Yesterday the Food Network posted this to its Facebook wall.
How important is it that there be at least one healthy dish at your Thanksgiving meal?
My first thought when I read it was… ugh.
Why can’t Thanksgiving be “healthy,” and what the crap does that mean anyway?
I make a fairly traditional Thanksgiving dinner every year. At least I think so. I roast a HUGE turkey (20+ pounds,) mashed potatoes, stuffing (IN the bird,) sweet potatoes, corn, roasted brussels sprouts, and a fun “Harvest” Salad, as I like to call it. We have pumpkin roll and pies for dessert and during the day I make a big veggie tray for snacking. It’s all REAL, HEALTHY food. Geesh, if we ate these types of food more often we’d probably be better off. Sure, you can consume too much, but Thanksgiving may be one of the “healthiest” food days of the year!
I’m so tired of people manufacturing this battle between “healthy” and “unhealthy” foods. It’s just another way to say “good” and “bad.” We all do it. I’m guilty too but the sooner we stop demonizing (food), depriving (ourselves) and degrading (others’ choices) the better. Then maybe we can stop the crazy dieting cycles so many of us seem to be stuck in.
I was happy to see some of the comments agreed with my gut reaction. Here were a few of my favorites (of the ones I read — there were TONS.)
Note: I don’t know if I should credit these as they are Facebook accounts. This is one of those times I’m just unsure what the proper etiquette is.
Define your own healthy. There will be white meat turkey, and that is low in fat and calories. There will be a salad, fresh healthy greens. I am making a cauliflower and fennel dish with no fat in the dressing, but I’m making it because it sounds good. Someone will make a quinoa tabbouleh, delicious and healthy. Sweet potatoes are high in fiber, even when they are soaked in syrup and topped with marshmallow. My family is great at making a large variety of foods so that everyone, be they calorie conscious, gluten free, vegetarian, low carb, high fiber or bacon lover can have something to be thankful for.Other than the pies this is the food we eat in our household all the time. Didn’t anyone else grow up eating pot roast dinner with gravy on Sundays? Depriving is the first step to diet failure.Everything and anything is healthy in moderation. Ignoring all the rules for one meal isn’t gonna kill you. After years of adjusting my eating habits to lose 150+ pounds, I simply don’t even enjoy the foods that put me on life support for a week. I also don’t ignore my cravings during the holidays!!!You should always have something healthy but you don’t have to stress about calories and fat on Thanksgiving. Just eat and be happy!Most of the dishes at the table are fairly healthy. It isn’t the quality that makes it perhaps a bit unhealthy, it’s the sheer quantity.Depends on what you consider healthy. A good meal with friends and family is always healthy.Everything is healthy if it feeds your soul.Why can’t all the dishes be healthy? And even if they aren’t, no ones forcing you to eat them.Very important, as a matter of fact we make our entire Thanksgiving meal healthy except for the dessert. There’s nothing wrong with adjusting recipes to make them healthier. It’s easily done without sacrificing flavor or texture.Truth be known, if you’ve cooked it all fresh it’s healthier then 90% of the crap we eat at a normal lunch during work. So I say just enjoy that and be thankful you could have Thanksgiving dinner, in a warm house, with family and friends
Last year’s Thanksgiving table. I can’t wait for everyone to join us again!
What’s your take on this whole “healthy” Thanksgiving thing?
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