Wednesday, 09 November 2011
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Healthier Alternatives for Thanksgiving
Of course one of the first things that comes to mind I think of Thanksgiving is food! Thanksgiving and Christmas are probably the 2 days that I consume the most calories (unless I see some chips lying around. That's dangerous stuff, especially with ranch dip). No need to fear though, there are plenty of healthy (and delicious) options that you can serve up for Thanksgiving. Here are a few for you to try out:
"Healthified Stuffing", courtesy of Eat Better America
It's only 120 calories per serving!
Sweet Potato Pecan Casserole, courtesy of Ellie Krieger

As much as I love regular sweet potato casserole, I know it calls for a lot of sugar and butter for the topping.
Broccoli Potato Puree, courtesy of Reader's Digest

If you don't like broccoli, you can always substitute for another vegetable.
Healthier Green Bean Casserole, courtesy of Eating Well

This recipe cuts out the cream of mushroom soup to eliminate a lot of the sodium.
"Spa-licious" Dinner Rolls, courtesy of Peanut Butter and Julie

Looove bread and if it's healthy, it's even better!
Do you have any healthy recipes for Thanksgiving?
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Comments (17)
I love it but cannot use several of these recipes due to nut allergies... :( But Iwill be trying a couple of the other ones :)
These look good (except for the broccoli). I usually make lasagna for one of the hollidays, but this year, I want to cut down on the fat, so I'm going to make spaghetti and meatballs. That takes out the cheeses and eggs. Then, for dessert, I can splurge on pie!
There is no such thing as healthier alternatives on Thanksgiving. This is one day out of the year, where you should give yourself a break.
@malissa1578@xanga - The "holiday recipes" always make me a bit sad as well because nuts are often featured in the dishes and I can't eat them either.
My Thanksgiving menu (which I hope to make it a family tradition) doesn't really contain a lot of cream, butter or cheeses*. Sounds boring, right? I make roast turkey with gravy, mashed potatoes*, sweet potato casserole* (has a little brown sugar and butter, topped with a few marshmallows), steamed corn on the cob, broccoli or green beans sauteed in a tiny bit of olive oil and garlic seasoned with salt and pepper, homemade cranberry apple relish (I like it tart so I go easy on the sugar), carrots sauteed with herbs and olive oil (originally the idea was to glaze carrots in OJ, brown sugar and cinnamon, but I forgot about the oranges...). I think it is better to plan ahead and limit your intake before and after (and exercise a little extra each day) the holiday meals so you can enjoy the actual holiday meal. Also, take into consideration the portion sizes.
@babybug329@xanga - Omgosh your homemade cranberry apple relish sounds good. and I agree 100% with the extra exercise and healthier eating habits around the holidays so you can indulge a little :)
@malissa1578@xanga - Thanks
It's actually very easy: 1-12 ounce bag of cranberries (fresh or frozen), 2 or 3 apples, chopped up (I use whatever I have which is usually Gala or Braeburn, but I am sure others will work just fine), 1 cup apple juice, 1 cinnamon stick. I put everything in a saucepan and let it boil until the cranberries pop and apples get soft. I stir in a few tablespoons of sugar, sweeten only enough to take off any tart edge. I take the cinnamon stick out before serving, but if you only have ground cinnamon, you can mix some in after cooking. I also considered making the cranberry relish using chopped pears, OJ and chopped crystallized ginger for a different flavor but it hasn't happened yet.
@babybug329@xanga - Ok I am definitely going to try this out. It sounds great. thanks for sharing your recipe :)
They all look so good... I can't choose which one is better than the other...
Hey I'd try them all.
@The_Unknown_Blogger@xanga - make all of them!
@malissa1578@xanga - aw well if I find some more healthy recipes, I'll try to include more that don't include nuts
@gmgao - That would be wonderful :)
this be a joke right? Thanksgiving meant for stuffing moufs!
Why do you you hate America?
I am cooking light dinners every night leading up to Thanksgiving and will be planning an even lighter menu for the following week, but we don't worry about fat and calories when planning Thanksgiving dishes. If a dish sounds good and it's healthy, great, but if not, we'll probably still make it anyway. :P
Thanksgiving and Christmas are the two days out of the entire year that I cut myself some slack and pig the eff out. It's two days out of the entire year. I refuse to not allow myself those two days.
the sweet potato pecan casserole and broccoli potato puree looks unappetizing.