DOVER – Stuffing, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie are some of our favorite things to eat for Thanksgiving meals. Our favorite foods however aren’t always the healthiest, especially when we overindulge. This Thanksgiving, the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) wants everyone to enjoy their holiday meal, but recommends some small changes that can make this a healthier start to your holiday season.

• Go easy on your portions. Know what a serving of each item is and stick to it. As tempting as it is, skip going back for a second round.
• Incorporate healthier food choices into the meal. Make sure you have a variety of salads, and high protein foods available to balance out the carb heavy dishes.
• If serving appetizers, serve fruit or vegetable trays, salsa or low-fat dips.
• Cook using non-stick pans and skillets, to reduce or eliminate using oil when cooking.
• Cut back on sugar, salt and fat as you are cooking. Use herbs and spices instead or look for healthier substitutes such as:
  o Use fat-free chicken broth to baste the turkey and make gravy;
  o Use sugar substitutes in place of sugar and/or fruit purees instead of oil in baked goods;
  o Try plain yogurt or fat-free sour cream in creamy dips, mashed potatoes, and casseroles.
• Make water your drink of choice. Drinking plenty of water helps stomachs feel full, while drinking caffeinated or alcoholic beverages can dehydrate you.

DPH also recommends incorporating some physical activity to your Thanksgiving Day activities. Start a new holiday tradition by going for a family walk or run in the morning before the craziness of food preparation sets in, or take a walk after dinner instead of lying on the couch to watch football after a heavy meal. Other suggestions include playing outdoor games like flag football, soccer, basketball or anything else that gets your heart rate going.

“Make your family and friends the focus of the Thanksgiving holiday, as opposed to the food,” said Dr. Karyl Rattay, DPH director. “Making healthier food choices and increasing your physical activity reduces the risk for chronic diseases, including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers, while improving mental health and wellness.”

For fun and easy physical activity ideas, visit www.getupanddosomething.org. For more information on healthy eating options, visit DPH’s 5-2-1 Almost None campaign webpage.

Delaware Health and Social Services is committed to improving the quality of the lives of Delaware’s citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations. DPH, a division of DHSS, urges Delawareans to make healthier choices with the 5-2-1 Almost None campaign: eat 5 or more fruits and vegetables each day, have no more than 2 hours of recreational screen time each day (includes TV, computer, gaming), get 1 or more hours of physical activity each day, and drink almost no sugary beverages.

Wilmington – In his weekly message, Governor Markell expresses his appreciation for those who help others.

“I’m thankful every day for the incredible honor to serve in our state of neighbors, where we come together to help each other and improve the quality of life for everyone in our communities,” said Governor Markell. “I wish you and your families a wonderful Thanksgiving and holiday season.”

Every Friday, the Governor’s office releases a new Weekly Message in video, audio, and transcript form. The message is available on:

YouTube: http://youtu.be/IOiH6CCAqI8
Delaware.Gov:  http://governor.delaware.gov/podcast_video.shtml
By email: Please contact our press team to subscribe to our press list
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/governormarkell
Twitter:  www.twitter.com/governormarkell

Trascript of the Governor’s Weekly Message: Giving Thanks to Our State of Neighbors

As we celebrate Thanksgiving and the start of the holiday season, we have so much to be grateful for. No matter what challenges we face, the generosity, hard work, and talent of Delawareans serves as a constant reminder of why we can be thankful in the present and hopeful about the future of our great state.

We are reminded by people like Judy Travis, Founder of the Stockings for Soldiers community project in its tenth year sending personalized stockings to service members overseas. Last year, almost one thousand people helped ship more than ten thousand homemade stockings, stuffed with 40,000 pounds of holiday gifts. It’s inspiring to see their Wilmington headquarters packed with enthusiastic volunteers again this year.

You can find that same spirit of giving at 20 of our high schools this month as volunteers from our state’s universities and colleges, along with members of the business and non-profit communities, help students with college application and financial aid forms. And that same selfless attitude is apparent when 150 employees from Capital One visit Brandywine Creek State Park to clear trails, build benches and clean up the park.

Many more Delawareans take opportunities to help the less fortunate among us, participating in efforts like the Food Bank of Delaware’s annual Stuff the Bus food drive. I’m thankful every day for the incredible honor to serve in our state of neighbors, where we come together to help each other and improve the quality of life for everyone in our communities.

I wish you and your families a wonderful Thanksgiving and holiday season. Thank you for everything you do to keep Delaware moving forward.

The night before Thanksgiving is often one for celebrating.  Whether you are hosting a gathering of family and friends before the big meal or after, it is the responsibility of the host to make sure that each car leaving the party has a designated, sober driver.  Here are some helpful suggestions for your celebration:

• De-emphasize alcohol by creating alternative activities.  If your guests are busy having fun, they are not busy drinking.  Fun activities aren’t just for kids… pull the box games out of the closet!
• Always serve food.  Is the centerpiece of your party the food?  Encourage guests to eat a variety of foods that are high in protein.  Meats and cheeses are great choices that slow the absorption of alcohol into the blood stream.  Add shrimp cocktail, smoked fish, and crab dip to the line-up and your party is sure to be a hit.
• Don’t make the bar the main attraction. Place the bar in an out of the way spot and consider appointing someone responsible to measure and pour alcohol.
• Offer a variety of non-alcoholic beverages.  It’s never been easier to offer a selection of non-alcoholic drinks, ranging from alcohol-free beer and wine, to punch and sparking waters, to fruit smoothies.
• Party’s end.  Stop serving alcohol at least one hour before guests leave.  Only time can reduce the amount of alcohol in one’s system.

Remind friends and family that you can’t hide from a DUI – but – you can avoid getting one in the first place. Don’t ever let someone you know get behind the wheel after they have been drinking.  Always remember this simple tip: if you are going out and plan to drink, then plan for a sober driver too.

Drive Sober.  Arrive Alive DE.

This message was sent to you by the Office of Highway Safety, who asks you to drive safely at all times.  For more information on this and other traffic safety programs, go to www.ohs.delaware.gov. 

(DOVER, DE) In his Thanksgiving Week message, Governor Jack Markell sends a message of thanks to Delawareans, who make this state a great place to grow up, raise a family, go to work and retire.

“I want to use this message, this week, to say thanks. To thank you, your friends and your neighbors. For giving me and others the incredible honor of having the chance to serve you. For giving us the chance to commit ourselves each day to the goal of making some of these tough times a little easier, to fight to bring more jobs and opportunity here, to work to make our state’s schools even stronger,” said the Governor. “Thank you, for everything you do, to make this such an incredible place to call home – To make Delaware such a great place grow up, a great place to raise a family, a great place to work and, as more and more of the country is noticing, a great place to retire.”

One of the characteristics that define our state is how quickly people pull together, to fight together to overcome obstacles. The Governor put those characteristics in a historical context: “From the very moment we became The First State, Delawareans have pulled together and made clear along the way that we don’t settle, and we don’t stop. We look forward, and we push forward and we fight, for our families, and friends and neighbors in this, our great state of neighbors,” he said.

During his Thanksgiving, the Governor will join others in serving a Thanksgiving Day meal to those in need at Emmanuel Dining Room in Wilmington.

“Please accept this thank you, from me, from our Lt. Governor Matt Denn, the members of our Cabinet and others, for the chance to work with you and for you, to keep Delaware, moving forward,” Markell said.

About the Governor’s Weekly Message:

At noon every Friday, a new video message is posted to the Governor’s website and YouTube channel and is distributed to Delaware media outlets. Transcripts of the messages are posted and the audio version of the Governor’s message is available on iTunes as a podcast for distribution to personal MP3 players and home computers. The Governor’s weekly message is currently being carried on the air and posted on websites by various media outlets, and the direct link is: http://youtu.be/DGPVdVhPniI.

Constituents, media outlets and others are free to link to the Governor’s video message on YouTube –http://www.youtube.com/user/GovernorMarkell – or on his Facebook page –www.facebook.com/governormarkell – or on the Delaware State website athttp://governor.delaware.gov/information/podcast_video.shtml. All are also invited to follow him on Twitter – www.twitter.com/governormarkell – and submit ideas through http://ideas.delaware.gov.

Transcript of the Governor’s weekly message: Giving Thanks