It’s mid-November and we’re starting the downward slide into holiday eating. We’ve gotten through Halloween, but we have the mother of all food holidays looming: Thanksgiving. Did you just get a cold chill down your spine? So did I.

Fear not! This is the year that you plan & prepare so that you can enjoy the holiday treats you really like, without having to make a New Year’s resolution to lose the 10 pounds you accumulated during the holidays.

Let’s talk turkey. Thanksgiving challenges us with both the amount of food and array of choices. The key is to be super-mindful and to choose only those foods that are really worth eating.

By that I mean, which foods do you look forward to all year, that you wouldn’t normally have at home? Maybe it’s cousin Sue’s stuffing, or Aunt Lucille’s sweet potatoes, or Uncle Lou’s pumpkin pie. Whatever it is, build your day’s eating plan around that. Assure yourself that you’ll have a sensible portion so that you don’t feel deprived. Then make the rest of your choices based on that.

I’m taking a wild guess that your treat foods are not steamed vegetables. So be sure to eat plenty of healthy vegetables to balance it out. Drink plenty of water. And don’t buy into the whole “eating until you burst” mentality. Eat until you’re satisfied.

Here’s a side dish that tastes delicious, but doesn’t undo all of your hard work. Offer to bring it if you visit family on Thanksgiving, and they’ll be even more thankful for you!

Citrus Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Serves 6-8
This recipe is easily doubled or tripled and can be made a day ahead. Reheat in the microwave or a 350′ oven.

4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
zest and juice of 1 large navel orange

Add sweet potato cubes to a large stock pot with cold water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Drain well, add to a large bowl and mash.

Stir in the orange zest and juice. If desired, season with a little salt & pepper, but, honestly, it won’t need it.

What are some of your favorite holiday recipes? Do they need a little healthy-ing up? Drop me a line below and I’ll be happy to make some suggestions for healthy tweaks.

For more great ideas on staying healthy, check out Prevention not Prescriptions . There’s new inspiration every Tuesday.

Tags: holidays, Recipes

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 5:00 am and is filed under Healthy Eating, Holiday Eating . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.