Thanksgiving is one of those holidays that’s directly associated with food. Someone says the word “Thanksgiving,” and the first thing most people think of is, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, and sweet potato and pumpkin pies!
Notice how the staple foods of this holiday don’t include vegetables?
Of course, every dinner table will ultimately have veggie dishes but still… Thanksgiving doesn’t really convey… HEALTH.
So now you’re sitting there… thinking of this enormous feast to come, with mouth-watering foods that are made special for this holiday, and it’s weighing on you! No pun intended.
Ok, so let’s take a moment and break this down:
Turkey- If you remove the skin and go for white meat, you’re golden!
Stuffing- Made with low-calorie bread and loads of vegetables is DELICIOUS!
Mashed Potatoes-
Step 1. Boil cauliflower.
Step 2. Mash
Step 3. Mix in desired spices
Step 4. Hide from family cause it’s so yum!
And hey! Fry up some onion in Pam and mix it in too!
Gravy- SO many low-calorie recipes out there. Don’t knock it till you try it!
Cranberry Sauce- It’s cooked cranberries and sugar! Just use a sugar substitute. PLUS, keep in mind that the cranberry sauce is simply something sweet to go with the salty. Try other alternatives like sugar-free jam, jelly, or syrup.
Pies- There are so many ways to get around the insanely caloric treats of this holiday, whether you substitute Stevia for sugar or wonton wrappers for crusts.
You can mash the pumpkin or sweet potatoes, mix in some brown sugar substitute, cinnamon, and vanilla, and divide them into ramekins lined with wonton wrappers. Throw them in the oven until they’re browned on top, sprinkle some cinnamon on top, and enjoy!
And now for the true heroes of the feast… the veggies!
Let’s face it, you can take whatever vegetables and prepare them in so many different ways that there’s no excuse not to have LOADS of veggie options.
Pam them, boil them, bake them, roast them, barbecue them, steam them, purée them, mash them, cut them, slice them, spiralize them, etc…
Use different methods with different spices and you can’t go wrong.
And of course, don’t forget a veggie platter and a huge (undressed) salad so everyone can decide for themselves which dressings and dips to use.
Bottom line, there are ways to get around the huge amounts of calories at the “Thanksgiving Feast”.
We should give thanks that we’re healthy and strive to maintain that health for ourselves and our families, so this year, make a Thanksgiving pact to introduce new food traditions that are both delicious and healthy!
Have a happy, healthy, and THANKFUL Thanksgiving!
