 One week to Turkey Day!
Another quick Holiday Helper message...
I strongly suggest that you don't plan to deprive yourself.
Otherwise, you might find yourself feeling as though you missed out and end up more than making up for that deprivation another day.
Of course, you don't have to eat until your buttons pop either!
Yes, Virginia, there is a middle ground - it's called enjoying the holiday responsibly.
This goes for all of the large holiday meals, parties, etc. that you will be attending over the next few weeks.
Take a minute and think through how many celebrations are on your calendar, including all of the family dinners and parties. Now, what are your very favorite dishes? Make a mental note that they get priority, then you can cut back or eliminate some of the stuff that you don't care as much about, but usually eat out of habit anyway.
For example: let's say that you absolutely adore your Aunt Sue's Sweet Potato dish. Put a little focus on anticipation of those yummy sweet potatoes. You don't have to have a whole plate full, but maybe you can go ahead and dish those up first. Now, maybe you could take or leave the green beans. Skip ‘em. Go on down the line, take reasonable portions of the stuff you like best, fill your plate (one level!) one time, eat it slowly and enjoy!
If you are cooking that day, I suggest you buy up a bunch of inexpensive plastic containers and plan to give away most (if not all) of the leftovers. If you want to save a little for yourself, plan to make one more small meal. I usually do this myself and enjoy it more than the food on Thanksgiving day. I host the meal and am usually so busy and stressed getting it all done and cleaned up that I barely have time to taste the food. The next day, when everything is quiet, I can heat it all up, sit down and quietly savor it. So, if you are hosting, you might want to consider going really easy on the day of the event and making time for your own little meal the next day.
If you are going to someone else's house, make sure you bring a light snack or two. You don't want to end up famished if the turkey doesn't get done on time and you are desperately trying not to fill up on fat-laden snacks.
Remember, enjoy the food but focus on the people and the fun.
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