Thanksgiving: 21 Day Fix Style - The Foodie and The Fix

These healthy, 21 Day Fix Thanksgiving recipes are the perfect secretly nutritious additions to your holiday dinner.

Hey guys! This post was originally published Nov 15, 2016 but I've recently updated it to include tons of new and delicious recipes! Hope this post is super helpful and you have your healthiest holiday yet!

Hey Fixers (and all healthy eaters)!

It's come to my attention that many of you are getting anxious about the holidays approaching. My social media feeds are filled with lines like "I don't know how I'm going to make this work." or "I'm so nervous about undoing all of my hard work." I hear you. And as always, I'm here for you. With some good news, in fact 🙂

So let's talk Thanksgiving. It's about to get real.

First of all, there is this terrible, raging myth that we gain a ton of weight over the holiday season. Thankfully, it just isn't true. The average American gains ½ to 2 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Years. That's it.

And that's the average American. If you're following the 21 Day Fix, you're no average American, amiright? Hell no! You are a take-no-prisoners, weight lifting, healthy eating, fat-burning machine and there's no way that a handful of fatty meals are gonna take you down! Feeling pumped yet? You should, because you've completely got this.

That being said, I know that mentally many of us don't want to feel like we've just completely let go, not to mention the fact that if you've been following the 21 Day Fix for a while, all of that fatty, calorie-laden food makes you feel bad. Really bad. Sick even.

You may have experienced this already, I certainly have and it's definitely no fun, so here are a few tips if you're showing up to someone else's dinner table this Thanksgiving.

How to eat healthy on Thanksgiving:

Save most or all of your yellows. Seriously, you know that table is going to be a total carb-fest. Be prepared. While you're at it, save your blue and your orange if you can. So in other words, try to stick to mostly protein and veggies beforehand.
Bring a healthy side dish. Not only will your host freaking love you for taking something off his/her plate (btw, you should discuss this with said host ahead of time so that they don't make something similar or so that you can fill a hole in their meal plan), but you'll know that it's something you can fill your plate with sans guilt. Plus, if it's something completely fab (see ANY recipe below), there will be accolades - and everyone loves accolades. 😉
If there are some healthier offerings available, definitely try to fill your belly with some of that stuff before you start drinking the gravy. Are there some roasted veggies on the table? A salad? A soup? Go for those bad boys first.
When filling your plate, carefully choose what you put on it. What I mean is, make it worth it. Do you LOVE green bean casserole (of course you do, you're human, aren't you?) Put some on your plate. Do you usually get a piece of corn casserole but could take it or leave it? Then just leave it. Enjoy those things that you truly love, while leaving the things that you don't behind.
Speaking of filling your plate, definitely keep portions in mind! Put larger portions of things like roasted veggies and turkey breast on your plate and smaller portions (trying to eyeball for yellows, if possible) of the heavier items like stuffing and mashed potatoes.
Speaking of filling your plate (again) - fill it only once. I probably didn't even need to say that, but just in case, there it is! And if you really are still hungry after that first plate, load up on some extra salad or roasted veggies.
Have some pie (or pumpkin tart!). I know, it's not a health tip, it's a life tip. You've been (literally) working your butt off. You deserve a piece of pie on Thanksgiving. Plus, who wants to live out the rest of their days sans pie? Not this girl! Balance, people! You got this.

Below is the ULTIMATE list of healthy, 21 Day Fix Thanksgiving recipes!

If you make any of these healthy Thanksgiving recipes, be sure to snap a pic and tag me @thefoodieandthefix on Instagram so I can check it out! It makes me ridiculously happy to see what you guys are making 🙂