5 Foods to Avoid on Thanksgiving That Will Ruin A Healthy Diet

Holiday season is one time which makes even those who are most strict with their diet plans take a break. With all the fun and food around, it is a bit tough to keep the pounds from piling. Maintaining the diet becomes all the more during Thanksgiving, which is all about carved turkeys and family dinners.

However, there is a healthier alternative to most dishes. Here is a list of five foods, which you should avoid if you want to achieve that much wanted weight loss:

Red Meat

This Thanksgiving skip the red meat and make white meat a part of the table. White meat is the skinnier and healthier meat as opposed to red meat. Just the statistics prove so. If one considers a portion of 3 ounces, dark meat contains 160 calories and has 11 grams of fat. On the other hand, 3 ounces of white meat has 115 calories and fat content equaling 7 grams. So just by replacing dark meat with white turkey breasts one stands at saving almost 45 calories and 4 grams fat content and is that much closer to the targeted weight loss.

Sweet Potato Casserole

During Thanksgiving, it is generally a choice between sweet potato casserole and green bean casserole. From weight loss and diet point of view, it is prudent to ditch the sweet potato casserole in favor of the green bean one. For a portion size of three-fourth of a cup, sweet potato casserole has 5 gm fat and 285 calories. On the other hand, green bean casserole has only 161 calories.

Apple Pie

Say goodbye to apple pie this holiday season. Just one eighth of a 9 inch pie has 19 grams of fat and packs 411 calories. Instead, one can opt for healthier pies such as one made from pumpkin. Same size slice of pumpkin pie has only 316 calories and 14 grams fat. To begin with, apple pie has the extra crust which translates into extra calories. The vanilla ice – cream, which generally serves as the apple pie topping, also adds into the calories being ingested.

Traditional Sausage Stuffing

This is one tough one to stick to. Thanksgiving comes once a year and the traditional sausage stuffing is part of many a household dinner table. However, just a three fourth cup of stuffing ensures that one is downing 19 grams fat and 371 calories. A dinner roll with butter might be a healthier option to explore as compared to the stuffing.

Jellied Cranberries

The topping is as important as the main ingredient when it comes to preparing that perfect dish for Thanksgiving. Even though it may sound otherwise, it is the gravy which is the skinnier topping as compared to jellied cranberries. For a serving size of one fourth of a cup, the gravy increases the calorie count by 30 and the fat content intake by 1.5 grams. Jellied cranberries, on the other hand, increase the calorie count by 110. As tempted as you may be refrain topping your special dishes with the ever so yummm cranberries, instead go sober and top them with gravy if you are diet conscious.

Posted by Sastique in Sastique News