Healthy. What a loaded word that is. What does a “heart-healthy” Thanksgiving look like? You might be surprised by my answer.
Although I’m a nutritionist, when I think about healthy living this Thanksgiving (and every day), I zoom out and look at everything that affects your health, your cardiovascular system, and more, from physical activity to stress, as well as diet.
So here are the top ten swaps for you, none of which include low-fat sauce.
1. Trade the vision of the “perfect Thanksgiving” for a lower-stress gathering.
Choose which dishes matter most and give yourself permission to buy, outsource, or eliminate the rest.
Tidy things up if you’re hosting, but don’t kneel down with a toothbrush. It’s easy to lose perspective.
The purpose of Thanksgiving is to gather with loved ones and express gratitude for the harvest and all that we have. You can do this with a store bought pumpkin pie!
Heart Health Link: Stress increases hormones such as adrenaline, which raises blood pressure, and cortisol, which can raise blood sugar, cholesterol, and triglycerides, in addition to blood pressure. Over time, these things can damage your heart.
2. Avoid the exhausting last-minute sprint by starting early.
Making the menu a week in advance and starting food prep at least the day before can make cooking a big meal less overwhelming. Or so I’ve heard.
Seriously, I know people who do this and seem almost calm when guests arrive. Let us both strive to be like them.
And if possible, take a few breaks during the long day — even 10 minutes to sit or walk outside.
Heart Health Link: Short rest periods between tasks have been linked to small increases endurance and reduces fatigue.
3. Instead of skipping meals before the big dinner, have at least one nutritious snack.
Even if you don’t skip lunch on purpose, it’s easy to get busy and suddenly it’s 3 o’clock and you’re hungry.
You can even set an alarm to remind you to eat. Stupid, but it works! A quick snack can be one of your rest breaks. Sit long enough to take a deep breath and eat a handful (or two) of almonds and an apple. If you really missed lunch, maybe a sandwich?
Heart Health Link: Skip breakfast and lunch can set you up for an energy crash, a hunger pang, or a dinnertime binge.
4. Trade the stress of dieting for flexible, intuitive eating.
If you’ve had a heart event, you may be nervous about the typical Thanksgiving fare like gravy, stuffing, and apple pie. Skip them if you want, but really, one meal won’t make or break heart health. You will probably eat over 1000 meals this year! It is your daily eating pattern that matters most.
Intuitive eating means taking into account enjoyment, satisfaction, how a food makes you feel, as well as health issues. You trust your wisdom when making eating decisions, including listening to hunger and fullness cues to guide you on how much to eat.
Heart Health Link: Surprisingly intuitive food has been connected for lowering cardiovascular risk, total and LDL (bad) cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure, as well as higher life satisfaction and other measures of psychological well-being.
So eat what you love and skip what you don’t. You don’t owe anyone an explanation. If necessary, ban “food talk” at the table. (It’s almost as rough as politics.) This is better. Now you can relax and enjoy your dinner.
5. Instead of eating on autopilot, enjoy your food mindfully.
Mindful eating is stopping to really notice what you are eating, without judgement. Enjoy the aroma wafting from the kitchen, the beautiful table and the way it melts in your mouth. Notice how pleasant you start to feel as you try the different dishes. Think of the many people who made this wonderful meal possible.
If your inner voice is saying, “OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO fat,” throw that thought out like a hot turkey right out of the oven.
Heart Health Link: Mindfulness programs show potential for improving blood sugar control (hemoglobin A1c) and reducing stress, depression and anxiety.
So focus on the food, one delicious bite at a time.
6. And take time to express gratitude.
It feels bad to say, “Let’s go around the table and say what we’re thankful for.” (Groan.)
Anti, Table Underground suggests a number of more engaging approaches, from asking guests to share a story about a struggle they overcame or an experience that gave them hope this year” to distributing this list of questions and statements to prompt conversation.
The more you get people to tell stories, the more the conversation will flow, authentically weaving gratitude.
Heart Health Link: Studies of gratitude interventions consistently show remarkable improvements in psychological outcomes (including well-being and depressive symptoms) as well as small beneficial effects on health behaviors and cardiovascular outcomes.
What better time to do it than Thanksgiving?
7. Ditch the buffet all together for a light first course.
Isn’t it amazing how quickly we can devour a meal that took hours and hours to prepare? Lay out dinner as if you were in Italy or France.
If it’s already cold where you live, a salty one butternut squash soup it will feel comfortable and nourished. Serve while the turkey rests.
Or would a colorful salad suit your mood? This Beetroot salad with orange, arugula and feta cheese it is one of our particular favourites.
Heart Health Link: Splitting your meal into several courses can give your body a chance to start feeling full early and provide opportunities for conversation and laughter at the table.
8. Swap a bottle of wine for a glass.
Does stress or celebrating a holiday cause you to drink a lot? You wouldn’t be alone!
Heart Health Link: Drinking more than two (5 oz) glasses on a given occasion is associated with an increased risk of harm. In addition, the latest Canadian guidelines suggest that more than two drinks a week increases the risk of certain cancers, with seven or more increasing the risk of heart problems, from high blood pressure to heart failure.
If you want something special, grab a nice bottle of flavored (not sugary) sparkling water, or make your own by adding cranberries and orange slices to a large bottle of water (sparkling or not) the day before your dinner.
9. When something (inevitably) goes wrong, instead of breaking down, try laughing.
Years ago someone (unnamed) accidentally left an oven mitt in the oven with our turkey, causing a (small) fire and an inedible bird.
They say comedy is tragedy plus time. How long would it take you to go from laughing to laughing at that?
So if you spill the wine or burn the yams, try to switch to problem solving and humor as soon as possible. The bigger the disaster, the better the story will be!
Heart Health Link: Flexibility and humor are underrated protectors of the heart. Laughter reduces the stress hormone cortisol and it can lower blood pressure and heart rate variability. (That’s a good thing!)
10. Skip the burning dinner in favor of gentle movement.
Focus on how physical activity makes you feel, not how many calories you burn. It’s all about getting fresh air into your lungs, blood pumping to your muscles, and getting a good night’s sleep without compensating for a big dinner.
Heart Health Link: It turned out to be a short walk shortly after lunch reduce post-meal blood sugar spikesand regular walking helps it lifts the mood and reduces stress.
I wish you a happy (healthy) Thanksgiving
You might be expecting advice like “swap your mother’s gravy for this low-fat recipe,” but that’s not likely to be as good for you as relaxing and enjoying your favorite Thanksgiving traditions with the people you love.
We can talk about ways to get more healthy fats and other heart-protective foods into you, but on this day (and always), enjoy eating at your sweet spot – healthy, delicious and right for you.
What exchanges would you add? Tap on Sweet Spot Nutrition Facebook Group.
