LEWISTON – To those of us watching our weight – which should be most of us since a majority of adults are overweight – Thanksgiving’s one of the most “dangerous” meals of the year.

Too often it’s a gateway to a bloated season of pies, eggnog, cookies, overflowing plates and underused willpower.

We asked experts for tips on how to enjoy Thanksgiving but still eat healthy: dietitians Jean Elie of Central Maine Medical Center and Ellen Bolden of St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center, and Weight Watchers leader Pat Laverdiere of Livermore.

Weight Watchers recommends pushing away from the table when full. “Don’t gobble till you wobble,” Laverdiere said.

“Thanksgiving is the first major holiday that comes up. People overdo it,” Elie said. Don’t be one of those who gets up from the table, groaning, “Ooohhh, I ate too much.”

To avoid that, Elie recommends using a smaller plate. Eat low-calorie fruits and vegetables before to calm appetites. Watch portion sizes.

Find the one food you don’t want to give up – pecan pie or stuffing and gravy – and go ahead and enjoy, Bolden said. But eat small portions, and give up something else. “I will give up my mashed potatoes for the stuffing,” she said.

Even when trying to eat well, “people are going to overdo it on Thanksgiving,” Bolden said, but try to minimize the damage. “We need to enjoy the day. We should enjoy the food,” she said.

Overdoing it on one day is not going to pack on the weight, Bolden said. But overeating from Thanksgiving until New Year’s will. “We have so much special food around. There are so many temptations.”

Going through the typical Thanksgiving table lineup, both Elie and Bolden offered suggestions on feasting healthy.



The turkey: Turkey meat is pretty healthy, as long as you don’t eat the fatty skin. White meat has less fat than dark meat. Both dietitians recommend eating breast meat rather than the drumstick. Probably the biggest danger of turkey is volume. You can’t pile it on your plate and eat healthy.

Healthy portion size: Three or four ounces, about the size of a deck of cards or the palm of a typical woman’s hand. Many easily eat twice as much as they should on Thanksgiving.



Stuffing: When cooked outside of the bird – on the stove or in a casserole dish – stuffing has less fat. When cooked in the bird, fat drippings get in. Other ways of making less-fattening stuffing include: using plenty of healthy ingredients, such as cranberries, raisins, onions, celery and green pepper; and “Leave out the butter and increase your liquid a little more,” Elie said. That liquid could be water or broth.

Healthy portion size: Half a cup.

Gravy: Now we’re talking, but gravy is no friend of the heart or the scales. Gravy made without pan drippings is best because it has less saturated fat. Use gravy mixes or a low-fat broth for the base. If you must use pan drippings, let the pan cool, then skim the fat off the top. (To speed that process put a few ice cubes in.) Gravy separators available in stores is a helpful tool to get rid of the worst fat, Elie said.

Healthy portion size: 1 or 2 tablespoons if a pan-dripping gravy; 3 or 4 tablespoons if lower-fat gravy.

Mashed potatoes: Like any vegetable, the potato is healthy. It has vitamins B, C, potassium and fiber, and is salt-free. “It’s what we put on them,” Elie said. When mashing, use skim, low-fat or fat-free sour cream instead of whole sour cream or milk. Consider not peeling the potatoes, or peeling part of them. The skin has fiber.

Healthy portion size: Half a cup.



Vegetables: Load on the vegetables, they’re high in vitamins and low in calories, unless you pile on the butter. Use butter sparingly or not at all. Try a no-calorie, no-fat butter spray.

Healthy portion size: As much as you want, unless covered with butter. Exceptions: Corn and peas have starch, limit to half a cup.

Salads: Pile it on, but watch the dressing. Creamy dressing has more fat and calories. Read the bottle labels and go for a lighter dressing.

Healthy portion size: As much salad as you want, but limit light dressing to 2 tablespoons; creamy dressings, 1 tablespoon.

Bread or rolls: If you’re eating stuffing and potatoes, you don’t need bread or rolls, Bolden said. If you do eat bread, serve yeast rolls instead of biscuits or croissants, which have more fat, Elie said. Wheat is always better.

Healthy portion size: One roll or slice.

Pies: There’s really no such thing as a healthy pie. But “we don’t worry about it if you eat pie twice a year. If you eat pie every week, that’s different,” Elie said. Some pies do less damage than others. Pies with a single-layer crust are better than those with a bottom and top. “Pumpkin is not a bad option,” Elie said. Cheesecake and pecan pies are among the highest in fat and calories.

Healthy portion size: 1 piece from a pie cut in eighths

Cranberry sauce: Fresh cranberries are healthy, full of vitamin C. But much of that nutrition disappears when turned into canned, gelled sauce. Home-made is better if you have time. Since cranberries are tart, you’ll have to add sugar. Add sugar after the berries are cooked and use less sugar than the recipe calls for.

Healthy portion size: 2 tablespoons

Copy the Story Link