Today is all about food, eating possibly all day, and feeling so full you may have to undo a button or two. This can be very daunting for some of us. Today is Thanksgiving and I am going to eat! Turkey, stuffing, my cheesy twice mashed potatoes, salad (maybe), and Chocolate mint cake. Every Thanksgiving table looks different based on family traditions or individual’s taste, hence chocolate cake and not pie.

The emotions that come up for me on Thanksgiving are those of longing, my family used to have big family dinners, and my aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents would all make something delish and we would eat, laugh and eat some more it was an all-day family gathering. I remember loving to get dressed up and have my thanksgiving outfit all ready to go. Thanksgiving was my favorite holiday for a long time, it was special. My grandfather passed away unexpectedly right before Thanksgiving in 1988, we tried to come together as a family that year, but something was off. In the years that followed family members went on to start new traditions and the day I looked forward to as a little girl were gone. I’ve tried starting my own traditions but it’s been challenging for me because as I got older and my relationship with food soured more and more with each year the thought of sitting down to eat a hefty meal became impossible for me. I no longer associated Thanksgiving with family and love it became a day where I would rather opt-out.

But this year will be the first time in many that I will be with family and making a big dinner and I’m really excited because as I’m quickly approaching fifty, I realized home is where you are at any given time and family doesn’t have to be blood-related. Food is a way that we express love and that is so cool to be able to make a table full of it for you and your entire family to enjoy. Please try and put it in your consciousness today to not focus on how many calories each dish has or how many slices of pie (or cake) you have today. If those thoughts do arise for you replace them with logical ones. Be kind to yourself and remind yourself that “today’s meal is not going to make me fat!” I do promise you that I recognize that this can be difficult, but we will never be able to change our mindset or aim for a better relationship with food if we don’t start somewhere.

I hope today you will do your best to focus on the joy of eating and spending time with whomever is your family today and have a really lovely meal.  

Happy Thanksgiving 2021

Rachel