Turkey, ham, gravy, are staples for Thanksgiving, but a Kelowna nutritionist says you should serve plenty of vegetables too.

You can’t go wrong with all the great produce from around the region this time of year.

“I do a lot of roasted vegetables, like beets and carrots. I’ll throw in some celery as well too. I’ll do some steamed broccoli, I’ll bake a squash,” says Tania Gustafson of FIT Nutrition.

You don’t need to get fancy. She generally just brushes the roasted vegetables with a bit of oil and sprinkles on a bit of salt, or herbs.

Tania says while getting your vegetables is important, don’t feel guilty about eating turkey, it’s a great, lean source of protein. “That’s one of the things I talk to my clients about. People get all stressed when it’s the season of food, with Thanksgiving and then Christmas. But turkey is a great meat, absolutely, so have some on your plate and then fill your plate with a lot of the vegetables.”

It only becomes problematic, says Tania, when you have way too much on your plate.

Her family is like many others. She has a lot of diverse tastes to cater to. “We’ll have a vegan, we’ll have two pescatarians, we’ll have myself, I don’t eat gluten and dairy. And then we have a few of our family members who are just all eaters, they’ll eat anything.”

You can find more nutrition tips through Tania's regular Castanet column.