Oh Thanksgiving!
For any of you out there that know me well – you know that this is absolutely without a doubt my favorite holiday.
That’s because it’s not about anything monetary, or what we might get from another. It’s simply about family, friends, loved ones, sitting around, catching up, sharing adventures and stories.
And – eating delicious foods!
There’s no pressure, there’s no stress, no performance needs. OK, so yes, I want my recipe choices to taste good, I want them to smell good, I want the whole house to be filled with aromas – sure – but still no real pressures.
For me – what I put out people will eat, they will taste, they will like, well maybe they won’t like everything, it’s ok, it’s about the experience, the conversation, and the unconditional love.
Celebrating our relationships and being thankful for being part of each other’s lives.
So, to get to the specific thing I wanted to say, here’s the deal – you can enjoy every bit of thanksgiving without gaining 10 pounds, being so full that you’re nauseous, and feeling like you need to change your clothes.
Seriously, it just takes a little will power, willingness, desire, mindfulness, and being present.
You can change the way you think about the food in front of you. You can enjoy each and every thing, that are your favorites, that you want to try, without ruining your gut.
Sure, you’re saying, Tricia that takes the fun out of it.
It doesn’t have to – you can simply change the definition, meaning, feeling, etc. behind what this intake of amazing food means to you.
So for those of you that have say maybe a sugar addiction, a sweet tooth, you gravitate to sugar, you love it, it sets off all of your reward centers in your brain, and your favorite part is having many different kinds of deserts. You try them all, and actually it’s not about trying them all, you in fact will have at least one full serving of each. And sometime two of those you like the most.
What about if you really are into savory items, you’ve got stuffing, you’ve got sweet potatoes, wild rice and mushrooms, or the green bean casserole with all that creamy sauce and onions and seasoning.
You know what’s your favorite!
Oh – then there’s the breads, and if it’s like my house you’re going to have lots of different casserole’s, dishes, appetizers, deserts and more.
Here’s the key, remember back when I said if you are the kind that is going to have at least one full serving of everything, especially those that are your favorites – this is where you are going to make that change – you’re still going to get all of the pleasure, all the enjoyment, all of the ability to eat each and every thing and maybe even a few that you’ll get to have a little extra.
The reason for that is because you are going to taste, you are going to sample. So, this is the language I want you to use inside of your head, in your thought processes:
Thanksgiving is about tasting and trying new things, things that a loved one has prepared for you perhaps from scratch, they spent time, they put love into it, it’s something they sat and thought, wow, I think my family will really enjoy this, and maybe you know there’s 10 different dishes because there is so many of you that all of you came into the thought process in one respect or another. There might be 3 different kinds of meat but some of you don’t even like meat so, guess what, there’s 7 different kinds of casseroles. So, anyway, it’s about sampling the items that were made for this unit of people that have decided to come together and celebrate and give thanks for the relationships that they have.
So, what does a sample, or a taste look like?
Well I’ll tell you what it doesn’t look like.
It doesn’t look like a full serving. It doesn’t look like a cup of everything or even an ounce of everything.
It can seriously look like a small ramekin or a quarter of a cup or less of each thing.
So, you get to sample each thing and then maybe if you have 2 or 3 favorite items you may go back and get another sample.
Now that’s not an invitation to go back and get a full serving or 2 full servings or 3 full servings, because that’s how you end up needing to loosen your pants, change your clothes, take GasEx or tums, and feel ruined for the rest of the night, wanting to go take a nap, to lay down, no longer feeling social, ready to disappear into your football game, or….
At our house we start the socializing a couple hours before the meal because we do have family members that don’t do it the way I do it and they indulge, and then they’re tired and they want to lay down, and that’s totally ok. Because that’s bringing them joy and that’s the way they want to experience it.
But if you want to change the way YOU experience the holiday and still have 100 percent of all the pleasure – try my sampling method.
And just sample everything, and that doesn’t mean sample go back 10 times for 10 samples.
Sample everything, let it sit – if something is calling you and drawing you back, have at it!
Enjoy your holiday.