The worlds “healthy’ and “Thanksgiving” are usually never put in the same sentence, but it’s very possible to make healthier choices on this holiday! If you’re hosting the feast, or simply bringing a dish over to a friend’s house, these easy tips will help you make healthier choices.
- Stick with white meat
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When serving your bird, consider just serving the breast. The dark meat of turkey contains almost twice the amount of saturated fat as the white meat.
- Make your own cranberry sauce
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Avoid the extra sugar, and skip the canned cranberry sauce this thanksgiving. Cranberries are a low-calorie fruit, but canned cranberry sauce has tons of added sugar. If you can spare an extra 15 minutes during your meal prep, try this recipe here for homemade, low-calorie cranberry sauce.
- Ditch the marshmallows in your sweet potatoes
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This classic dish contains a ton of extra sugar that you should save for dessert instead. Sweet potatoes are very versatile and there are many different things you can do with them that don’t require a ton of extra calories. Try this recipe here that subs marshmallows and brown sugar for pecans and nutmeg, without sacrificing taste.
- Add cauliflower to your mashed potatoes
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Combining cauliflower and potatoes for your mash is a simple way to reduce the carbs and fat in traditional mashed potatoes. Try this recipe here for a delicious 30-minute mash infused with rosemary.
- Skip the dinner rolls
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A super simple way to make your meal healthier is to skip the dinner rolls. In fact, there’s no need for extra bread at all on Thanksgiving. Leave it to your classic Thanksgiving sides for the carbs.
Keep in mind that Thanksgiving does not have to be healthy. If you want to treat yourself, this is the day to do it!
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