Mindful Eating During Thanksgiving: Navigating Holiday Eating with Joy, Balance, and Nutrition Insights for Midlife Women

Are you ready to transform your Thanksgiving experience into a celebration of mindful eating and gratitude? Join host Heather Carey in this enlightening episode of Real Food Stories, where she shares her expert nutrition advice and culinary insights to help you navigate the holiday season with intention and joy. As a nutritionist and chef, Heather understands the unique challenges women face during midlife, especially when it comes to food beliefs, emotional eating and mindful eating. This Thanksgiving, she encourages you to embrace a balanced plate and let go of the all-or-nothing mindset that often leads to holiday stress.

In this episode, Heather introduces her free program, the More Joy, Less Stress Healthy Holiday Reset, specifically designed to empower women in midlife to manage holiday pressures while savoring their favorite foods. With practical tips on mindful eating practices, she teaches you how to prioritize protein, pile on the vegetables, and indulge in your beloved carbs and desserts without guilt. Heather’s approach to healthy eating emphasizes the importance of nourishing your body while enjoying the delightful flavors of the season.

But it’s not just about the food; Heather also dives into the emotional aspects of Thanksgiving. She provides strategies to stay grounded amidst family dynamics and food pushers, ensuring that you can enjoy the holiday without anxiety or discomfort. By focusing on gratitude, connection, and the joy of the moment, you’ll learn how to create lasting memories that transcend any single meal.

With her warm and empathetic tone, Heather invites you to explore the intersection of food and culture, emphasizing sustainable eating and the significance of family food traditions. This episode is a supportive guide for anyone looking to embrace a healthy lifestyle and navigate the complexities of midlife nutrition. From weight loss myths to cooking techniques that foster culinary wellness, Heather’s insights will empower you to redefine your relationship with food.

Whether you’re seeking to overcome food confusion, embrace body positivity, or simply enjoy a more mindful Thanksgiving, this episode of Real Food Stories is packed with valuable takeaways. So grab your favorite cup of tea, settle in, and get ready to embark on a personal food journey that celebrates the joy of eating well and living fully. Remember, one meal won’t define your health; it’s about the journey of nourishing your body and soul.

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Transcript:

Speaker #0
Well, hello, everybody, and welcome back. And if you are just tuning in with me for the very first time, it’s so nice to meet you. And I’m really glad you’re here with me today. I am your host, Heather Carey, nutritionist, chef, mom, and a woman who has been around the block with food. I want to open up about real food in relation to health, weight, and our bodies so you can make peace with what you eat. Welcome back to the Real Food Stories podcast. I am Heather Carey, your host, and I’m here to help you navigate midlife with clarity, confidence, and a whole lot of support. And today we are talking about the biggest eating day of the year, and that, we all know, is Thanksgiving. Now, before I jump in to talking about some tips and tricks for making Thanksgiving peaceful and sane, I am so excited to tell you about something special that I have created to help you navigate the rest of this season with more ease and confidence. It’s called the More Joy, Less Stress Healthy Holiday Reset, and it’s designed specifically for women just like you in midlife who want to feel energized, calm, and in control during the holidays without sacrificing the things they love. This isn’t about restriction or adding more stress to your plate. Instead, the reset will help you focus on nourishing yourself with intention, simplifying your approach to food, and prioritizing your well-being, all while fully enjoying the season, which sometimes is hard for women when we are inundated with parties and family and food and a lot of stress. So… From practical tips for navigating holiday meals to simple strategies for managing stress and staying mindful, this reset is all about helping you reclaim your calm and boost your energy. Now, when you join, which, by the way, is totally free, this is my gift to you this season, you’ll receive a beautifully designed holiday guide filled with delicious, healthy recipes, actionable tips. and a flexible plan to help you thrive, not just survive this holiday season. Believe me, I have spent years just surviving and getting through holidays. And I like to think about thriving during this time. So by the time the reset is complete, you’ll feel ready to step into the new year with renewed energy, a sense of peace, and a stronger connection to yourself and to your health. It’s the perfect way to start fresh. grounded, and focused. So stay tuned for the details. You can go to the link in the show notes. It’s coming up soon. We’re starting December 5th. It’s a no-pressure reset. You’ll get a little daily email for about two weeks, no pressure. And I can’t wait to have you join me for the more joy, less stress, healthy holiday reset. Okay, let’s get back to the… matter at hand, and that is Thanksgiving, which is tomorrow. And if you are living in the United States, even if you are not living in the United States, everyone knows about Thanksgiving. So Thanksgiving brings so much stress, excitement, emotions, right? Things can run high. The food, the family, the traditions, it’s all wonderful, but it can also feel overwhelming. especially if you’re trying to stay mindful about your health and nutrition. But here’s the good news. Thanksgiving doesn’t have to be an all or nothing day. You don’t have to restrict yourself or go into a food coma to enjoy the holiday. So today I am sharing my game plan for creating a mindful plate, a way to fully enjoy the foods you love, feel good about your choices, and please let’s skip the guilt. OK, it’s one day of eating. But I know that this can really stress some people out, especially if you are trying to stay healthy and you have goals and you don’t want to blow things. So I understand that. OK, first things first. Let’s let go of the all or nothing thinking. You know what I mean. That mindset where either you eat like a saint or you throw in the towel completely because it’s just one day. Neither of these approaches really truly works. If you restrict yourself, you might feel deprived and end up overindulging later. And on the flip side, if you go into the day thinking, I’ll just eat everything and I’ll start fresh tomorrow, you’re setting yourself up to feel physically uncomfortable and maybe even emotionally drained. The key is to approach the meal with balance and intention. This means making choices that feel good to you in the moment. and remembering that one meal will never define your overall health. So let’s take the pressure off and focus on enjoyment instead of perfection. Now let’s get into the heart of today’s episode, which I talked about just briefly, creating a mindful plate. This is your go-to strategy for enjoying Thanksgiving dinner without feeling overstuffed or overwhelmed. Here’s how to do it. Number one, let’s start thinking about protein. Okay, for women in midlife, for women going through the menopause transition, as we get older, protein becomes a priority, even on this day on Thanksgiving. We obviously have a good protein source on Thanksgiving, and that is turkey. And turkey is your best friend here today. Protein helps stabilize your blood sugar, keeps you feeling full, and gives you energy to enjoy the day. So whether you prefer the white meat or the dark meat, give yourself a portion of the turkey. Don’t feel bad about eating the turkey. About the size of your palm is a good guide for what we should be eating as a serving. The next thing, number two, pile on the vegetables. There’s a lot of things that go into the Thanksgiving meal that are actually really good for you. I know for… Our Thanksgiving tomorrow, there’s going to be Brussels sprouts. There’s going to be green beans. These are all great, good-for-you vegetables. There’s going to be sweet potatoes. Amazing. Great. Hopefully that the people who are making them don’t laden them with tons of sauces and marshmallows and things like that. But we do have good things that you can eat at the Thanksgiving dinner. So look for non-starchy vegetables. like roasted Brussels sprouts, like I said, green beans, even a salad. Not only do these add color, but they add fiber, they add nutrients to your plate, while giving you that satisfying feeling of fullness. So it’s not so, so far, we have some protein and we have some vegetables, and it’s not all that bad. Next, choose your favorite carbs. Now, here’s where the fun really begins. Pick one or two carb-rich dishes that you love. Maybe it’s your mom’s stuffing or those buttery mashed potatoes. Whatever you choose, serve yourself a portion that feels satisfying. Not too little and not too much. Let’s get rid of the mindset that we never get to have this food. And so therefore, we better eat triple the amount. And here’s a pro tip. Just slow down. Savor every single bite. You can feel satisfied with less of some of these foods. Now next, don’t fear fat. Fat is not your enemy. A little gravy on your turkey or a little butter on your vegetables is completely fine. Healthy fats can even help you feel more satisfied. So don’t feel like you have to skip the fat part of the meal. And lastly, Let’s save a little room for dessert because let’s be honest, dessert is one of the best parts of Thanksgiving, is it not? Now, instead of sampling every option, pick the one that you’re most excited about. Maybe it’s a slice of pumpkin pie or a small piece of pecan pie. Enjoy it slowly. This is about being mindful, right? We’re tasting and we’re taking it in. Don’t let guilt sneak in. Dessert is part of the experience of Thanksgiving. So we’re not going to come at this with deprivation. We want to enjoy, but we don’t have to act like it is our last meal on earth. Now, of course, Thanksgiving isn’t just about the food. It’s also about the people, and sometimes that comes with its own challenges. Family dynamics can be tricky. And stress and emotions can lead to emotional eating and mindless eating. Now, here’s how to stay present and to stay grounded. Just a few tips. Number one, take a breath. If you are starting to feel chaos or stress, step outside for a moment. Take a breath, a quick walk. Even just a few deep breaths can help you just have a reset. Stay present. The next way to stay present and grounded is to focus on gratitude. Isn’t that what Thanksgiving actually is all about? about? Isn’t this the holiday of gratitude? So when you sit down to eat, take a moment to reflect on what you’re grateful for, whether it’s the delicious food that is available to you, the people around you, or simply the chance to just relax and enjoy with the people that you are with. Now, this one is really important. I want you to think about how you can set some boundaries, especially with food pushers. So what is a food pusher? Those are the people who say to you, oh, you have to try this. Or why aren’t you eating more? Now, it’s okay to say, I’m saving room for dessert. Or I’m enjoying this at my own pace. Or no, thank you. No is a complete sentence. So we don’t have to get riled up by the food pushers in our family. Sometimes people want to push the food because they want to eat a lot and they’ve got their own issues with food and they want you to join in. So you don’t owe anyone an explanation for how you eat or what you are eating. Now, let’s remember what Thanksgiving is really about. It’s about connection. gratitude, and nourishment in every sense of the word. The food is part of the celebration, but it’s not the whole story, right? We’ve had this meal before. We know exactly what’s coming up. This is not the last time we’re having this Thanksgiving meal. You can enjoy the day, you can savor your favorite dishes, and you can feel good about the choices that you make. And if you eat a little more than planned or indulge in an extra slice of pie, please let it go. One meal doesn’t define your health, and there’s no reason to let guilt take away from the joy of the day. I hope you feel empowered this year to approach Thanksgiving with mindfulness and confidence this year, because you have got this. Okay, we’re going to wrap this up. I know everyone is super busy and maybe you’re listening to this while you’re cooking or getting prepared for Thanksgiving, but I want to thank you so much for spending a little time with me today. If you found this episode helpful, I’d love for you to share it with a friend who might need a little support, just like you before the holiday. And if you’re looking for more guidance on staying healthy and energized through the holiday season, be sure to check out my free More Joy, Less Stress. Healthy Holiday Reset, where I share more tips, recipes, and strategies because we are just at the start of the holidays, right? We are not done. We are just about to dip our big toe into the rest of this month and get ready for a couple more of these challenges. So I’m wishing you a wonderful, mindful, and joyful Thanksgiving. And until next time, take care of yourself and savor the moment. Bye for now. And as always, if you loved this podcast, please consider gifting me with a five-star review. It is so helpful for me to get the word out on real eating, our real bodies, and real food stories. Thank you so much and have a great week. Bye for now.