Thanksgiving and thanksgiving leftovers advice!!!

sunshinegirlx3

I know there's almost a week until thanksgiving but my anxiety is in full effect with thanksgiving a few days away. I will be saving my cheat meal for thanksgiving dinner but what do I do with all of the leftovers??? I'm going to try my best to stay in my calories until the left overs are gone but does anyone have any advice on how to stay on track??? or low calorie meals to make for the week with the left overs??

100df

I plan to try to only make the amount of food we can eat on Thanksgiving day. I will send leftovers home with guests. Anything left after that besides turkey and salad is going in the trash.

kbmnurse

Make a turkey soup loaded with veggies. Problem solved. Another possibility send the leftovers home with the company.

ndj1979

sunshinegirlx3 wrote: »

I know there's almost a week until thanksgiving but my anxiety is in full effect with thanksgiving a few days away. I will be saving my cheat meal for thanksgiving dinner but what do I do with all of the leftovers??? I'm going to try my best to stay in my calories until the left overs are gone but does anyone have any advice on how to stay on track??? or low calorie meals to make for the week with the left overs??

if you are anxious about eating food on one day out of 365 then you may want to reexamine your relationship with food, and speak to someone for some professional help.

Just eat the food on Thanksgiving and enjoy the day with family and friends. I don't even bother logging on Thanksgiving and I plan to eat about 5000 calories…

rosebarnalice

Give your guests doggy bags full of the high calorie low nutrition foods like the dressing, mashed potatoes and desserts. Keep the green beans and turkey (skin removed, of course) and sweet potatoes--as long as they're not loaded with sugar and butter. Make stock from the turkey carcass, and enjoy yummy turkey soup with carrots and celery and onions.

ndj1979

rosebarnalice wrote: »

Give your guests doggy bags full of the high calorie low nutrition foods like the dressing, mashed potatoes and desserts. Keep the green beans and turkey (skin removed, of course) and sweet potatoes--as long as they're not loaded with sugar and butter. Make stock from the turkey carcass, and enjoy yummy turkey soup with carrots and celery and onions.

why would you remove the skin??? that is the best part….so you wait all year for Thanksgiving dinner and skimp on the turkey and all the other good stuff????

cwolfman13

I don't find traditional Thanksgiving food to really be a calorie bomb in and of itself...generally it's the massive portions. But then again, it's only one day of many days.

I usually make a big stew with the leftover Turkey and then reserve some for sandwiches. I generally don't have much in the way of leftovers with the other stuff though.

cnbbnc

If you know you'll have tons of food left then buy some plastic bowls and pack up leftovers for guests, saving a bit for yourself. Anything you don't want to eat again that nobody takes home, just toss it if need be. I don't like throwing food away, but don't like eating something endlessly just to eat it either....

I love having plenty of turkey leftovers. I make sandwiches, casseroles, and after the bird is completely destroyed I boil what's left and make a soup stock.

Francl27

Stock up on cheap food containers and give leftovers to your guests! We don't do Thanksgiving at home but last year we brought some leftovers. I'd love a lot of turkey leftovers this year, couldn't care less about the rest (and really don't want dessert leftovers).

ndj1979

cwolfman13 wrote: »

I don't find traditional Thanksgiving food to really be a calorie bomb in and of itself...generally it's the massive portions. But then again, it's only one day of many days.

I usually make a big stew with the leftover Turkey and then reserve some for sandwiches. I generally don't have much in the way of leftovers with the other stuff though.

massive portions and pie….always the pie!!

blkandwhite77

Turkey pot pie for leftovers. Loaded with veggies yum yum

magtart

I make potato pancakes with leftover mashed potatoes. I add any leftover gravy to my turkey vegetable soup. Leftover stuffing is good on a turkey sandwich. Thanksgiving is once a year, enjoy!

lorrpb

You also can freeze some of the leftovers in small potion packages that will fit within your normal calorie goals.

blambo61

ndj1979 wrote: »

sunshinegirlx3 wrote: »

I know there's almost a week until thanksgiving but my anxiety is in full effect with thanksgiving a few days away. I will be saving my cheat meal for thanksgiving dinner but what do I do with all of the leftovers??? I'm going to try my best to stay in my calories until the left overs are gone but does anyone have any advice on how to stay on track??? or low calorie meals to make for the week with the left overs??

if you are anxious about eating food on one day out of 365 then you may want to reexamine your relationship with food, and speak to someone for some professional help.

Just eat the food on Thanksgiving and enjoy the day with family and friends. I don't even bother logging on Thanksgiving and I plan to eat about 5000 calories…

Only 5000? I bet I can hit 6000 and plan on doing so! If you eat that much for one day, you will temporarily gain food weight (not fat weight) of a couple of lbs that will be gone 2 days later. You might gain a half lb of fat but so what! Enjoying yourself on special occasions is important so you don't hate the diet and quit it! Also it is important to be with and socialize with people on those special occasions. Don't be a party pooper.

I totally agree with you!

MorganMoreaux

I'll log everything I eat on Thanksgiving, but I am not going to care if I go over. Usually the only leftovers we have are turkey, sweet potatoes, and stuffing. I plan on eating at maintenance until they're gone.

scolaris

Just eat the food on Thanksgiving and enjoy the day with family and friends. I don't even bother logging on Thanksgiving and I plan to eat about 5000 calories…

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Only 5000? I bet I can hit 6000 and plan on doing so! If you eat that much for one day, you will temporarily gain food weight (not fat weight) of a couple of lbs that will be gone 2 days later. You might gain a half lb of fat but so what! Enjoying yourself on special occasions is important so you don't hate the diet and quit it! Also it is important to be with and socialize with people on those special occasions. Don't be a party pooper.

@ndj1979 and @blambo61
I plan to do the same but I will log it just so I can hunt you down on these boards & prove I ate more!!! ~cue evil laugh~
Bwaaaaaa ha ha ha haaaaaaaaaa

Also, I lurve Thanksgiving leftovers. Feel free to fedex me yours folks.

Happy thanksgiving!!!!!

kshama2001

sunshinegirlx3 wrote: »

I know there's almost a week until thanksgiving but my anxiety is in full effect with thanksgiving a few days away. I will be saving my cheat meal for thanksgiving dinner but what do I do with all of the leftovers??? I'm going to try my best to stay in my calories until the left overs are gone but does anyone have any advice on how to stay on track??? or low calorie meals to make for the week with the left overs??

There's nothing inherently unhealthy about Thanksgiving leftovers. The problem is portion control, which I manage by pairing high volume, low calorie foods like broccoli with high calorie foods so that I have less room for them. Smaller dinner plates are helpful as well. http://foodpsychology.cornell.edu/outreach/large-plates.html

I will assuredly leave trigger foods like the leftover pie at my fiance's, and he can bring me a serving on Friday.