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Technically speaking, a holiday is only one day and on Thanksgiving, it’s really just the one meal. Granted, there are leftovers, but we usually don’t dive in with as much gusto in the days following the holiday.
We’re always asked, “How bad can it be to just enjoy yourself at one meal?” We hate to burst your bubble, but one really high calorie, high fat meal does put you at greater risk for a heart attack or stroke.
 When you think about it, Thanksgiving dinner is a carb-lovers delight - potatoes, dressing, corn, dinner rolls, cranberry sauce, and pie! One easy, calorie-saving idea is to eliminate a dinner roll or two and the mashed potatoes and opt for more green vegetables instead. Or chose a single crust pie over a double and perhaps skip the a la mode and whipped cream.
Having small amounts of your favorite dishes on Thanksgiving probably won’t cause a problem. Just to give you an idea of recommended serving sizes for a typical Thanksgiving meal, check out the nutritional analysis in this month’s FYI - it’s amazingly high. For some suggestions to lower the fat and calories, see this month’s Calorie Conscious.
As you can see, the recommended serving size for the side dishes on our menu is 1/2 cup. That is a little less than a tennis ball! So that “small amount” referred to should be about 1/4 cup which is closer to a ping pong ball.
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