With Thanksgiving approaching, many are dreaming of turkey, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie. The holiday is filled with food, and it is tradition to indulge — and nutrition and counting calories are often put on the backburner.
Though mouths will water at the sight of the colorful spread of food on Thursday, there’s no reason to throw away everything known about healthy eating, an ASU expert said.
Director of the Nutrition Program Carol Johnston said people can still savor all the food they want to on Thanksgiving if they do it in the right way.
“If people are careful, they can eat quite a bit of food,” she said.
The hype leading up to Thanksgiving leads people to overeat and look forward to it, Johnston said, but this is not the only way to enjoy the holidays.
“Eat small amounts of food,” she said. “Eat very slow, eat a little bit of everything and enjoy the conversation.”
Enjoying time with family can also be a beneficial way to keep caloric intake down during the holiday. Johnston suggested taking a brief walk after dinner to burn a few calories before dessert.
Pecan pie, other desserts, traditional gravy and stuffing prove the heaviest in calories of everything in a typical Thanksgiving meal, she said. People shouldn’t necessarily avoid these foods altogether, she said, but they should watch how much they are eating.
The healthier foods served in a typical Thanksgiving meal are vegetables and turkey, Johnston said.
“Overall, turkey is a low-fat, high-protein meat,” she said. “It is a better choice than other meat.”
For communications junior Kirby Mauro, eating well during the holidays is not easy.
As a vegan who does not consume any animal products, Mauro enjoys typical Thanksgiving foods in a different way.
“My Grandma usually makes items that do have meat in them,” she said. “But she also prepares some of it differently for my mom and I.”
Mauro makes mashed potatoes, her favorite Thanksgiving side dish, with margarine and soy milk. She recognizes, however, that the holiday stigma is that people tend to overeat and to eat poorly.
“There are so many hormones and chemicals you are consuming when you eat turkey just because of the way it is raised,” she said.
As a vegan, Mauro said one of the best ways to cut down on the bad foods during Thanksgiving is to eat less animal products and to remember the meaning behind the holiday.
“For Thanksgiving and any other holidays coming up, people need to be thankful for what they have,” she said. “We need to rethink overeating and think about people who don’t have enough to eat.”
Graduate student Keith Mulvin said his mother, an immigrant from the Philippines, usually buys their Thanksgiving dinner at the supermarket.
“My eyes are usually bigger than my stomach,” he said. “I always eat more than I want to.”
Mulvin said over the holidays he usually gains an average of 10 pounds.
“I think it’s an excuse to eat a lot,” he said. “But, again, it’s also a good time reason for families to get together.”
Reach the reporter at ndgilber@asu.edu.
