Cutting the fat out of Thanksgiving
Leslie Philip
For most Americans, a Thanksgiving feast usually includes a turkey with stuffing, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie. This menu however has not changed for the last 200 years. The Plymouth colonists often ate wild turkey, lived off the land, and gathered fresh herbs from nature.
Today, the Thanksgiving tradition involves turkey with stuffing cooked inside, fruits poured from a can with added preservatives, and desserts piled high with whipped cream.
“I don’t know that there is one specific food that is unhealthy, but is.quantity of everything” said Lori Zeinkewicz, Department Chair of Nutrition at MCC. “When you look at a credible portion of turkey, three ounces, like the size of my computer mouse, people probably eat three or four times that.”
“People load up on the carbohydrate, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but if it’s over quantity, then the carbs are converted to fat and stored” Zeinkewicz said.
Not only is portion control changing in modern day society, but the amount of certain ingredients going into a dish has increased over the years.
“There is a culmination of everything, too much pumpkin pie, too much whipped cream, too much cranberry sauce, too much alcohol. When you increase energy consumption and eat until your belly hurts, where’s the physical output?” Zeinkewicz said.
Zeinkewicz also gave tips on how to reduce the amount of calories going into the traditional Thanksgiving meal.
“As far as the traditional Thanksgiving meal goes roast [turkey] or put it in the oven.people would be better off with real whipped cream with just a little bit. If you’re making a sweet potato casserole and it calls for six tablespoons of butter, you could probably cut it down to four and it would be just as good.”
“You could intentionally trick your guests at Thanksgiving and buy small plates” Zeinkewicz said.
Over the break for Thanksgiving, students can spend quality time with their families by helping to prepare meals and to be able to have a say in which ingredients go into the dish.
“Take the time to appreciate where food comes from” said Zeinkewicz. “Maybe over the break, encourage their parents or whoever their celebrating with to visit a Farmer’s Market and get fresh produce from there and incorporate that into the meal.
