The holiday season is right around the corner, but that’s no reason to set your wellness plan aside until the holidays are over. It’s easy to enjoy your favorite holiday foods while maintaining a healthy and balanced diet. Your Thanksgiving guests will thank you for it!
Your Thanksgiving mashed potatoes can be made healthier than the original version with a simple switch from dairy to non-dairy options. Instead of using dairy milk in your mashed potatoes, switch to almond, soy, or coconut milk. Your potatoes will taste the exact same, but won’t have that added fat. Plus they will be made completely allergen free to accommodate all of your holiday guests.
You can also stray from that stick of butter that you would use in your mashed potatoes, gravy, or baked goods by using Earth Balance Buttery Spread, which contains zero grams of trans fat. Earth Balance is non-dairy, lactose free, gluten-free, and free of genetically modified organisms.
Instead of using refined white flours and sugars in your Thanksgiving desserts, which have no nutritional value, make the switch to organic maple syrup, raw and organic honey, blackstrap molasses, or stevia. These are healthier options than using refined white sugar in your baked goods. Instead of using white flour, switch to oat flour or buckwheat. Make your own oat flour at home by using a food processor to grind whole oats into flour.
Make your Thanksgiving meal extra nutritious by adding plenty of vegetables to your meal plan. The staple of all meals should be vegetables with a small amount of grains, starches, fats, and proteins on the side. Make the vegetables as your main course and serve everything else as a side! Try roasted Brussels sprouts with glazed maple syrup, couscous with roasted butternut squash and sliced almonds, and a green bean almondine salad. Serve roasted carrots and sweet potatoes drizzled with organic maple syrup.
Often times, families have more than one stop to make on Thanksgiving Day. If this is the case, limit yourself to only a couple of foods from each home. Instead of filling up on one giant meal, snack throughout the day. You can also bring several nutritious dishes to share with others so you will be less likely to snack on the items that may not be as healthy for you.
If you’d like to put together a wellness plan that includes healthy eating, weight loss, or holistic care, contact Premier Health Chiropractors today. Now is the perfect time to kick start a healthy lifestyle, just in time for your New Year resolutions. Call us today to schedule your chiropractic appointment.