There's no way around eating good food during the holidays, and lots of it. But wouldn't it be nice if you and your guests actually felt good after the feast? And even the day after?

Thanksgiving doesn't have to end with feeling stuffed, bloated or constipated. Here's some simple ways to keep it cleaner and feel good all weekend long:

1. Go Light on the Appetizers - One year, my sister-in-law decided not to serve appetizers before our holiday feast. What a relief! Chips and dips, candied nuts, breads and cheeses can be filling and cause bloating before the real eating has even started. Try this: an hour or so before the meal, serve a brothy soup to help with hunger and excite the tastebuds.

2. Skip the Rolls - You don't need them. With mashed potatoes, stuffing and yams, the extra carbs from refined bread is too much. Wheat bread expands in the stomach (especially with beer) and is one of the most common causes for digestive upset.

3. Make a Wild Rice Stuffing - Unlike refined bread stuffings that are high in simple carbohydrates, wild rice is a whole grain complex carbohydrate that absorbs gently into the bloodstream. It's high in fiber (your guests will thank you later!) and is a good source of B vitamins and minerals.

10 Tips continued at bottom...

Wild Rice - A Truly Native Harvest

With the vast array of foods available to us today from all over the world, it's hard to find one that is native to our own land. In the stew of hundreds of thousands of foods, wild rice stands as one of these rare jewels.

Known as "manoomin" to the indigenous peoples of Northern Minnesota, wild rice has a long history. Historically, even well into the sixties, native families would camp at the lakeshore for weeks during the ricing season. They would rice during the day in teams of two, with a "poler" to navigate the canoe and a "knocker" to hit the rice into large birch baskets. The harvested rice would then be brought back to shore for processing.

Yam and Wild Rice Soup with Cranberries Caramelized onions and festive yams balance the pungeant flavors of dried cranberries, while native wild rice gives this soup an earthy charactor. It's like Thanksgiving in a cup!... Get Recipe

Wild Rice, Cranberry and Apple Stuffing Marinated cranberries, sauteed apples and toasted pecans make this stuffing a traditional accompaniment to any Thanksgiving feast. Fresh sage gives it a savory kick... Get Recipe

Over the past few decades, modernized wild rice (often genetically modified) has been developed to grow in commercially farmed paddies throughout the mid-western states and California. By far, most of the wild rice on the market today comes from commercial paddies rather than from the indiginous, traditionally harvested lake-grown sources.

There are still a small handful of native-run rice mills where the rice is processed in the traditional manner. Native Harvest is one such organization. Consumers can pre-purchase bags of traditionally harvested manoomin for the holiday season now at the Native Harvest online store.

Homemade Cranberry-Orange Sauce
Yield: 6 servings
[print recipe]

Orange and cinnamon highlight tart cranberries, while maple syrup and apple cider balance the sauce with their sweet flavors. This homemade sauce takes 15 minutes to whip up and can be made several days before the big feast.

8-12 ounce bag fresh cranberries
1 orange, peeled, seeded and chopped
2/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup apple cider
1 cinnamon stick
2 teaspoons arrowroot powder (or cornstarch) mixed with 2 teaspoons water

Simmer the cranberries, orange pieces, maple syrup, apple cider and cinnamon stick in a saucepan over medium heat for 15 minutes. Stir the berries occasionally and mash them with the back of a wooden spoon until they pop.

Whisk the arrowroot with the water and slowly drizzle it into the cranberries, whisking briskly to prevent clumping. Cook another 2-3 minutes, until the sauce has thickened and has a glazed look. The sauce will set up more as it cools. Serve room temperature over turkey and mashed potatoes.

Baby Pumpkins with Maple and Cinnamon
[print recipe]

These fun and festive pumpkins are not just for show, their sweet and tender taste make them a perfect accompaniment for all of your favorite holiday foods. Look for these little pumpkins at the farmers' market; if you can't find them, larger pie pumpkins or acorn squash can be substituted.

Baby pie pumpkins
1-2 teaspoons melted butter per each pumpkin
1 tablespoon maple syrup per each pumpkin
dash cinnamon and nutmeg per each pumpkin

Place the rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Cutting 1-2 inches around the stem, cut a "lid" for each pumpkin. Scoop out the seeds from the body of the pumpkins. Scrape the seeds from the bottom of the lids.

Place the lids back onto the pumpkins and set the pumpkins onto a large sheet pan. Roast for 30-40 minutes, depending upon the size of the pumpkins. They are done when tender to the touch.

Let cool on the rack for 5 minutes.

Gently transfer the pumpkins to a decorative platter. Drizzle the melted butter and maple syrup around the insides of the pumpkins. Sprinkle with the cinnamon and nutmeg. Close the lids and serve warm.

4. Use Real Butter - Margarine is not healthier than butter. It is a highly processed food that contains trans-fats, which are oils that have been structually altered and are known carcinogens. Skip the Crisco for pie crusts. Use real butter; your crust will be flaky and rich, and it won't give you cancer.

5. Choose an Organic Turkey - Ask around at your local farmers' market for small farms that raise holiday turkeys. Small and local farms are best: the birds are better cared for and the meat is that much fresher. Always choose a farm that doesn't use antibiotics, hormones or preservatives on their turkeys.

6. Serve Sparkling Cider Instead of Soda - Kids love it! It's a drink they don't get to have everyday and is much healthier than commercial sodas. Add a little unsweetened pomegranate juice for a festive color and fruity taste. At the very least, buy natural sodas that use sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup.

7. Try Maple Syrup Instead of Brown Sugar - Commercial brown sugar is refined white sugar with caramel color (molasses if your lucky) added back to it after refining. Although it is a simple sugar, maple syrup absorbs slower into the bloodstream than refined sugar. Use it for candying yams and pumpkin pie filling.

8. Make it Yourself - If you make it, you know exactly what's in it. It's also fresher. Skip the canned cranberries, candied yams and pumpkin puree; making them yourself with fresh ingredients is easy and the food will taste markedly better.

9. Drink Lots of Water - Staying hydrated is key. The digestive organs need additional water to process the extra amounts of carbohydrate and alcohol. Make a point to drink at least a half a cup of water every hour, and make sure your kids are drinking water throughout the day, too.

10. Stay Alkalized - To much dietary acid from meats, dairy products and sweets can throw the body's delicate Ph balance out of whack. This causes stress, irritability and digestive problems. A couple times a day throughout the weekend, pound down this alkalizing formula: 12 ounces of water mixed with 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 tablespoon liquid chloropyll (found in the supplements section).

Okay... one last tip (and a very important one, too...)

11. Find Some Alone Time - Holidays can be stressful, and family can sometimes add to the load. Throughout the weekend, make sure to take some time alone for a walk, to read, take a nap or just sit by yourself and breathe. Even 15 minutes by yourself can bring you back into a calm and balanced frame of mind.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Alison Anton - Alison is a nutritional chef, food writer, cooking instructor and meditation instructor. Alison's food articles have been published online at USAToday, Reuters, iVillage and more, and her popular food blog is regularly listed under Fox News' "Best Health Blogs".