Healthy and Delicious Thanksgiving Dinner.
How to make this popular meal delicious and nutritious!
Thanksgiving is my most favorite holiday. It is a time to gather with family and to give thanks for all the gifts that you have in your life. And to be honest, I also LOVE to eat Thanksgiving dinner.
This meal can be loaded with calories. But there are ways to make sure it is packed with nutrients and not empty calories. Let’s go through some of the favorites.
Turkey: Since animals, including humans, store their toxins in fat, this is the most important Thanksgiving item to buy organic, without added hormones and antibiotics. This is not a place to skimp. Turkey is naturally a great source of protein. It is also packed with vitamins and minerals. It is loaded with B vitamins such as Niacin, B6, and B12. It also has choline, iron, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, zinc. White meat tends to be more lean and dark meat has more calories and fat. But the dark meat also has more nutrients. Roasting a turkey in its own juices, without putting butter under the skin, is the healthiest preparation. Also be careful about adding too much gravy at mealtime. This can be packed with calories.
Stuffing: This is one dish that can often be loaded with saturated fat and calories. But you can pack it chock full of nutritious vegetables, fruits, and nuts. The common ingredient is usually white breadcrumbs. There is nothing nutritious about this. But it does make the stuffing work best. Just go light on this. Then I tend to add apples, walnuts, lean turkey sausage, celery, onions, and organic turkey or chicken stock. I go light on the butter and make sure it is grass-fed. When you add all the above, you now have a literal smorgasbord of nutrients.
Mashed potatoes: I prefer to switch to a sweet potato. While white potatoes are higher in potassium, sweet potatoes have more Vit A and are lower on the glycemic index, meaning they are less likely to make you blood sugar spike. I like to bake those sweet potatoes for quite a while, until they caramelize. The longer you cook them, them sweeter they get. Then I use a food processor to mash them, while adding just a touch of grass-fed butter. They are delicious just like this. I recommend holding off on adding things like orange juice or making a casserole with lots of butter and marshmallows. This loads the dish with empty calories.
Veggeis: I never skimp here. And as mentioned above, I don’t recommend casseroles. I prefer to stick with roasted veggies such as Brussel sprouts, cauliflower, or carrots, drizzled with a little bit of olive oil. Or I lightly Sautee some green beans in olive oil and toss them with some sliced almonds. I load my plate with these delicious veggies.
Rolls: Okay, so I usually make my grandmother’s famous and not very nutritious rolls. A weakness. But you could easily substitute with a whole grain bread roll.
Pie: I recommend staying away from Pecan pie. It is usually made with a fair amount of corn syrup or brown sugar, and the crust is often filled with saturated fat. Pumpkin pie can have its downfalls too, but it can be made in much healthier ways. First off, pumpkin is naturally loaded with Vit A and lutein. But try to stay away from cream cheese, half-and-half, and shortening, which can sabotage the nutritional value. Steer clear of sugary or heavily sweetened pumpkin pie filling. And there is no need to add mounds of sugar. Let the natural sweetness of the pumpkin take over. The crust is where things can often go wrong and add a lot of artery-clogging saturated fat. I recommend substituting olive oil for butter and using an oat flour instead of all-purpose flour. I also recommend holding off on the whipped cream. If you simply must have it, whip your own and go as light as possible on the sugar. And NO Cool Whip, which is loaded with hydrogenated vegetable oils and high fructose corn syrup. Have you ever read its label??? Scary stuff.
There you have it! There are ways to make the above much healthier. But, I try to strike a balance between health and pleasure, especially on the holidays. Don’t be afraid to indulge! Don’t be afraid to satisfy yourself. But, with some careful thought and preparation, you can have those traditional family foods, but you can also pack them with nutrition that also tastes delicious!