Here at CHEAR, the topic of staying on track during the holidays comes up quite often around this time of year. We believe that you can stay on track with your healthy habits and enjoy Thanksgiving dinner! See below for some of our staff tips.

1. “We use special smaller ‘Thanksgiving’ plates, have a family tradition to run or walk a 5k Turkey Trot race each year, and I help clean the dishes instead of sitting around after the meal!”-Melissa
2. “Instead of using ice cream for dessert, we make fresh fruit sorbet or banana ice cream in our blender”-Ashley
3. “Swap out the canned cranberry sauce (which can have up to 24 g. of sugar per serving) for fresh: simply boil a bag of cranberries with a little bit of agave nectar and a squeeze of fresh orange juice”-Ashley
4. Use whole grain bread instead of white bread for stuffing.
5. Serve fresh vegetables and butternut squash hummus for a nutrient dense appetizer!
   1. Try this recipe from Whole Foods: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/butternut-hummus
6. “Focus on spending quality time with family, friends, and/or yourself! Enjoy the food, do something to get outdoors and move a bit, and enjoy sleeping in!”-  Shari
7. “You may not think it, but dinnerware affects how we much we eat! When you put food in a bigger plate, it tricks your brain into thinking you don’t have a lot of food on your plate. However, if you put food onto a smaller plate, your brain will thinking that you have a lot more food on your plate. This little trick of perception is called Delboeuf’s Illusion”-Jannet
8. Schedule in physical activity throughout the day to avoid extra sedentary behavior.
9. “Do a turkey trot, take a walk, or plan to have the family play football in the yard or in a local park before dinner. Schedule something before dinner; make it part of family tradition and it will likely occur year after year!”- Dawn
10. “Eat the vegetables first. Enjoy and chew each bite. If you overeat, don’t judge yourself. Just think about how you would tackle that situation next time. Without judgement, it could be a valuable exercise to pay attention to why you are eating things during the holidays. Is it because you are hungry, because of the taste, because of the stress of the holidays, because of the comfort (nostalgia, family, mother’s love)?”-Deepa
11. “Drink water and eat the sweet potatoes/yams first! Low glycemic levels means sugar will be released into your blood slower = you will feel fuller longer. Avoid those sweat pants. Wear tighter pants to dinner.” –Sarah T.
12. “Chew some gum or brush your teeth as soon as you are full. Won’t want to ruin minty breath.”-Sarah T.