But could there be something else going on that has nothing to do with how the food is prepared or the portion size you choose? Heck yeah. Is your diet diva going to tell you? Absolutely.

It’s called food “complexity” and “taste satiety.” Basically, you overeat at Thanksgiving because you are eating mindlessly. You’re not taking the time to intentionally slow down, serve yourself a small amount of food, and enjoy and savor each bite. If you did this, you’d get full well before you hit the 1,500 calorie mark, maybe even before hitting 1,000 calories.

When you have too many choices of foods, it’s hard for your taste buds to feel “satisfied.” They are unpacking all the tastes and flavors of the stuffing and then here comes a bite of potatoes and while they’re working on that they got a hit of turkey and cranberries. So as you pack on the calories the “taste satiety” signals stay low and you keep eating. You may even go for seconds because the brain is like “hey, I loooooooooooved that stuffing and I want more.” Meanwhile, you cleaned your first plate 15 minutes into the meal.

Now, I’m not advocating for boring Thanksgiving meals, but I do think it is possible to get all the pleasure and enjoyment out of Thanksgiving with healthy foods, eaten in the right portions. Remember that the holiday is about the people and the only thing that should be stuffed is the turkey.

If you want to try to overcome the “taste satiety” challenge, I’d suggest making sure there is a nice, healthy low-calorie green salad to include on your plate, take 3-4 ounces of turkey (no skin) and choose between mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, and rolls. If you take small amounts of each, you might not get that “satisfied” feeling the tastebuds want. Don’t feel bad about passing on some of the items. There are always leftovers!

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Is Your Thanksgiving Buffet too Complex?

As modern day Americans, we do not have to be concerned about weather conditions making food unavailable. We have 24-hour grocery stores and shelves stocked with options. We can be thankful for this every day. As a result, our Thanksgiving celebrations can be more than feasts. This is particularly dangerous for those who are trying to alter their approach to food.

While overeating can make one sluggish, disappointed in one’s self, and unhappy with appearance, giving thanks will help you focus on the positive things in life and improve outlook and mood. This year, instead of recognizing the day by raising your fork, try one (or all) of these tips.

1. Give Back – Serve at a soup kitchen or shelter or make a donation to your favorite charity (the Fatherless Foundation is mine). Giving to others can give you perspective on just how blessed you are.

2. Focus on Your Family – This year my family gathering will be missing members that have died in the last year, at least one of which was not expected when we gathered last year at the same time. Certain members of the family will need our hugs, comfort, and distraction, and I will be investing in them. I am very thankful for my family and would rather have a conversation with one of the kids and make sure all is well with them than watch any Cowboys game.

3. Write Thank You notes – Have you personally thanked the people who have made a difference in your life in the last year? Be the first of the holiday season and make sure your message stands out by sending Thanksgiving thank you cards rather than Christmas or holiday cards. This is a fabulous idea for business owners.

4. Make Your List and Check it Twice – Before you make your gift list and think about those things you want or how much money you are going to spend, focus on the blessings you already have and list all the things for which you are thankful. Review this list frequently to maintain a positive attitude.

If you try one (or all) of these tips, even if you run out of pumpkin pie or your team never sees the end zone, you will likely have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

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Four Ways to Celebrate with Thanks Instead of Turkey

Just in time for the holidays, DietsInReview.com had a chance to talk with Lisa as she shared with us some of her tips for making the season fun, festive and healthy. She also gave us the scoop on her soon-to-be-released, Chew the Right Thing, a perfect guilt-free gift for the holidays.

Listen now to the audio of my conversation with Lisa, or continue reading the transcipt below.

1. The holidays are upon us. What do you recommend for how we can walk the tightrope of eating our favorite holiday foods but not gain weight?

During the holidays, we don’t want to hear that we can’t indulge or that certain foods are off-limits. You have to find a happy medium, and indulge in things you really love and swap out those high calorie foods for healthy alternatives.

I’m a big believer in planning what you are going to eat before you go to an event.  If you know you’re going to a big party, have a snack ahead of time so you’re not starving and eat everything once you get there. Pay attention to the food that is there before you start eating. That way, you can make a healthy decision.

Plus, it is important to drink a lot of water throughout the day. It fills you up and keeps you hydrated.

2. What are some of your favorite pre-party snacks?

Whether I’m at home or the office, I always keep things around to help curb cravings. During the holidays, I love candy canes; They are low calorie, they taste festive, and peppermint has been shown help to reduce cravings. I also love fat-free yogurt, particularly, Fiber One Yoplait yogurt, which has only 50 calories plus five grams of fiber and three grams of protein. You get a lot of bang for that snack. And it is Hungry Girl-approved. Portion control snacks, like 100-calorie packs of almonds, are also a favorite go-to healthy snack of mine.

3. Not all holiday food is bad. Many ingredients used are made with healthy, low-cal foods like pumpkin, butternut squash and lean turkey breast. Can you give a few tips for how to use these naturally, low-cal ingredients in our favorite holiday dishes and still keep them somewhat low calorie?

Many of the foods in holiday dishes are healthy. You can do things like use chicken stock in place butter to keep dishes moist. I do this in a stuffing I make called Save-the-Day Stuffing, which is made with light bread and apples. I have the recipe for it in my first cookbook. I make my Too Good To-Deny Pumpkin Pie with Fiber One breakfast cereal for the crust and pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie mix, for the filling.

Green bean casserole is another great example. You don’t have to use high fat, crispy-fried onions as a topping. I use garlic and onion-flavored soy crisps as a topping and 98 percent fat-free cream of celery soup rather than the full-fat versions. It keeps calories and fat grams down but it tastes just as good.

It’s about dissecting the recipe and replacing some of the ingredients with smarter ingredients.

4. Your latest creation, Chew the Right Thing, releases on December 8, 2009. This isn’t a book but rather, it is a set of 50 recipe cards. Can you tell us a bit more about these cards and how to use them?

I’m so excited about this. Chew the Right Thing is so cute and it’s a great holiday gift. Each of the 50 recipe swaps are Hungry Girl favorites like Lord of the Onion Rings and De-Pudged Pigs in a Blanket. Instead of a cookbook, they are  colorful and fun recipe cards that are easy to keep around the kitchen or on the counter. Plus, you can purchase the recipe cards for ten dollars or less, which makes it a fantastic and inexpensive holiday gift.

5. What is one of your favorite Hungry Girl holiday recipes?

That is a tough question. I love I Can’t Believe It’s Not Sweet Potato Pie, Too Good To Deny Pumpkin Pie, and Pumpkin-licicous Nog. I’m not usually a fan of eggnog but I love this recipe. It’s amazing. Sorry, I guess I listed a few more than just one.

Thanks Lisa!

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Hungry Girl’s Healthy Holiday Tips

Finding ways to eat less and stay active are few and far between, but a must during this time of year. Below are a few fitness tips and a high intensity workout that you can take advantage of during the Thanksgiving season.

Top Thanksgiving Fitness Tips

1. Take a trip: Plan Thanksgiving somewhere where the entire family can be active (Ski resort).
2. Drink plenty of water: Staying hydrated is a must and a great way to give your mind and stomach a “full” sensation.
3. Eat less, but more often: Eat several smaller meals (smaller portion sizes) throughout the day; this will help keep the metabolism fired up.
4. Stay active: Go for a walk or bike ride, or plan family activities that engage the family and the heart rate like golf, flag football, tennis, or even a Wii Fit competition.
5. Stay away from the sweets: Excess sugar gets stored as glycogen and excess glycogen is stored as fat in the body.

Thanksgiving Workout

Below is an excellent routine that pushes your heart rate, core balance and stability, muscular strength and endurance to the max – just the thing to burn those last pre-holiday pounds, or take off the turkey weight. I recommend using a weight that gets rather difficult around the 10 to 15 repetition range. I also recommend performing three sets of each of the exercises below. Good Luck!!

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Thanksgiving Fitness Tips and a Thanksgiving Workout

That’s why we’re sharing our favorite healthy holiday recipes in our first cookbook. The DietsInReview.com Holiday Cookbook is available from TasteBook and features 25 recipes that offer all the traditional flavors of the season, with less of the guilt, fat and calories.

Inside this colorful hardback cookbook we’re sharing appetizers, desserts, entrees and sides that will help you set a healthier scene as you and your family gather to give thanks and celebrate the season. These recipes are ideal for Thanksgiving, Christmas or any other winter event.

And since it comes from TasteBook, you can add up to 75 more of your own family favorites and personalize each recipe page to create a one-of-a-kind holiday cookbook.

Order your DietsInReview.com Holiday Cookbook to start preparing healthy recipes yourself, or share the gift of wholesome food with a loved one. The book comes with 25 DietsInReview.com recipes, plus credits to add 75 pages of your own, for $34.95.

Visit TasteBook now to preview the cookbook and order.

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DietsInReview.com’s Holiday Cookbook Shares Healthy Recipes

We’ve rounded-up our best Halloween recipes, healthy tips and ideas to help you make this a fun-filled holiday that won’t leave your little treaters in a sugar-induced coma from now until the Christmas candy shows up.

Healthy Halloween Recipes for Kids

These treats are better than anything you’ll find at the grocery store because you and the kids can make them together and they have much better ingredients. Get the recipe for snacks like Trick or Treat Trail Mix, Caramel Apple Fruit Dip and Sugar-Free Dirt and Worms.

Healthy Chili Recipes for Your Halloween Cauldron

Warm-up your little trick-or-treaters before they take on the neighborhood with one of these delicious and hearty chili recipes. Toss it in the Crock pot early in the day and your hands will be free to make last-minute costume alterations!

Calories in Your Favorite Halloween Candy

Those mini packs of chocolate and other sweets look so tempting because they’re so small. Mind your serving sizes and feel free to indulge, a little. You’ll be surprised how quickly, with so little, you can wrack up 100 calories or more! For instance, each Hershey’s Kiss has about 26 calories. Two fun-size Three Musketeers have 128 calories. Three pieces of Strawberry Twizzlers have 120 calories.

Top 5 Exercises to Burn Off Those Halloween Sweets

Come Monday, when you realize just how much you enjoyed the Halloween treats, you’ll want to get right back on track with your weight loss (or management). Try this workout designed by our fitness expert Matt Johnson.

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Healthy Halloween Recipes and Tips

While we all make Halloween resolutions such as “I’ll only allow myself two pieces of candy,” or “I’m donating all leftover candy to the local soup kitchen,” you can safely indulge in your favorite Halloween treats without harboring guilt or using a padlock to protect yourself from raiding your child’s Halloween bag. Need proof? Here’s a look at the nutritional stats of some of your favorite spooky-time eats so that you can savor the fun of this holiday and still look great in your skinny jeans. Plan these nibbles into your daily calorie budget.

• Four plain Hershey’s Kisses: 104 calories
• One fun-sized pack of plain M&M’s: 88 calories
• One fun-sized pack of peanut M&M’s: 93 calories
• Two fun-sized 3 Musketeers bar (regular or mint): 128 calories
• One snack-sized (one cup) Reese’s peanut butter cup: 100 calories
• Three mini Reese’s peanut butter cups: 132 calories
• One Tootsie Roll Lollipop: 60 calories
• Four Tootsie Roll Midgies: 92 calories
• One fun-sized 100 Grand bar: 95 calories
• Two fun-sized Snickers bars: 160 calories
• Two mini boxes of Dots: 70 calories
• One fun-sized box of Junior Mints: 50 calories
• One Smarties roll: 25 calories
• Two mini Laffy Taffy’s (any flavor): 64 calories
• One fun-sized Kit-Kat bar (two sticks): 100 calories
• Two fun-sized Milky Way bars: 150 calories
• Three pieces of strawberry Twizzlers licorice: 120 calories
• One fun-sized Butterfinger bar: 100 calories
• One Charms Blow Pop: 60 calories

Happy Halloween!

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Calories in Your Favorite Halloween Candy

Plus, you can put their busy little hands to work to help you prepare these for their school parties or for a fun-filled Halloween night at home.

Trick or Treat Trail Mix

A simple snack to fill goody bags, or just keep handy during a scary movie, this trail mix takes minutes to prepare. Pretzles, reduced-fat cheese crackers, dried fruits, nuts and a few M&M candies will have them asking for more!

Sugar-Free Dirt and Worms

This is a funny little snack that sends imaginations running wild. Fill tiny flower pots or Halloween paper cups with pumpkin pudding, homemade granola and sugar-free gummy worms you make yourself for an unforgettable treat.

Caramel Apple Salad

Forget the sticky mess that caramel apples typically yield, and instead serve this twist on fruit salad. It’s made with fresh apples, butterscotch pudding, pineapple and Cool Whip, and even the big kids are going to enjoy it.

Caramel Apple Dip

Kids love finger foods and dipping – so let them scoop up this creamy, sweet fruit dip with apples, pears or even a carrot stick!

Pumpkin Walnut Muffins

Whether for breakfast or a snack, these bite-sized muffins are perfect for tiny hands and enjoying all the warm flavors of fall.

Frosty Pumpkin Smoothie

Halloween a little warmer where you live? Then whip up this sugar-free treat, that tastes like a pumpkin pie in a glass!

Crock Pot Chili Mac

Set the slow cooker and go! This tasty and hearty meal will make your Halloween evening more manageable. The kids will love that the goulash presentation looks a bit gory, too.

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Healthy Halloween Recipes for Kids

Recent research has shown that spices like turmeric, cumin, cayenne pepper and countless others contain specific compounds that may help to stave off diseases. Here’s your guide to the best grilling spices to give your July 4th feast more nutritious flare!

Turmeric: Numerous studies have linked turmeric to reducing inflammation, lowering cholesterol, and preventing and treating cancer cell growth. Curcumin, the substance in turmeric that gives it its trademark yellow color, is the magic compound behind most of these health benefits. To get the benefits of turmeric, add a few dashes to your Fourth of July potato or egg salad.

Cayenne Pepper: Capsaicin is the powerful compound in this fiery spice that imparts its heating qualities that have been linked to increasing metabolism, improving blood circulation, clearing nasal passages and jump-starting a sluggish metabolism. Cayenne pepper is also an excellent source of Vitamin A, a disease-fighting antioxidant.  Sprinkle a few meager dashes on pineapple rings, peach, nectarine or plum halves or mango wedges. Grill the fruit for a few minutes on each side and finish with a squeeze of Vitamin C-rich lime juice for a healthy twist on summer fruit.

Garlic: A member of allium family, garlic is one of the most beloved culinary condiments. Linked to preventing heart disease, boosting the immune system, regulating blood sugar levels and possessing antibacterial properties, it is no wonder that garlic has been used for medicinal purposes since 2560 BC. Add whole garlic cloves to chicken, steak, fish or veggie marinades before setting them on the grill. Or chop garlic finely and add it to ground meat, turkey or salmon to give your burgers a flavorful flare.

Ginger: This pungent spice has been shown to quell nausea, decrease joint pain from arthritis and reduce cholesterol levels making it a powerful ally in the fight against heart disease. While many sushi lovers are familiar with pickled ginger, for a speedy but tasty marinade, slice ginger in thin slices and add in soy sauce, sesame oil and a spoonful of honey. Let chicken breasts or steak rest in the marinade for 30 minutes and grill until done. Or try the Biggest Loser’s recipe for grilled salmon burgers with fresh ginger.

Happy grilling and happy Fourth!

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4 Flavors to Spice up Your July 4th Cookout

Here are some tips for a happy and healthy picnic:

• Eat with your eyes! Enjoy the look of all the food that’s there and pick out what you think you will enjoy that will also nourish you.

• Stick to one plate. It’s OK if you see something that looks “rich” and “off limits,” you shouldn’t feel deprived from what you put on your plate. Choose a small portion and balance out the plate with healthy salad greens, fresh vegetable crudite, and some lean protein like chicken. Take your time to enjoy every bite. Stop when you feel full.

• Lay off “the sauce”. Not only is alcohol a source of empty calories, but it can really lower your inhibitions and take you totally off track. If you’re going to be at a party for several hours, start with a sparkling water and keep your alcoholic drinks to one or two servings.

• Make it mostly healthy. If you’re hosting, you have a ton of control. Make sure there are veggies, fruits, salad greens, and beans incorporated in the foods you’re serving. Keep the chips, pretzels, and sodas on the small side. If you’re not hosting, bring a couple of healthy dishes. If you love egg salad and potato salad, health-if-y it by using nonfat Greek yogurt as a base and just a tablespoon of mayonnaise for flavor.

Have fun this Fourth of July! Make sure to share your good stories of achieving your healthy eating and exercise goals so you can inspire others to follow your lead! If you need a little help and support, ask a friend for some encouragement and check out more holiday diet tips here at DietsInReview.com.

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How to Avoid a Calorie Festival This Fourth of July