Thanksgiving Q&A with Dietician/Diabetes Educator Jordana Turkel
Enjoy the day but keep your eye on a few things
Thanksgiving offers a true cornucopia of foods, flavors, traditions, and memories. And it is often one day, I bet many of us, me included, have cast to the wind about thinking and eating carefully. I know there have been Thanksgivings that I’ve just considered a splurge day.
But the older I’ve gotten, the more I realize I should care more about what and how much I eat on Thanksgiving, a day when it’s so easy to overeat delicious food. In light of this, I turned to Dietician/Diabetes Educator Jordana Turkel, RD, CDN, CDE, to shed some light on a few questions that came to mind.
Are there any big no-no for food preparation in the holidays?
I would not advise cooking or baking with lard or lard-based products. Instead, try an alternative like avocado oil.
What shouldn’t you really eat?
Sweetened beverages—don't waste your time on any sugary beverage; eat your calories instead!
If you cheat a little on your eating (and we all expect to do that on the holidays), can we make a plan for redemption over the next month?
Don't wait until next month! The longer you wait, the harder it is to jump back in. If you have an extra piece of pie, it's not a big deal; just go for a walk afterward and make sure your next meal or snack is more thoughtful!
If you’re going to skip something at the holiday dinner, what should it be?
Sweetened beverages, cider, juice etc.
How bad is cranberry sauce?
Homemade is not that bad! If it is canned or jarred, it most likely has a lot of added sugar, so use it sparingly, and be sure to have it with the turkey!
Pumpkin pie is definitely delicious, but how many slices are needed, and what is its nutritional content?
1/8 (slice) is a serving and contains about 280 calories, 13 grams of fat (about 3 grams of saturated fat), and 37 grams of carbohydrates.
And a little bit about Jordana
Jordana Turkel graduated from the University of Delaware with a BS in Nutrition and Dietetics and a concentration in Pediatrics. She is excited about healthy eating and believes in counseling through the language of food. She specializes in oncology, cardiology, maternity (pre/postnatal and lactation), pediatrics, food allergies, behavioral health, GI disorders, ostomy nutrition, weight loss, and diabetes. Additionally, she is a Certified Diabetes Educator and certified in Adult Weight Management.