According to research from the Calorie Control Council, the average American can eat more than 4,500 calories and a whopping 229 grams of fat during Thanksgiving. That includes the snacking and the traditional dinner with turkey and all the trimmings. Cut that down and NOT eat Tofurkey!

Let's start with the star of the show....the turkey!

  • Instead of dark meat, eat white meat without the skin. You can buy whole turkey breasts instead of a full turkey, and it'll save you about 50 calories per serving. But some people insist on dark meat, so make sure everyone is on board.

 

The second most popular thing to eat at Thanksgiving is...the stuffing!

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  • Make homemade stuffing with less fat. If your recipe calls for whole milk (or if ANY recipe calls for whole milk, use fat-free buttermilk). Use HALF the butter recipes call for. It will taste just as yummy and you'll get 90 fewer calories per serving.

 

One of my favorite things is green bean casserole! Oh, that's chalk a block full of calories.

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  • Make green beans instead of green bean casserole. Even if you put butter and fried onions on top, it will still save you about 150 calories.

 

Dessert. Just pick the right one - pumpkin pie!

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  • This slice of pumpkin pie is about 270 calories. Right next to it on the table is probably pecan pie. A slice of that is about 800 calories! Picking pumpkin will save you over 500 calories!
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So these little cut backs have saved you about 800 calories. Drink lots of water during the day too. That will cut back your appetite. It's a tough holiday to be good. But you can be a little good and still enjoy it all!

God I love eating...after writing about all of this, I'm starving for a turkey dinner!

 

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