Tips to Make Thanksgiving Lighter…On the Thighs!

Thanksgiving is one of the holidays where people are most indulgent when it comes to eating. Sadly, our waistline or thighs may not be so forgiving, so instead of stuffing ourselves with rich foods, we can look at some alternatives that are still yummy and with fewer calories.

Tips to Eat Lighter this–and Every Thanksgiving

Turkey or Tofurky

White turkey meat without the skin has fewer calories than dark turkey meat without the skin. However, there’s more iron in dark meat than white meat. You can also opt for tofurky, a vegetarian or vegan alternative to turkey. It’s a tofu stuffed roast. You can use organic vegetable broth for basting.

Stuffing

What’s a turkey without stuffing? For a healthier alternative, try lean turkey or chicken sausage. Use whole wheat bread cubes instead of croutons. You have a vegetarian stuffing made with celery, mushrooms, dried cranberries, apples, pecans and wild rice.

Gravy

To make gravy, you can add fat-free reduced sodium chicken broth to the pan drippings. Make sure to skim off any excess fat. You can add wine or herbs for added flavor. To thicken the gravy, use cornstarch instead of a roux (butter and flour).

Vegetables

To have healthier vegetables without all the fat and creamy, heavy sauces, you can use herbs to add flavor. You can roast a variety of root vegetables like beets, parsnip, squash, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes or yams and add rosemary and thyme. You can also steam or pan-fry your veggies.

Two suggestions for a carrot combination:

Carrot and Butternut Squash – Serves 6
Take a pound each of carrots and butternut squash. Cut them into small cubes and steam them until they are tender. Put them into a food processor and add 1/4 cup of orange juice and 1/8 tsp. of nutmeg. Blend until it’s smooth. You can season with ground pepper.

Roasted Carrots and Parsnip – Serves 6
Take a pound each of carrots and parsnips. Cut into quarters vertically or you can cut them into chunks. Put them into a bowl with extra virgin olive oil and freshly chopped thyme and/or rosemary. Toss well. Spread them onto a non-sticking baking sheet (or put a light coat of olive oil on the baking sheet) and bake for about 35 minutes or until they are tender in a 400 degrees oven.

Potatoes

You can have roasted potatoes with thyme and rosemary or garlic mashed potatoes made with fat-free milk and sour cream. You can even combine and have mashed potatoes and yams without using butter and milk.

Desserts

For baking use, fat-free evaporated milk. Pumpkin pie is always a Thanksgiving favorite and you can make it a phyllo or crustless pumpkin pie or a vegan pumpkin pie made with tofu instead of eggs. You can also use pears, apples, cranberries, bananas and a variety of other fruits to make healthier desserts.

Thanksgiving can still be tasty and full of yumminess without making our poor thighs suffer! ;)

Do you have any tips to make Thanksgiving Dinner a little lighter on the thighs??

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