large scallions. Leeks are a good source of folate, iron, Vitamin C and Vitamin B6. They also contain flavonoids and polyphenols, antioxidants widely shown to aid in cardiovascular support and prevent of some forms of cancer. All this for only 16 calories in ½ cup, cooked.

When shopping for leeks, look for firm and straight ones with dark green leaves and white necks. Avoid ones that are yellowed or wilted, or have bulbs that are cracked or bruised. The leaves usually have dirt in between them so be sure to wash them well before cooking or pick some up at Trader Joe’s, which are already cleaned and prepped. Leeks have a milder and sweeter flavor than onions and are perfect in soups or cooked in salads, such as the lentil salad recipe below. Leeks are available from fall to early spring, making them a perfect addition to your Thanksgiving table.

Warm Lentil and Leek Salad (Adapted from Vegetarian Times)


Ingredients:

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 leeks, white and green parts thinly sliced

2 Tbsp sherry vinegar

2 tsp whole-grain mustard

1 17.6-oz pkg. cooked lentils (Trader Joe’s has a great one) or 2 cups cooked lentils

1 ½ organic red seedless grapes, halved

¼ cup chopped roasted pistachios

3 Tbsp finely chopped mint

3 Tbsp finely chopped parsley

¼ cup crumbled feta (optional)

1. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the leaks and cook until translucent, about 7-9 minutes.

2. Remove from heat and stir in the sherry vinegar and mustard.

3. Combine the leek mixture with the rest of the ingredients and season with salt and pepper. Top salad with crumbled feta cheese, if using. Enjoy!

Other recipes:
Giada’s Asparagus and leek soup

Leeks with Dijon vinaigrette
Have you cooked with leeks before? What are your favorite leek dishes you’ve made or eaten? What are your favorite fall vegetables?
For more information on market foodtraining or questions for Melissa you can email Melissa@foodtrainers.net or on Twitter @MarketMelissa