Save 1,273 calories and 92 grams of fat over the traditional version with this healthy Thanksgiving dinner makeover.
With all the great Thanksgiving dishes to taste, chances are you’ll eat far more calories on Turkey Day than you would at a typical dinner. But if you just have a light breakfast and lunch or snack, our version of the big meal, which has less than half the calories and a quarter of the fat of a traditional Thanksgiving meal, can easily fit into a healthy 1,500- to 2,000-calorie day. With a few simple changes to the classic Thanksgiving menu, our healthy Thanksgiving menu – which still includes turkey, gravy, stuffing, sweet potatoes, onions, green beans and pumpkin pie – saves 1,273 calories and 92 grams of fat over the traditional version.
1. Turkey - Calories Saved: 199
Turkey doesn’t need butter or brining to be a success. The typical antidote to dry, boring turkey is to slather it with butter, which adds saturated fat, or to brine it, which starts several days in advance and is messy. Our simple solution this year is to use a rub made with miso to add a subtle, savory flavor to the turkey. Miso is a paste made from fermented soybeans; it can be found near tofu at most supermarkets.
Healthy Recipes to Try:
2. Gravy - Calories Saved: 64
Citrus brightens up gravy. There’s no need to add fat to a gravy. Just a squeeze of fragrant Meyer lemon makes this easy pan gravy extraordinary. Meyer lemons taste like a cross between a regular lemon and an orange; they add perky citrus flavor to both the gravy and the roasted-garlic-and-lemon-rubbed turkey. They’re in season starting in November; find them at well-stocked supermarkets.
Healthy Recipes to Try:
3. Creamed Onions - Calories Saved: 181
Creamed onions don’t need cream. It’s easy to lighten up creamed onions by using less butter and opting for low-fat milk instead of cream. But the real magic in this recipe is that we roast the onions before adding them to the sauce. This step caramelizes the onions and intensifies the flavor, which you may find sadly lacking if you go back to a traditional version.
Healthy Recipes to Try:
4. Sweet Potato Casserole - Calories Saved: 403
Sweet potatoes need not taste like dessert. If you didn’t know better, it would be easy to mistake the classic marshmallow-topped sweet potato casserole for a dessert instead of a side dish. So we cut the butter and sugar and use evaporated milk for creaminess and crushed pineapple (with just 2 tablespoons of brown sugar) for a mellow touch of sweetness. Plus we skip the marshmallows and top it with meringue. The result: we cut more than 400 calories and 15 grams of fat per serving.
Healthy Recipes to Try:
- Easy Thanksgiving Casserole Recipes
- Easy Thanksgiving Side Dishes
- Easy Sweet Potato Recipes
- Holiday Side Dish Recipes
Happy Thanksgiving........
