The true meaning of Thanksgiving can easily get lost in translation when we are so focused on the wide array of particulars. Maybe you are the host this year and a dozen family members or more are about to grace your dining table. Perhaps it is you and your own family’s turn to pack up the Suburban and trek across the country to be the guests of honor. However you live your Thanksgiving experience, it is easy to forget about thanks and giving. It is often not until grace is said, the wine glasses clink and someone passes the stuffing that we actually relax and feel some gratitude, yet this moment of pure thankfulness doesn’t have to be lost when the meal ends and grandma starts loading the dishwasher.
Whether we believe Thanksgiving Day marks a time when the pilgrims and the Indians set aside their need to fight over their differences, or feel it began as a simple celebration of the bountiful fall harvest, it remains a day that reminds us all to practice gratitude.
Each and every one of us can think of something we are grateful for yet our thankfulness is often overshadowed by our busy and hectic schedules before and after Thanksgiving Day. The following reminders will help you to keep feeling gratitude before, during and long after Thanksgiving Day has past so that the other 364 days of the year are filled with just the same amount of joy that being grateful brings.
The day after Thanksgiving is practically a food holiday in itself, with refrigerators across America filled to the brim with leftover stuffing, yesterday’s mashed potatoes and enough turkey to feed half the neighborhood. If you’re trying to lose weight or maintain your size this holiday season, some health and medical experts recommend skipping the leftovers.
“One of the biggest [diet] mistakes people make is not realizing that the holidays are really only 3-4 days,” said Kathy Taylor, R.D. , Director., of Nutrition at Grady Hospital in Atlanta, GA. “Even if you [go off your diet] on those few days you can recover from that damage. It’s the mentality that you can let everything go between Thanksgiving and New Years that causes weight gain.”
The day after Thanksgiving, known as Black Friday, is a shopper’s dream, and a famous tradition across the country. This year, you can use it to save money and burn calories.
People might look at you like you’re crazy for doing some of this stuff, but who cares? Everyone there woke up at four am, but you’re the one turning a marathon sale into a marathon workout. They’re spending all of their energy fighting over the last whatever-the-hot-toy-of-the-year-is and nothing more. Now who looks like the crazy one?
I understand that this is one of the hardest times for people to stay on track. One of the reasons is the way we think about holidays. Why oh why do we believe that as we alter or modify a tradition it will ruin everything? I promise, traditions started somewhere and making new ones is not against the law!
Last year when Thanksgiving rolled around I had just three weeks until the Biggest Loser season 8 finale. Needless to say, there was no way I was cooking a Thanksgiving dinner and missing time in the gym or having oodles of leftovers haunting me. So, we made a new tradition and we went to a restaurant! I ordered the kid-sized Thanksgiving plate, that had turkey breast, green beans, mashed potatoes, stuffing and a little slice of apple pie. I did ask them to hold the gravy and the roll (I picked my carb battle and had the potatoes and stuffing instead of the roll). It was the perfect portion and I was completely satisfied! Read Full Post >
With millions of Americans living with one kind of food allergy or another, it can make navigating holidays meals a trying task. Here are some tips to make it easier, whether you’re a dinner guest or the hostess.
Step in to our nutrition ring, as we put the debate to rest over which is better. Truth is, the difference is pretty negligible, meaning you can start fighting over the drumstick again!
With tips for surviving and enjoying the holiday season and some of his low-calorie recipes from the cookbook, Chef Rocco is giving us one more thing to be thankful for. Read Full Post >
and trek across the country to be the guests of honor. However you live your Thanksgiving experience, it is easy to forget about thanks and giving. It is often not until grace is said, the wine glasses clink and someone passes the stuffing that we actually relax and feel some gratitude, yet this moment of pure thankfulness doesn’t have to be lost when the meal ends and grandma starts loading the dishwasher.
