Be healthy this Thanksgiving!

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I’m making it a goal to not have to unbutton my pants after dinner (and to be comfortable with them fully buttoned!). However, this doesn’t mean I want to just eat a salad with no dressing and a few slices of turkey breast. The average person eats about 3,000 calories at Thanksgiving dinner and is left in a food coma. So how do you avoid this?

• · Don’t starve yourself all day and “save” all of your calories for dinner; eat normally so that you aren’t ravenous by the time the buffet is laid out.
• · Cocktails are high in calories and have zero nutrients. Have a glass or too of wine at dinner, and leave it at that.
• · Skip the cheese and creamy dips for appetizers, substitute vegetables and hummus or fruit
• · Turkey itself is low in fat and high in protein, just don’t slather gravy all over it
• · Salad will help you to feel full without adding a lot of calories. Instead of a creamy dressing (like ranch or blue cheese), try using vinaigrette, which will save a lot of calories and fat.
• · Cornbread stuffing has around 350 calories per cup. Only take a few spoonfuls of stuffing or try one of these Paleo diet recipes, for less calories and no gluten: http://bit.ly/d5E0d5
• · Have as many non-starchy vegetables as you want as long as they aren’t in a rich casserole.
• · Try mashed sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes or sweet potato pie. Sweet potatoes are nutrient dense and won’t have a great of an effect on your blood sugar.
• · A simple dinner role can have 200 calories or more (without the butter!), so omit the role and save those calories for dessert!
• · Go ahead and have dessert, but don’t take a large slice of every dessert on the table. Pecan pie is delicious, but with up to 800 calories per slice, you might want to think twice. A great option is to have a small slice of pumpkin pie with cool whip. Last year I made a Paleo pumpkin pie that was so good no one even knew it wasn’t a normal one; here is a great recipe to try: http://bit.ly/82VU1l

After dinner go for a leisurely walk around the block rather than falling asleep on the couch. Last but not least, remember that Thanksgiving isn’t just about the food; concentrate on enjoying your family and friends!

Warm drinks for cool weather

Now that it might finally start to get “cold” here in Arizona, those warm, frothy Starbucks drinks are starting to sound pretty good. If you are like me, though, you are trying your hardest to not gain 5 lbs for the holidays. While a simple latte may not sound like a diet disaster, you may be surprised at how many calories they contain. Luckily, all you have to do is make a few simple changes to your beverage to make it healthy!

• · Get the “Tall” size at Starbucks (or small anywhere else). Unless you are ordering a hot tea or coffee without anything added, a small is all you need.
• · Have skim milk in your drink. If you are making a drink at home, you can also try rice milk, almond milk, or coconut milk (just be sure to buy the unsweetened varieties).
• · If you absolutely have to have flavored syrup, get sugar free, but remember that artificial sweeteners may have harmful side effects and should not be consumed on a daily basis.
• · Ask your barista to hold the whipped cream, chocolate sauce, and caramel sauce—whipped cream can add almost 100 calories to your drink!

Remember to look at the sugar content of drinks along with the calories count; 15.55 grams of sugar are in one tablespoon, so if a Grande White Chocolate Mocha with whipped cream has 60 grams of sugar, that is almost FIVE tablespoons of sugar in one drink! All of Starbucks nutrition facts are online at http://tiny.cc/xzgpa.

• · Brewed Tazo Tea (0 calories)
• · Brewed Coffee (5 calories)
• · Caffé Americano (10 calories)
• · Nonfat Cappuccino (60 calories)
• · Skinny Vanilla Latte (90 calories)
• · Nonfat Caramel Macchiato (140 calories)
• · Caffé Latte (150 calories)
• · Nonfat Vanila Crème No Whip (150 calories)

Also, they are selling those cute reusable cups with the candy cane straws again, which is a great excuse to go try out a new drink :)