Do you want to eat a healthy Thanksgiving meal? – Fresh Foodie

I ask the question, because some people just don’t care. It’s only one day out of the year, right? Surely it’s OK to have a cheat-fest and eat all that’s put in front of you. If that works for you, go crazy and enjoy.

It doesn’t work for me. I’ll indulge in things I usually don’t eat (like a few bites of my dad’s stuffing), but I’ll only have a bite or two. Not because I’m worried about the calories, or even setting a good example for my son. I choose to eat moderately because I want to feel good.

It’s just not worth it to me to overeat, especially foods that aren’t usually in my diet. I love Thanksgiving, just like Bob — being with family with no strings (or gifts!) attached is a blessing in itself, and I want to enjoy it — without a tummyache, headache or excessive fatigue.

Here’s what I plan on eating this Thanksgiving, and maybe, just maybe, I’ll post the reality on Friday if it differs from my plans.

Turkey. I find no sin in turkey, and I’ll eat the dark meat with wild abandon and no guilt, since calorie for calorie, it’s got more nutrition and flavor than the white meat.

I’ll have a few bites of my dad’s stuffing, a few bites of the orange veggie that someone will be bringing, and a few bites of the cheesy greens my sister is making. I’m bringing — I think! — a green bean casserole made with whole foods (maybe this one), not sodium-laden cream-of-mushroom soup with canned onions, and I’ll eat lots of that as well.

I’m also making a bread with sprouted spelt flour so that Owen and I can eat it … I’m thinking cranberry bread or zucchini bread. Everyone else makes pumpkin bread, so that would be too many  at our table. Wait — is there a such thing as too much pumpkin bread?

That will be about it, aside from the sugar-laden cranberry sauce which I can’t resist but find that I’m far too lazy to make a replacement for (I used to make cranberry sauce with orange juice and it was delicious). I may have a bite or two of dessert, but I generally enjoy real food far more than dessert (not chocolate; chocolate trumps everything) and I don’t have a sweet tooth.

Is it so wrong? Am I un-American? Should I start eading for the Canadian border now, before you all run me out of the good ol’ US of A? If I mention that I have not problem drinking excessively, will I save some face?

Clacked by Debbie McDuffee
on Nov 24, 2009 @ 10:00 EST5EDT