5 Low Fat & Healthy Menu Options For Your Thanksgiving Day Feast
Thanksgiving is undeniably a wonderful holiday. Families come together for what could be the only time of year that they have the opportunity to. Shoppers enjoy it as a calm prelude to the crazy commotion that is Black Friday. And of course, there’s the food. With so many people concerned about losing weight now, are there any healthier, yet just as delicious replacements for some of the more unhealthy foods? Below are the five best healthy substitutes for those traditional Thanksgiving recipes.
Green Bean Casserole
Before we start switching out some main recipes, let’s start with something easier and a bit more subtle. Usually, the green bean casserole is packs a lot of fat and high in sodium. To counter this, try cooking with sautéed fresh onions rather than fried onions. This simple substitution will help take away a lot of the fat, sodium and extra calories that come with the fried onions. Another easy substitution would be to replace whole milk with nonfat milk, and using reduced fat cream of mushroom soup instead of the full-fat version.
Vegetable Lasagna
Not only is vegetable lasagna very healthy, it makes for a very filling main dish without including any meat. Popular options to use are heavy, thick vegetables like eggplant, large mushrooms or both. Also, try swapping the reduced-fat versions of cheeses (ricotta or otherwise) instead of using the full fat ones.
Fruit Stuffing
Take a break from the traditional turkey stuffing that is done every year. Try switching out the dry, high-fat, low fiber, regular stuffing for a hearty, homemade fruit stuffing. Switch out cubed white bread for whole wheat bread and use a half cup of raisins, one cup of chopped cranberries, two tablespoons of low-fat margarine, and one tablespoon of sugar. Throw in a cup of chicken (or vegetable) broth, and bake it in a standard casserole dish.
Chicken Alternative
Who said you have to use turkey? Though the white meat portion of a turkey bird is low in fat, its skin can be greasy. Maybe this year try experimenting with chicken breast. More than likely you are already familiar with it, unlike, say, a duck or a goose, and tastes great with the same stuffing you would normally use! Another good reason why chicken may be a healthier choice to turkey is that the overall portions are smaller and you’ll avoid being stuck eating leftovers for the next few days.
An Alternative to Birds Altogether
While some can’t imagine the idea of having no turkey (or meat) on Thanksgiving Day, many people are starting to opt out of any type of bird altogether. Tofurkey is becoming a popular substitute for turkey, particularly among vegetarians and vegans. It is basically a tofu dish which has been beefed up with imitation turkey flavoring and seasonings. If tofu makes you nervous, or expect it to be a bad experience, you can relax. The texture and taste of tofurkey is as close as possible to the real thing.
There are many other healthy substitutes to the normally unhealthy Thanksgiving Day meals, and these five suggestions are easy to make. Nutritional choices for this holiday could provide the jumpstart your family habits to begin eating wiser … especially during the holiday season where so many delicious feasts present themselves.
