You’re already thinking about the “big day”–Turkey day:
What dishes to prepare…the luggage you need to pack…the day’s festivities and football games…the memories you will make …the delicious pumpkin pie you will eat…the conversations you will have (and others you will try to avoid)…the reunions with family you see but once or twice a year…and, of course, what you are going to eat (or try not to eat)…
All the hype and anticipation around Thanksgiving can definitely place the food on pedestal–nowadays, often more the focus than the true meaning of the holiday itself: Giving thanks.
And often times, in all the preparation and anticipation…people also plan to ‘starve’ themselves for the beginning of the day, leading up to the ‘big meal’; or “workout super hard” in the days leading up to the “big event”—when they 9 times out of 10—overinduldge in everything their eyes see (the good ol’ ‘my eyes are bigger than my stomach’ idea).
This mentality (depriving ourselves in order to ‘save up’ for a special treat or “earning” our food) is not just confined to Thanksgiving either.
It’s practiced regularly by many when…
- You know you are going out to eat or to a party later and you want to ‘save up your calories’ for whatever you want on the menu at the restaurant or on the appetizer table at the shin-dig
- You feel guilty—and want to “be good” for having eaten something “bad” the night before (moralizing our food)
- You are planning to go on vacation soon—so to justify you’re eating out or ‘eating whatever’, you plan to cut back on your food intake to have more ‘reserve’ in your body bank for indulging later
These are just some examples, but whatever the case may be—we can easily fall into the trap of putting our body through a roller coaster of blood sugar highs and lows with this diet mentality (deprive or restrict…followed by eating—or overeating).
It even can happen, simply, when we don’t plan ahead.
Ever gotten to the point when you haven’t been able to eat (for whatever reason) for several hours, and you’re HANGRY (hungry and angry)?
Finally, when you get the chance, you eat anything and everything in sight…only to feel bloated, constipated or lethargic later.
And the beat goes on: Highs and lows with hunger, fullness and energy. Deprive or restrict, followed by eating (or overeating), intense cravings or constantly warring or thinking about food (what you can and can’t eat; or what your next meal is going to be, etc.)
The problem is not just a psychological state either.
When our bodies go into that ‘deprived’ state, or the ‘I’m going to be good, so I can be bad (later)’ state, we actually do some wonky things to our adrenal glands (stress regulators)…
Namely stress them out—especially when we restrict our intake frequently
(i.e. ‘try to be good’ or practice ‘the diet mentality’).
Ever find yourself even ‘trying to be good’ in your day to day life—“eating as clean as possible”, choosing “good options” (“a salad dressing on the side please” and “egg-white-only-omelets-please”) during the day, only to, come night time, get really hangry—and once again, want to ‘indulge’ in whatever your cravings are speaking to you?
You’re not alone.
The fact of the matter:
Any time that we aren’t meeting our body’s needs for energy with adequate fuel, we put stress on the adrenals—forcing them to pump out more stress hormones (cortisol and adrenaline) to get us through the day…
And, when your adrenals get stressed…the rest of your body and processes get stressed (like your metabolism, your hormones, your blood sugar regulation, body composition, etc.)…
Hints:
- Mood swings
- Irritability
- Headaches
- Afternoon crashes or food comas post-meal
- Shakiness before or between meals
- Hormonal imbalances
- Stubborn weight gain or weight loss efforts
- Not understanding WHY you continue to ‘stay stuck’ at the same bodyweight or composition—despite all your ‘hard work’
Simply put: Your adrenals are your body’s shock absorbers (allowing the body to adapt to stress) and hormone regulators—but when we send those adrenals through highs and lows throughout the day (simply by not fueling our ‘machine’ with the nutrients it needs to remain balanced), we get off balance.
In addition, when you are not consuming enough throughout the day, your metabolism slows down as a protective mechanism for your body (and adrenals) to perform the BASIC everyday functions it needs for survival.
Since, your basal metabolic rate (the amount of energy used “at rest” for breathing, circulation, digestion and so on), accounts for up to 75 percent of the calories your body consumes and uses each day, your body will always prioritize completing these “at rest” activities first.
If there are very few calories available from restricting in the day, your metabolism slows down so these essential “survival” functions can be completed.
The fix?
Focus on eating regular, nutrient-dense meals and foods throughout the day.
Fuel the body with what it needs (proteins, healthy fats, veggies and lots of water), while taking into consideration the foods that work best with your digestive system.
In doing so, your adrenals don’t have to work very hard.
They remain happy, waiting only for those intense moments of acute stress to do the job they were put there to do: create energy during times of life threatening stress (not inadequate dieting-mentality or blood-sugar imbalance stress).
At one time or another, not fueling up enough (and hanger) happens to all of us—but in those instances when you can ‘help it’ (such as Thanksgiving Day), keep your hanger, blood sugar levels (and adrenals) stable by practicing healthy eating habits.
Start the day off with a protein and fat-based breakfast to get your metabolism revving, and blood sugar levels and adrenals balanced for the day, and chances are, come Thanksgiving dinner (or any other special festivity), you won’t be so ‘pulled’ or ‘tugged’ to “overindulge” or “make up for adrenal stress” when your body is crying out: “Feed ME!” (especially with sugar!)
Instead, you will simply be able to enjoy (and savor) the meal.
Here are 20 easy, throw-together breakfast ideas for a light, protein-and-fat based breakfast for some inspiration:
(*Notice: many of these are unconventional egg-free, giving you options outside the ‘classic American breakfast’ you tend to associate a ‘protein based breakfast with):
Mustard-balsamic vinegar glazed chicken thighs*, roasted broccoli with extra virgin olive oil, raw sauerkraut*
Chicken/turkey sausage patties (home made from ground pork or other meat plus spice blend), Rainbow Chard, Avocado, raw sauerkraut
Pasture-raised eggs (2-3 over easy or scrambled) with 1-2 slices nitrate free bacon and greens
Smoothie: Coconut or almond milk + 1 serving fruit (berries or ½ banana) + 1 TBSP almond butter + 1 serving protein powder (hemp or artificial-sugar-free whey/egg white/or beef isolate) or 2 Pasture Raised eggs or 1 serving collagen + 1 heaping handful of spinach
Ground beef or turkey with curry spice and cinnamon, butternut squash
Turkey bacon wrapped chicken breasts with steamed spinach and ghee
Ground turkey with Moroccan spices, butternut squash hash, sautéed crispy kale, raw sauerkraut*
Wild canned salmon with 1/2 avocado, olives, and lemon juice atop mixed greens
Ground beef (cook with with sea salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and cinnamon) and spaghetti squash (with cinnamon and ghee)
Turkey or bison burger patties, guacamole, pan fried yellow and zucchini squash
Baked acorn squash with coconut butter, 2 slices nitrate-free bacon or breakfast sausage links
Lemon rosemary chicken breast with roasted asparagus, black olives and dried tomatoes
Turkey meatballs, roasted beets and green chard (sautéed in coconut oil)
Smoked salmon atop cucumber slices, with avocado and “cream cheese” (try this or this)
Sweet potato hash with ground bison and spinach (add onions or onion powder, garlic, rosemary or cinnamon)
Baked herb-crusted salmon (with herbs, sea salt, and black pepper) with baby carrots and broccoli
Turkey and bacon club salad (roast turkey, bacon, avocado, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, coconut vinegar ‘dressing’)
Hardboiled deviled eggs with guacamole filling, nitrate free bacon and cucumber slices
If you’re feeling really ambitious with all your time in the kitchen already, you have to try these breakfast sandwiches or pumpkin pancakes—a couple of my favorites from the incredibly talented Juli Bauer on her site PaleOMG.com and RunningToTheKitchen.
Egg Biscuit Sandwiches
Ingredients
For the innards
4-5 pieces of bacon
¼ cup coconut oil, divided
6 eggs + 4 leftover egg yolks
4-5 cups fresh spinach
1 teaspoon garlic powder, divided
salt and pepper, to taste
⅓ cup Primal Kitchen mayo or homemade paleo mayo
For the biscuits
1 cup almond flour/meal
½ cup tapioca flour
¼ cup coconut flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
4 egg whites (save the egg yolks for later)
2 whole eggs
2 tablespoons bacon fat, melted (or butter, ghee, lard, coconut oil, duck fat, etc.)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place bacon on a foil lined baking sheet and place in oven to cook for 15-18 minutes or until cooked to preference. Set aside.
Now for the biscuits. Sift together almond flour, tapioca flour, coconut flour, baking soda and powder, and salt in a large bowl.
In another bowl, beat egg whites until frothy. Pour frothy egg whites into the almond flour mixture bowl and mix well. Then add the 2 whole eggs and bacon fat and whisk together. Place batter in fridge for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use an ice cream scoop to scoop out the some batter and pour onto the baking sheet. The batter will spread out just a little bit, but should still set up. Make 4 biscuits on the baking sheet.
Bake for 15-18 minutes. If you poke the biscuits, you’ll be able to tell that they are done. Let cool.
While the biscuits bake, finish the insides for the sandwiches. Place a large pan over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of coconut oil along with sliced yellow onions. Let onions cook down until caramelized. They will just need a stir once in a while to keep from sticking to the pan.
In a medium pan over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil along with ½ teaspoon garlic powder and a bit of salt and pepper. Cook until spinach is soft and wilted. Set aside.
In that same pan over medium heat, add 1 more tablespoon of coconut oil. Whisk together eggs and egg yolks and pour into the pan. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon garlic powder and a bit of salt and pepper. Continuously stir eggs with a spatula until cooked through.
Once onions, spinach and eggs are done cooking, cut biscuits in half and then start building: bottom biscuit, bacon, spinach egg, caramelized onions, and maple mayo, and top biscuit.
Protein Pumpkin Pancakes
- Ingredients
- ½ cup almond flour
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seed
- 2 tablespoons vanilla protein powder (optional; I use Wild Whey or PaleoPro protein)
- pinch of salt
- ½ tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- ¾ cup egg whites
- 2 tablespoons honey
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- coconut oil for cooking pancakes
- Directions
- Heat a pancake griddle over medium heat.
- Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.
- Whisk together wet ingredients in a small bowl.
- Add wet to dry ingredients and stir together.
- Add enough coconut oil to the pan to grease the center.
- Pour batter in approximately ¼ cupfuls onto pan and spread out into pancake shape (the batter will be a bit thick and need some help to form a circle)
- Cook for about 3-4 minutes on the first side, carefully flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes on the second side.
Repeat with remaining batter, adding more coconut oil to the pan as needed