Thanksgiving on a Calorie Budget

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By Tory Klementsen

Just because Thanksgiving is, traditionally, a feast doesn’t mean it has to be a high calorie feast. It’s actually a meal that is relatively easy to make into a tasty, healthy feast.

Turkey is extremely low in fat, particularly the white meat of the breast at just 30 calories per ounce (without skin), it’s a high protein, lowfat bargain. Remember that a 4 ounce serving (120 calories) is about the size and thickness of a deck of cards.

Mashed potatoes can be made with fat free chicken broth instead of milk or, heaven forbid, cream. I make mine with broth, lots of garlic, parsely, and after they’re mashed, while still hot, I like to take 2-3 (serving 4) wedges of Laughing Cow Cheese and mix it in…not well, so that there are “stripes” of cheese flavor.

Cranberry sauce can be made fresh with lemon and orange zest, sweetener (to replace the sugar), and cinnamon. Get fresh berries and heat in a pan to let them release their juice. Add the juice of the orange and lemon, zest in some zest, then sweeten to taste. Of course some of us wouldn’t call it Thanksgiving if we didn’t hear the telltale sound of the *shlonk* from the jellied cranberry sauce sliding out of the can, so remember that 1/4 cup of cranberry sauce is 110 calories.

Add a big salad, and roast up some fresh in season vegetables..sprinkle (or provide) fresh sea salt and ground pepper and who needs butter and sauces?

For bread I love Great Harvest Bread. I’ll choose something that just speaks to me, made fresh, and picked up Wednesday afternoon. Sorry, I just can’t do “diet bread” on Thanksgiving.

Lately I’ve been enjoying REAL pumpkin pie. I make a low-fat, low sugar version that isn’t quite as good as the real thing, but comes to 135 calories per slice and is a great substitute with some Cool Whip Free.

If you’re not in control of Thanksgiving meal, you can still make it work without completely derailing your hard work. One thing I’ll do is take the “mystic” out of the meal. I host my own Thanksgiving dinner the weekend before and invite friends. That way I can control what I cook, make the turkey EXACTLY how I want it, and when the real day comes, I haven’t been jonesing for turkey all month. The meal then becomes more about who I am with than what I am eating.

Other things I’ll do:

Often the local YMCA hosts a workout. Bring a bag of food and work out for free. Roy and I will run down the Y (one mile), work out in their step class or other cardio class, then run home. That’s a good 500-700 calories burned! Maybe this year, if they aren’t doing it, I’ll host my own fun run!

• Pre-journal everything I know I’ll eat. I know I’m going to have turkey, potatoes, and salad. I’ll journal that and the cranberries, plus anything else I bring. Going in with a plan lets me stick to my target.
• Bring a dessert…that’s where the calorie creep happens! I bring my pumpkin pie, or I make a pumpkin cake. I know the calories for both of those items, so I’m prepared!
• Enjoy the cut veggies beforehand. Often I’ll volunteer to bring this too so I can make the dressing myself and control the ingredients.
• Focus on fun and the family, not on the food. The holiday is about what you’re thankful for not what you put in your belly! ENJOY the food for what it is, a reason to get together with people you don’t see very often.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving

Favorite Thanksgiving Recipes

Tory’s Pumpkin Pie

1 Keebler graham cracker crust
1-1.5 cups cooked pumpkin (micro a full sugar pumpkin for 15 min then let cool)
1 tbs pumpkin pie spice
1 pkg fat free, sugar free vanilla pudding
1 cup water
2 egg whites

Mix together spices and pudding. I prefer cook and serve, but suddenly can’t find cook and serve at the store. Add water and mix out the lumps. I then throw the entire thing into my 44 year old Vitamix (except the pie crust, obviously) and mix well so there are no pump-lumps (pumps? plumps?). Pour into shell, bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Perfection! I might need less water, though. It depends on how liquidy the pumpkin is.

Pumpkin Spice Cake

* 1 box Angel Food Cake Mix

* 1 can pumpkin (or the pumpkin from one small sugar pumpkin)

* 1 Tbs pumpkin pie spice

* Cool Whip Free

Pre-heat oven according to directions on the angel food cake box. Fold pumpkin into the angel food cake. Bake Prepare bundt cake pan with Pam and flour. Pour into pan and bake according to box.

This comes out kind of like a sponge cake and is SO moist. No one will ever know how easy it is! Top with Cool Whip Free for a dessert that comes to approximately 140 calories for 1/8 of the cake.

Cranberry Relish

* 12 oz cranberries (fresh)

* 1 medium orange

* 1 small lemon

* 2 small apples, cored, peeld and chopped

* 1 tsp ground cinnamon

* 1/2 tsp ground allspice

* 1 cup water

* Sweetener to taste

Zest orange and lemon and add zest to cranberries. Peel the oranges and chop. Juice the lemon into the berries. Add the apples and oranges to the berries, along with the spices. Heat berries, mashing slightly to release the juice. Add water as needed. Add sweetener to taste.

Tory Klementsen is a formerly “flabulous”, currently fabulous Certified Personal Fitness Professional who has “been there and done that”. She has lost and maintained a loss of over 100 pounds since 2002. Her focus is on helping others find their inner-athlete and reaching their goals through true, lasting lifestyle changes in fitness and nutrition. Tory coaches clients both in person and through her personal training website at http://www.journeyfitnessonline.com She gets what it takes to make a decision to change and see that decision through to the end, and she’s ready to help YOU reach your goal and get lasting results.

Are you ready to take your first step on a journey that will change your life? Come and see Tory at http://www.journeyfitnessonline.com

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