Calorie-free ways to improve your meal

As Thanksgiving approaches, our thoughts wander to the delectable dishes that will adorn the table and satisfy our taste buds.

Thoughts of Grandma’s sweet potato casserole, Aunt Jane’s green bean casserole and thick slices of freshly carved turkey likely elicit memories of years gone by.

But sometimes it’s hard to not think about all of those calories.

Have you ever tried to adjust a family recipe to make it healthier for your family? Were you greeted with an appreciative “thank you so much for considering our health” or a discontented “I like it the way it was, it’s not the same Thanksgiving without Grandma’s recipe?”

Our sense of self is connected to our traditions and culture. Foods tied to rituals are connected to our sense of self. When an aspect of our tradition changes — such as changing ingredients or removing a recipe from a traditional event — it can impact our sense of self and elicit a negative emotional response.

If changing a recipe to make it lower in fat or sugar is not an option for your family, consider strategies to encourage smaller portions. Controlling portion sizes is an effective strategy for reducing calories while still enjoying traditional foods. Setting the intention to serve smaller portions is the first step to achieving this goal. Consider if you will offer smaller dinner plates or serve the food from smaller bowls or offer smaller serving utensils. Studies have shown that people tend to portion less food to their plate when the food is offered from smaller serving bowls and with smaller serving utensils

Get involved in the meal preparation. Sharing in the meal prep with others can create greater sense of satisfaction with the eating experience. Cooking for others is an altruistic act. Preparing a meal fulfills a very basic human need of providing nourishment to another human being. Preparing a meal — a practice that has been removed from the eating experience in our convenience-based culture — allows you to enjoy the sense of community, belonging, meaning and purpose. These feelings contribute to creating a fulfilling eating experience.

Create mindfulness around the event to identify non-food related activities that contribute to positive emotions around this tradition. Take time to write down your thoughts about your Thanksgiving traditions. Write about your favorite Thanksgiving Day. How did food fit into that day? Describe the non-food memories, feelings, or traditions that are important to you and strategies to share these nonfood activities with family and friends on this day. Set goals for including or beginning non-food traditions and activities in your family traditions.

Jennifer Dalton, MS, RDN, LD, is the director of didactic program in dietetics at the University of Dayton. She teaches courses on nutrition and health and specializes in functional nutrition and digestive conditions. Email: jdalton1@udayton.edu.