A Recipe for Holiday Success
November 24, 2005

Would you like a recipe for a wonderful family celebration? A good rule of thumb is to keep the heart a little softer than the head, the hands a little busier than the mouth, and your smile a little more generous than your waistline. Contribute to the event and focus on the things you are thankful for; ignore grandpa’s criticism of your teenager’s hairdo or that cousin who locked you in the trunk as a child. To further diffuse stress, be in the moment. Absolutely DO NOT permit any discussion of the Christmas menu during Thanksgiving (my family does this!)

Cocktail-time can often be a prelude to a family feud. Make sure to have raw vegetables, fun non-alcoholic beverages and other healthy alternatives to the heavy hors d'oeuvres served during cocktail hour. Please don’t make guests wait for hours to eat, serve the meal within 90 minutes and then let people relax on their own schedule. It’s a good idea to pace the feast a bit. After the meal, clean up and then take a walk; serve dessert during the football game.

When it comes to clean–up time, don’t buy the “I’m sleepy from the tryptophan in turkey” excuse from slackers. They’ll have to find another reason for feeling too tired to help out with the post meal clean up. L-tryptophan doesn't act on the brain unless you take it on an empty stomach with no protein present. The levels found in a turkey dinner are far too low to have such an effect. So, even though the media blame post holiday meal sleepiness on the turkey dinner, it’s just flashy PR, not food fact. It’s more likely due to the combination of drinking alcohol (remember Seinfeld’s wine-in-the-box and turkey episode?), social stress, and overeating. Eating turkey combined with the mashed potato-creamed onion- cranberry sauce-sweet potato-stuffing-bread-pie-whipped cream onslaught draws blood away from the brain to aid in the digestive tract’s massive job. That’s why it’s important not to hold grudges during this holiday, it’s bad for digestion: swallow your pride and get on with the celebration. A Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving to all!

Kim Dannies is a graduate of La Varenne Cooking School in France. She lives in Williston, VT with her husband, Jeff, and three college–aged daughters who come and go. ©2008