I'm sure a lot of you foodies out there would have to agree that Thanksgiving is one of the best holidays! It marks the beginning of the holiday season, the first family feast of America, and of course, the food that we wait for all year long!
So, we've got the whole family in town just to eat...How do you make stuffing with a low enough sodium content that it won't send great grandma into cardiac arrest? What about Aunt Bobby Jo who started taking Alli weight loss pills (do we all know what happens when you eat a lot of fat when taking Alli- which inhibits fat absorption?...bathroom anyone?!)? Maybe you have diabetes and you'd rather not go into a diabetic coma over the holidays...Oh, what about that skinny mini cousin who doesn't want to pack on killer calories? Then there's the men, who, for the most part, could care less about anything but taste. Sigh...you're the designated cook/hostess -lucky you- how do you make everyone's holiday healthy and delicious at the same time?
First let's crunch some numbers:
Turkey is great! It's naturally a lean meat, and a 3 oz. serving typically contains 140 calories and 3 grams of fat.
Stuffing will typically provide 180 calories and 9 grams of fat per 1/2 cup serving.
Green bean casserole clocks in around contains 120 calories, 8 grams of fat and 550 milligrams of sodium for 1/2 of a cup.
Mashed potatoes, depending on how they're made of course, contribute about 220 calories and 8 grams of fat per 1 cup serving.
Gravy is typically nothing more than grease and fat, and 1/4 of a cup of the greasy goodness will cost you about 100 calories and 4 grams of fat.
Cranberry sauce is such a great thing to make from scratch! It is so easy to make, and it provides healthy antioxidants that are found in most fruits, which really beats the canned version that provides sugar and corn syrup. 1/4 of a cup generally contains about 110 calories and a 21 grams of sugar. Make it at home and you can cut the calories down to 20 per 1/4 of a cup. You can also cut the sugar content! Try using splenda! (just don't tell- and no one will even know:)
Finally, we have dessert! A regular slice of pie generally contains more calories than you and I would like to think about.
Next, let's make a few simple recipe changes so the numbers look better:
Lower Sodium
-Make stuffing from scratch, instead of using the pre packaged mix.
-Swap low-sodium chicken broth for most of the butter in your stuffing.
-Use low-sodium cream of mushroom, or other creamy soup, for your casseroles and cut nearly 1,000 milligrams of sodium per can from your recipe. That's half a days worth of sodium!
- You can also use water, skim milk or low-sodium chicken broth instead milk to dilute the soup.
- If you use canned vegetables like green beans, use the reduced sodium version or simply rinse the green beans off with water before you cook them to wash off extra salt.
-Baste your turkey in low sodium broth or white white instead of butter to cut the salt and fat content.
Lower Fat
-Remove the skin of the turkey before serving and save 15-20 calories and 2-3 grams of fat per serving.
-Reduced-fat varieties of cream of mushroom can help you save about 120 calories and 16 grams of fat per serving.
- Mashed potatoes can be really high in fat with all of the added butter.
-Heat skim milk instead of whole milk or cream with some herbs and add just enough to thin the potatoes.
-Try low-fat or fat-free varieties of sour cream or plain Greek yogurt for added creaminess.
-Gravy is one of the biggest fat contributors of the meal- but who wants to go without? Instead, refrigerate your finished gravy until it is cold enough for the fat to coagulate on the top of the gravy. Then, simply spoon out the coagulated fat, you've just made low fat gravy!
- Almost everything you can think of is available in reduced-fat options. Use these options to your advantage and save calories at the same time!
Dessert
Save about 100 calories per slice by not eating the crust.
Use egg whites instead of eggs and you can save about 40 calories!
Minimize the sugar- or replace it with Splenda. Save 440 calories for every 1/2 cup of sugar you eliminate.
Splenda is the only artificial sweetener that is heat stable, meaning you can bake with it!
Nutrients often go hand in hand. When you make a reduced fat recipe, you typically end up with a reduced sodium, reduced fat, and reduced calorie recipe all in one! So everyone is happy!
Some people argue that there is no point in trying to save calories during the holiday season. I would have to disagree- it make perfect since to cut calories when you have the option to. I mean, why not? If I save 100 calories with low fat gravy-then I get to eat 100 calories of dessert, and it may seem like that doesn't add up...it does! The typical Thanksgiving meal, including appetizers and dessert, can weigh in at more than 4,500 calories and 229 grams of fat, according to the Caloric Control Council. About 2 entire days worth of calories. So I am going to have to stick to my beliefs that cutting calories when you can really does have it's benefits! There's no need to stress over the numbers, just be mindful of what you're eating, and you won't have to stress over your holiday weight later:)
I've seen some pretty great calorie-saving holiday recipes so far so I'll post some of them here for you to check out! Also, check out fellow blogger and nutritionist, Lauren's blog for healthy recipe ideas http://noshnnutrition.blogspot.com/
Happy (and healthy) Turkey Day!
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