OK, so maybe you’re doing pretty well at controlling what you eat to reduce your symptoms. Now along comes a major ‘eat fest’ holiday. Uh Oh! There is going to be LOTS of food within easy reach. Not all of it is GERD-safe and certainly there is way too much of it for someone that is supposed eat Small Meals. So, what is a person to do? Hold on to your food diaries, Christmas and Hanukkah follow soon after and we must steel ourselves to the rules.
Some of the traditional Thanksgiving foods are actually quite safe. If you eat small amounts of each food and keep to no more than a small plate’s worth, you should be fine. Let’s consider some of the foods that should work well:
Turkey – poultry works well for GERD patients as long as you don’t eat the skin. It is easily digested.
Gravy – this is going to be a high fat item. If you can avoid it, please do. If not, use a very small amount on the food where gravy matters the most to you.
Stuffing/ Dressing – the problem here is butter/ turkey fat and (depending on your recipe) onions. Make a batch that won’t cook inside the turkey so you can control the fat content. Use low fat chicken broth and include mushrooms, vegetables and/or fruit instead of onions to give it extra flavor and moisture.
Mashed Potatoes – Potatoes are good, right? The problem is how we normally make mashed potatoes. Use 1% or 2% milk instead of cream and low fat margarine instead of butter and you’ll have a healthier, lower fat dish. Using skim milk is the absolute best since it reduces the fat content even further.
Veggies – include a steamed vegetable in your dinner instead of a fat laden casserole. I know the casseroles are delicious, but the added fat from cheese and milk will get you in trouble.
Cranberry Sauce – this one is probably a very individual. I, personally, can’t handle anything to do with cranberries. So, it will be on the table for my family, but I won’t be having any. There are other things I’d much rather have than this anyway. Its going to be high acid, much like citrus. So, be careful! If you must have it, have just a very tiny bit to get the taste.
Dessert – most any of the traditionaldesserts are goingto be high fat especially if the include whipped cream or ice cream. There are plenty of ‘light’ pumpkin pie recipes on the web that you might want to check out. Another good choice, although not as traditional, is angel food cake with berries and low fat topping.
Remember as you choose your menu that you need to stay low fat on as much as possible. Since we eat so many different foods at Thanksgiving they will realy add up to problems if you aren’t careful.
Repeat after me, “Small Plate, small portions, low fat.” If you fear you will feel too deprived, pick ONE dish that you just can’t bear to change and have it as you normally make it. Coupled with a carefully considered menu, one higher risk dish should be OK as long as you have just a little. You know yourself better than I do. So, be honest with yourself and do what will help you feel good and enjoy the time with friends and family. After all, that is what its all about!
