by Jenna Koroly, MS, RD, CSOWM, CDN
Thanksgiving is a time to gather with family and friends. It’s a time to share love, appreciation, and of course delicious and nutritious food. We at Savor Health wish you a lovely Thanksgiving and have prepared some Thanksgiving Tips for you!
“Create a spreadsheet with all of the dishes on it in the left most column. To the right create a timeline of when you start prepping the dish, what time you put it in the oven, how long it takes to cook, does it need to cool etc etc. Then, you can triage all of the dishes so that everything is ready at the same time!
My second tip is to use yellow sticky notes—pull out all of your serving dishes and put a sticky note on each one indicating which dish will ultimately be served in it. That way you can make sure that you have enough serving dishes and know what goes where!” -Susan Bratton, Founder & CEO
“Make easy pumpkin ice cream, puree 2-3 frozen bananas (if frozen for more than a few hours, let thaw for 15 min or so), mix in pumpkin pie spice to taste and 3/4 can pureed pumpkin. Mix in nuts or chocolate chips as desired and re-freeze to make homemade pumpkin ice cream!” -Jessica Iannotta, MS, RD, CSO, CDN, COO
“Prepare a Thanksgiving dessert that incorporates a fruit, vegetable, or protein as a main ingredient, such as zucchini bread, avocado chocolate mousse, or black bean brownies. Another fun and nutritious dessert is a sweet potato dessert bar, with mashed sweet potatoes as the base, and nuts, seeds, and dark chocolate chips for toppings. If you are hosting Thanksgiving, delegate tasks and ask your family for help to reduce the pressure–they will be happy to do so! Stay hydrated throughout the day and have a room to sit in for a few minutes with relaxing music if the dining room gets too loud.” -Jenna Koroly, MS, RD, CDN
“When making roasted winter squash rings (such as delicata or acorn), a no-hassle tip I learned from Alison Roman, author of the cookbook Dining In, is to leave the seeds still inside. The seeds will roast together with the squash rings and get nice and crispy. This not only cuts back on labor by eliminating the step of scooping the seeds out from the squash flesh, but also reduces food waste and adds extra nutrient density because the seeds are a source of healthy fat, fiber and protein.” -Stephanie Lang, MS, RD, CNSC, CDN
“The holidays are a time of indulgence. It is important to balance your indulgences so that you enjoy your special holiday meals but keep nutrition in mind! To eat nutritiously over the holidays I follow the plate method, I start by filling 1/2 my plate with a large serving of salad or vegetables. Visually cut the other half of the plate down the middle–fill part with a mix of starches, indulgent side dishes such as sweet potato pie or mashed potatoes, and part with a protein source. This method allows you to enjoy your indulgences but not overdo it.
For side effect management, if you’ve been eating smaller meals or struggling with a poor appetite, do not overdo it with large, heavy meals during the holidays. Enjoy small portions of your favorite holiday meals. Spread out your meals to give yourself ample time to digest. Try one dish at a time and eat slowly. Enjoy without overdoing it.” -Chelsey Wisotsky, MS, RD, CSO, CDN
“One could offer to bring a side dish that you know will be healthy, like an autumn salad with kale, apples, dried cranberries and toasted pine nuts with a simple lemon vinaigrette dressing, or roasted root veggies dressed up with gremolata from the Savor Health cookbook. And we all know desserts can be hard to pass up, but try to keep in mind tomorrow is another day to eat so take one home and enjoy it thoroughly the next day.” -Liv Lee, MS, RD