How much impact does Thanksgiving have on holiday weight gain? 
The actual Thanksgiving meal itself does not promote exceptional weight gain, you may put on 1-2 pounds. The 1-2 pounds will go away fairly quickly if healthy eating and regular exercise is resumed. What does promote weight gain is all of the other “mock” Thanksgiving meals (at school, the office, etc.), lingering leftovers, and not adhering to regular exercise. Typically travel, meal preparation and extra shopping trips interrupt our routines and Thanksgiving is the beginning of the seasonal weight gain slope.
Should people stick with their diet on Thanksgiving?
Yes, everyone should aim to continue to eat a healthy diet leading up to any holiday meal. BUT they should enjoy the actual Thanksgiving meal. Eat a heathy balanced breakfast and lunch and feel free to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Avoid feeling deprived of your favorite Thanksgiving meal items, but also avoid taking it to the extreme by gorging all day and the day after on leftovers, appetizers, desserts, etc.
What traditions can parents create to make Thanksgiving healthy for children?
The best things that parents can do is encourage kids to eat vegetables in addition to their favorite Thanksgiving meal options. No matter what, every meal should include vegetables. Parents can also incorporate exercise into their Thanksgiving Day, a trip to the park, a pickup game of football or a long walk.
Healthy Thanksgiving recipes include….
Cauliflower mashed potatoes
Ingredients:
1 large head cauliflower
5 large garlic cloves
Sea salt to taste
2 tbs. butter
1 tbs. fresh chives
Ground black pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Chop cauliflower into large chunks.
2. Steam until soft (able to smash with a fork). Add butter and salt
3. Blend until smooth with hand mixer
4. Top with chives and black pepper.
Revised Pumpkin Pie (no refined flours or sugars)
Ingredients:
1 can 14 oz can pumpkin puree
1 c almond flour
¼ c almond milk
3 eggs+ 1 egg yolk
¼ cup honey
¼ cup maple syrup
1 cup water
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp nutmeg
½ tsp cloves
½ tsp cardamom
¼ tsp salt
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F (if you’re making your pie right after making the crust, just reduce the temperature).
2. Combine almond flour, eggs, honey and maple syrup and blend for 2-3 minutes until completely smooth, add almond milk slowly. It is very important to blend until completely smooth, otherwise your custard will be watery.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until combined.
4. Pour into cooled pie shell (doesn’t need to be room temperature, just cool enough to touch). Spread the top out evenly with a spatula.
5. Bake for 40 minutes. Allow pie to cool completely before serving.
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Dr. Kantor’s greatly anticipated new children’s book, The Green Box League of Nutritious Justice, is now available. Be sure to order this highly reviewed book, filled with healthy living tips for the whole family. A portion of the proceeds benefit the Children’s Miracle Network.