30 Last-Minute Tips for Healthier Blood Sugar This Thanksgiving

In this article:

• Having high blood sugar doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy Thanksgiving - just that making a few small changes can support healthier blood sugar.
• This Thanksgiving, try balancing favorite foods and holiday traditions with small, healthy changes to feel better and improve blood sugar control.
• You can make small changes with a little bit of planning - or even if you didn’t plan ahead. Careful choices, shifting portions, and spotting high-nutrient foods can all help.
• Aside from food, choices like staying hydrated and moving can help. It’s also healthy to feel gratitude and enjoy the people you’re with - or your own company if you’re on your own.
• Lark can support you 24/7 as you make healthy choices to lose weight and manage blood sugar, blood pressure, or other conditions with or without GLP-1s. 

Thanksgiving is almost here. That’s already a lot for many people, but it can be even more to process if you’re thinking about losing weight or managing blood sugar. What can you eat? How can you handle Thanksgiving dinner and Thanksgiving weekend and still support healthy blood sugar? What if you haven’t planned ahead? 

Relax. A few healthy choices can make a big difference - and there are plenty of simple changes you can make compared to previous years that support health. Whether you’re a host or guest, and whether you have a day to prepare or you’re already sitting at the table, here are 30 last-minute tips for healthier blood sugar this Thanksgiving.

Food and Beverage Tips

1. Drink water. Drinking water helps keep you hydrated. When you choose water instead of sugar-sweetened or alcoholic beverages, you save on calories. Water is a beverage you can have anywhere, so it’s easy to ask for if you’re a guest. 
2. Go for deviled egg instead of meats and cheese on a charcuterie board.
3. Bring or serve a salad. Chop some lettuce or use bagged greens to make it faster. Bring or serve toppings to serve on the side like seeds or nuts, dried fruit, and feta cheese. Remember to serve the dressing on the side, and use only a little bit.
4. Try glazed carrots or roasted sweet potatoes instead of sweet potato casserole to save on sugar and fat.
5. Choose roasted brussels sprouts instead of green bean casserole for fewer calories, more fiber, and less fat.
6. Use your roll to make a turkey sandwich with deli, dijon, or yellow mustard. That way, you’re skipping butter on rolls. 
7. When serving yourself, fill the serving spoon only half full instead of completely full before putting it on your plate. You’ll get smaller portions.
8. Choose creamed corn instead of corn casserole. Surprisingly, it’s likely to be lower in calories, fat, and carbohydrates - but still is satisfying. 
9. Look for dressing instead of stuffing. Dressing is also known as “dry stuffing” - it’s been cooked alongside the turkey instead of inside of it, so it doesn’t have the extra calories and fat from turkey juices. 
10. Add vegetables to stuffing. If you’re preparing stuffing for the turkey, you can keep the same recipe - just add more vegetables. Celery, onions, and mushrooms are traditional, but broccoli, cauliflower, and spinach are just a few other ideas that work well.
11. Remove skin from turkey before you eat it. You’ll cut calories by about 30%, and save on cholesterol and saturated fat.
12. Look for sheet pan or roasted vegetables, potatoes, or sweet potatoes instead of creamy casseroles.
13. Get your cranberry fix from homemade orange cranberry sauce or apple cranberry relish instead of canned cranberry sauce. These homemade options are likely lower in added sugars because their orange juice and apples add natural sweetness.
14. Split desserts with one or two other people. When you have ½ or ⅓ of a serving of pumpkin pie and cheesecake, you’ll still be keeping dessert to a reasonable portion compared to a full slice of multiple desserts.
15. Opt for whipped topping instead of ice cream for your pie. A quarter-cup squeeze of whipped topping has 40 calories, compared to 150-200 calories for a standard small scoop of ice cream.
16. Choose pumpkin or apple pie instead of pecan pie to slash calories. Bonus: leave the 
17. Have unsweetened tea or black coffee with a splash of milk instead of sweetened tea or coffee. You’ll not only save on calories and sugar with your choice of beverage, but the hot drink can give you something else to do during dessert, so you can eat less pie and cheesecake.
18. Try spiced hot tea instead of mulled wine. 
19. For a holiday beverage treat, choose for apple cider instead of eggnog. 
20. Look for fresh fruit for dessert - pineapple, grapes, persimmons, clementines and pears are all delicious this time of year. 

More Last-Minute Healthy Tips 

1. Create a space on your plate for food that you’re not going to eat. That gives you a place to leave extra food or food items that you don’t like, so you’re less likely to force yourself to eat them.
2. Stand up before you serve yourself more food. Take a short walk outside, go to the bathroom, or walk around the house. It helps you slow down your eating. In addition, the pause may give you time to realize you’re full or don’t want more food.
3. Remove your plate from the table as soon as you’re done eating. This is a signal that you’re finished. If you can’t remove your plate immediately, push it away from you. Then place your cutlery and your napkin on it.
4. Park further away if you’re driving to someone’s house. Walk back and forth to and from your car a couple of times during a long visit to someone’s house. If you need an excuse to take a walk, say you left your sweater in the car and need to get it. 
5. Help clean up from Thanksgiving dinner. Tasks like washing dishes, sweeping floors, and clearing the table can keep you busy so you stay away from more food.
6. When putting food away, pack it well so you’re less tempted to eat leftovers. Consider double wrapping food or taping container lids shut so they’re harder to open. 
7. Let others take home high-calorie leftovers like desserts, stuffing, and casseroles. If you’re hosting, give your guests containers filled with leftovers. If you don’t have containers, just use plates, and cover them with foil for guests to take home.
8. Break up long periods of sitting with a few minutes of light activity. For every quarter of a football game that you watch, for example, take a 5-minute walk. 
9. Socialize on walks in the neighborhood. Ask others who are at your Thanksgiving dinner to come with you. 
10. Play football or other games with the kids or other guests. If you’re not much of an athlete, you can always be an active participant by cheering, chasing balls, or announcing the action.

Lark Can Help

Compassionate, personalized coaching can help you reach your weight loss and health goals - and you may be eligible for Lark’s digital coaching at no cost to you. Your Lark coach is available 24/7 for encouragement, nutrition and physical activity coaching, and habit tracking. Lark can help you make healthy choices and establish habits that fit into your lifestyle so you can lose weight and keep it off with or without GLP-1 medications. 

Click here to see if you may be eligible to join Lark today!

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