'Add On' for Healthy Holiday Eating

Nov. 16, 2007 — -- Turkeys, start running again!

Thanksgiving dinner is around the corner, and with it no doubt will come many foods to overeat, indulge in — and to feel bad about after we clear the plate.

Face it: Many of the mainstays of the traditional Thanksgiving dinner are high in calories and can add to the cushion around your midsection. Not that we should forget to stay warm in winter, but that's why we have goose-down jackets and cashmere to protect us.

Instead of taking the conventional approach of skipping our favorite foods, let's look at what we can add on to our Thanksgiving dinner that can help us to increase our energy, change our body appearance and help our mental clarity.

A typical Thanksgiving dinner consists largely of the following: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, corn, turnips, yams and pumpkin pie.

Many of these foods are notably high in calories. But have you noticed that the food mentioned above is also quite dense? For example, compare a salad with a potato. Salad is light and fresh, with many of its enzymes intact, while potatoes are quite dense and heavy, with fewer active enzymes. The same criticisms that apply to potatoes can be heaped onto our beloved stuffing as well. We tend to like this delicacy thick and dense, with bread crumbs, eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Did I forget anything?

So instead of keeping it dense, why not fluff it up? For example, when you prepare the stuffing, why not add chop up some kale and spinach and add them? Adding kale can also boost levels of certain nutrients that help your body to function efficiently.

Here's another tip: add on a salad as an appetizer. We Europeans have salad before meals or with meals. This might contribute to a more efficient digestion, as many believe raw food has more fiber and trace minerals that help in our digestion process and in any kind of weight management program.