Only two more days!

I am amazed at how fast the year has flown and how quickly Thanksgiving has arrived.  2 more days!

I love Thanksgiving!  It is a lot of food prep and work for me to cook the holiday meal for my family, though the past couple of years have been a bit easier….less food and less prep.  Tomorrow morning, I begin making pie.  And I love pie!

Pie is a staple of Thanksgiving!  Apple pie, Chocolate Cream Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Pecan Pie….. oh, there are so many pies to choose from! 

For years I made three types of pie every Thanksgiving—Pumpkin Pie (either one deep dish or 2 regular pies), Chocolate Cream Pie (with an Oreo crust) and Pecan Pie (for my husband, as I do not like Pecan pie).  I would have a slice of Pumpkin pie and Chocolate cream pie on Thanksgiving after dinner (from which I was over-stuffed and really had no room for pie).  And then as I watched a movie later at night I would have another slice of Pumpkin pie.  Breakfast the day after Thanksgiving was always easy for me—Chocolate Cream pie and Pumpkin pie. 

Pie all day long until it was gone.  And the size of the slice varied, depending on what meal and how many pies I was eating at that time. 

I really did not pay attention to portion sizes or what a true portion of pie looked like.  Why should I?  It was Thanksgiving Day….. weekend….. week…. And I was surprised when I would gain 10 or more pounds over the “eating season”?!  Maybe the excess pie had something to do with it (and the cookies in December, too!).

Then I joined Weight Watchers in March of 2006 for the 5^th time.  That first Thanksgiving I went to the workshop and made a plan…kinda…. But not really.  But I did pay attention.  It was that workshop where my then leader showed us the plate and how we could use that plate to really see a true serving size of pie.  WOW!  THAT was a HUGE eye-opener!  Because, what she showed us was the same size as the small piece of pie I would cut when I was having both Pumpkin and Chocolate Cream pies…. I thought my 2 small pieces were less than or equal to one piece of pie.  Boy was I wrong!

It was not until Thanksgiving 2007 that I took that lesson to heart and really paid attention to my portions for Thanksgiving and for Pie.  My leader again showed us the plate demo for a pie slice and I again was amazed.  But this time I was serious and determined to reach my goal….I was so close and so I stuck to that serving size of pie—one slice. 

And I was satisfied with one slice…one true portion of pie!  Who knew?!  I did not need the excessive amount of pie.  I did not feel deprived eating a portion and sometimes even smaller.  And I could enjoy my pie.

Over the years I have adapted recipes and found ways to enjoy pie without the guilt…. Always paying attention to the serving size.  Last year I made a slow cooker Crustless Apple Pie from skinnytaste and it was delicious!  It is now a staple for my Thanksgiving and for other times of the year.  I still make the Chocolate Cream pie for my son and have a slice and that satisfies me.  I don’t make Pumpkin Pie because I am the only one who eats it and I don’t need the whole pie…instead I make a Pumpkin Spice truffle with Pumpkin Pie yogurt, crushed graham cracker and whipped topping.  Oh…it is good!  And this year I will be using Pizzelle cookies to make pie shells for the slow cooker apple pie filling and for the pumpkin yogurt…..very low in calories and smartpoints and delicious!  I can enjoy a treat or two or three and still feel in control. 

And when I have that one slice of Chocolate Cream Pie, I will have that true serving size based on this plate demo—this is what my leader showed us all those years ago and what I shared with those who attended the Weight Watcher workshops I led every year –

Take an 8-inch paper plate—This represents an 8 inch pie.

And fold that plat in half— No that is not a serving size of pie….. we may want it to be…but…..

Fold the plate in half again— okay, this looks like my kind of pie slice….but this is NOT a true serving size of pie, Not the size slice of pie that those smartpoints are based on…. So…..

Fold the plate in half again— Now THIS, THIS is a true portion of pie.  1/8 of an 8-inch pie is what the smartpoints are based on.  This right here is a true portion of pie…doesn’t look too small….until you place it in your hand or on a dessert plate…with the fork next to it.  And those Costco pies?  Well this is a pretty small slice of that pie!

This Thanksgiving enjoy your pie.  Eat it.   Savor it.  Before enjoying it, practice this plate demo…..Being aware of what a serving size of pie looks like, helps us with portions and helps us to not feel guilty! 

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!!