Monday, November 17, 2014
Food is a healthy way to bring family, friends together this holiday season
Thanksgiving is without a doubt my favorite holiday. Why? Well, besides being the official start of the holiday season,
Thanksgiving is all about FOOD. No
fancy clothes, no gifts, no whimsical mascot (sorry Santa)… Just food. And LOTS of it.
Don’t get me wrong, it can still be stressful; especially if
you are tasked with hosting the family feast. This time of year, every woman’s health and foodie magazine
features a sparkling holiday spread amid an immaculate and impeccably-appointed
home. Bombarded with all of this
imagery, it’s easy to feel like we won’t measure up if we don’t spend hours
DIY-ing the perfect centerpiece or baking those adorable cupcakes made to look
like turkeys.
Isn’t it amazing how the media can make us feel inadequate
about almost anything?
To some extent, I think many of us fall into this trap at
the holidays. We feel that somehow
the world will end if we don’t nail that Martha Stewart Living cover
photo. (C’mon, you know there is
no WAY she does all that stuff!)
Ironically, sometimes it’s the “epic fails” that create the
best memories. My mom and I still
laugh about the year we spent nearly an entire day making beautiful gingerbread
cookies and as I so proudly brought them to the table, I tripped over the dog
reducing our picture-perfect pastries to sugary shrapnel. On the plus side, the dog was quick to
apologize by gladly helping us clean up the mess.
A friend of mine says her favorite Thanksgiving was the year
she forgot to take the turkey out of the freezer until the day before. She spent the better half of that night
with her husband, laughing as they thawed it with hair-dryers and watched holiday
movies.
It’s stories like this that remind me that although we fuss
over the details, the holidays are not really about the food or the decor, but
the experiences. The food certainly
enhances those experiences, but it’s the feeling we get from being together
that becomes a part of us.
So when you embark on that pumpkin-shaped seven-layer cake
with spiced rum ganache, don’t worry if it doesn’t turn out quite as
pumpkin-shaped as you had hoped.
With all that sugar and butter, I’m sure it will still be
delicious. And even if it’s not,
it’ll make a great memory.
Whatever you place on your table this holiday season, I hope
you gather around it in love and laughter. Because if you ask me, a meal eaten among friends and family
in genuine companionship and gratitude provides more nourishment than all the wheatgrass
on earth. And no calories, of
course.
Jennifer
Fetterley is a registered dietitian for the Backus
Health System and Thames Valley Council for Community Action. This advice should not replace the advice of your personal
healthcare provider. To comment on this column or others, visit the Healthy
Living blog at www.healthydocs.blogspot.com or e-mail Ms. Fetterley or any of the Healthy Living columnists at healthyliving@wwbh.org.
# posted by ----------------- @ 9:18 PM 
