AGONY OF THE FEAST

(Written for The River Current publication, November 29, 2012)

We've all been there.  It's that classic Thanksgiving moment when you reluctantly surrender your plate. You have passed the point of contentment and your stomach; which is stretched to it's limit, has just begun to talk back…maxed out on turkey, ham, dressings (plain and oyster), sweet potatoes, corn casserole, mashed potatoes, gravy, pies…..and a host of other family favorites.  

As your stomach painfully ponders what to do with this huge influx of food, you find yourself a long way from a feeling of comfort once again.  

Give thanks…if you are reading this, you have once again survived this time honored tradition! I don’t know about you, but I was absolutely miserable after indulging in this year’s holiday feast.  

I come from a family of great cooks, so holidays can sometimes become a culinary competition for some of us.  We proudly bring our best culinary offerings to share with friends and family and then sit back and wait for the oo’s and ahh’s applauding our great efforts.  Unfortunately, discomfort is an inevitable result. 

I recently found a website that offers a Thanksgiving calorie calculator...and you will also find many apps available out there.    You simply plug in the foods you have eaten and the calorie calculator nicely calculates the number of calories you consumed and the distance you would need to walk in order to burn off those calories.  

According to this calculation, I consumed approximately 3500 calories at last Thursday’s feast and the number of miles needed to walk off this digestive overload would have been 30.05 miles!  

Statistics show the average American consumes even more than I did this year; consuming between 5000-6000 calories and 229 grams of fat.  Oh my!  You would have to walk approximately 45 miles to burn off that many calories!  And with a belly full of food and discomfort, 45 miles would definitely be out of the question.

So where do we go from here?  Rejoice (along with your digestive system) that this event only happens once a year.  A big holiday dinner isn’t going to make you fat, any more than a day or two of eating cabbage soup is going to make you thin. 

When it comes to trying to eat a healthy diet, don’t focus too much on your best days or your worst days; what really matters is how you eat most days!

When I got home last evening, after delivering my youngest back to college, I opened the fridge hoping to find something that would be quick, energizing and healthy!  

I threw together this simple smoothie which was packed with ‘the good stuff’ and dived back into my nutrition homework…after a week of entertaining teenagers, I am very behind!  

Check my Butter Girl blog for the nutritional offerings of kale. Admittedly, I was a little afraid to throw something green into a smoothie, but have no fear…the ingredients swirl together into a lovely shade of purple and all you taste are the berries and fruit.  

Rest assured, I will never share a recipe with you that I haven't tried myself!

Kale and Berry Smoothie

8 oz. Greek yogurt

¼ cup blackberries

¼ cup blueberries

1 banana

1 cup kale

½ cup ice cubes

Generous sprinkling of nutmeg (I think everything is better with nutmeg!)