The holiday season is notorious for packing on the pounds, but eating a good Thanksgiving meal doesn\u2019t mean you have to eat fattening foods.\u00a0 And eating a healthy meal doesn\u2019t mean you have to forego your Thanksgiving favorites.\u00a0 Here are some easy ways to tweak the classics to be a bit healthier for you and your family.<\/p>\n
* Spices.\u00a0 As long as you use tasting and add them in small increments, adding extra spices to your foods is a great way to cut back on calories.\u00a0 If the food is well seasoned, you won\u2019t need to add butter or gravy to make it taste good.\u00a0 Plus, if food is hot or spicy, you tend to eat less of it.<\/p>\n
* Evaporated milk.\u00a0 This is great for adding to recipes like pies or gravy.\u00a0 It adds flavor without all the calories of cream.\u00a0 Just remember to use a product made from skim milk.<\/p>\n
* Ditch the fat.\u00a0 When it comes to turkey, it\u2019s pretty easy to cut back on the greasy fat.\u00a0 Cook the turkey in a drip pan instead of one that collects the fat at the bottom.\u00a0 Before you eat the turkey, be sure to remove the skin because this is where hidden fat and extra calories can be found.<\/p>\n
* Also, don\u2019t stuff your turkey.\u00a0 This absorbs most of the fat and calories you\u2019d rather keep out.\u00a0 Cook the stuffing in a separate pan.\u00a0 If you use the drippings to make gravy, skim the fat off first.\u00a0 You can add broth to these dishes to keep the moisture without adding the bad stuff.<\/p>\n
* Lose the butter.\u00a0 Butter is a big offender on Thanksgiving.\u00a0 You can put it on almost anything and it adds lots of fat and calories.\u00a0 Instead, try using chicken broth and evaporated milk to add flavor to dishes like mashed potatoes without all the fat.<\/p>\n
* Watch the drinks.\u00a0 Thanksgiving calories can come from what you drink as well as what you eat.\u00a0 Try having water or juice with your meal rather than high-calorie drinks like eggnog, soda, or\u00a0alcoholic<\/a>\u00a0beverages.<\/p>\n * Salad for side dishes.\u00a0 A lot of what we eat on Thanksgiving comes in the form of side dishes rather than the main course.\u00a0 Why not skip the stuffing or the rolls and start with a salad instead?\u00a0 This is a healthy option to help fill you up before the meal so you eat less of the fatty offenders with your turkey.\u00a0 Just remember that salads can be bad for you too, depending what you put in them.<\/p>\n Remember that no matter how good something is for you, if you eat thousands of calories, you\u2019re probably going to gain weight.\u00a0 Even healthy food should be enjoyed in moderation, so watch your portions as well as the kind of food you\u2019re eating.<\/p>\n