Thanksgiving is the time to express your thankfulness, spend time with friends and family, and indulge in a delicious feast. Don’t let the feast put you into a miserable food coma this year. Try building your plate with these healthy alternatives to traditional Thanksgiving foods, to help to you avoid overeating, and have energy for more holiday fun.
Cider-Brined Turkey
Step away from the turkey fryer and heavy ingredients this year, and brine your turkey in an apple cider, salt and sugar mixture to roast along with oranges, carrots, onions and berries instead. Not only will these ingredients provide an array of wonderfully fresh flavors, but they will also help boost your metabolism and energy to enjoy more festivities throughout the day.
Healthier Stuffing
Most boxed stuffing is full of more unhealthy ingredients than you can imagine. Instead of throwing it together from a box, try a homemade healthy alternative, such as a delicious harvest stuffing. Harvest stuffing can be created by substituting white bread crumbs with whole wheat Italian crumbs, and adding walnuts, diced Granny Smith apples and dried cranberries to your favorite homemade stuffing recipe. You can also use reduced-sodium chicken broth instead of regular broth.
Potato Substitutes
If mashed potatoes are a must-have at your table, try a delicious, yet healthy, alternative of creamy white bean and vegetable mash, or try mashed sweet potatoes. You can also consider serving a mixture of baked potatoes and root vegetable slices, such as zucchini, squash and carrots, seasoned to perfection with olive oil, rosemary, and sea salt.
Green Bean Casserole
Skip the sodium and fat that comes from canned soup, and create a homemade white sauce instead. This can easily be made with with low-fat milk, dry sherry, mushrooms, onion, reduced-fat sour cream, flour, and buttermilk powder.
Candied Yam Alternative
Candied yams have a huge amount of unneeded sugar. Instead of serving yams that are almost like dessert, consider serving glazed sweet potatoes. These can be made by combining boiled sweet potatoes with a cooked mixture of honey, cinnamon, apricot nectar, light butter spread, and walnuts or pecans.
Eliminate Sugar
One way to eliminate sugar is to add less of it into your desserts, or cutting it completely by using honey and other natural sweeteners. You can also cut back on sugar by serving a healthier cranberry sauce recipe, such as cranberry pear sauce, made with fresh cranberries and pears, dried cherries, and only a touch of sugar, cooked and chilled to perfection.
The best way to make the most out of your healthy eating is to create an exercise plan to follow. If you would like one-on-one help, consider contacting a personal trainer at Downtown Athletic Club in Amarillo.
Cider-Brined Turkey
Step away from the turkey fryer and heavy ingredients this year, and brine your turkey in an apple cider, salt and sugar mixture to roast along with oranges, carrots, onions and berries instead. Not only will these ingredients provide an array of wonderfully fresh flavors, but they will also help boost your metabolism and energy to enjoy more festivities throughout the day.
Healthier Stuffing
Most boxed stuffing is full of more unhealthy ingredients than you can imagine. Instead of throwing it together from a box, try a homemade healthy alternative, such as a delicious harvest stuffing. Harvest stuffing can be created by substituting white bread crumbs with whole wheat Italian crumbs, and adding walnuts, diced Granny Smith apples and dried cranberries to your favorite homemade stuffing recipe. You can also use reduced-sodium chicken broth instead of regular broth.
Potato Substitutes
If mashed potatoes are a must-have at your table, try a delicious, yet healthy, alternative of creamy white bean and vegetable mash, or try mashed sweet potatoes. You can also consider serving a mixture of baked potatoes and root vegetable slices, such as zucchini, squash and carrots, seasoned to perfection with olive oil, rosemary, and sea salt.
Green Bean Casserole
Skip the sodium and fat that comes from canned soup, and create a homemade white sauce instead. This can easily be made with with low-fat milk, dry sherry, mushrooms, onion, reduced-fat sour cream, flour, and buttermilk powder.
Candied Yam Alternative
Candied yams have a huge amount of unneeded sugar. Instead of serving yams that are almost like dessert, consider serving glazed sweet potatoes. These can be made by combining boiled sweet potatoes with a cooked mixture of honey, cinnamon, apricot nectar, light butter spread, and walnuts or pecans.
Eliminate Sugar
One way to eliminate sugar is to add less of it into your desserts, or cutting it completely by using honey and other natural sweeteners. You can also cut back on sugar by serving a healthier cranberry sauce recipe, such as cranberry pear sauce, made with fresh cranberries and pears, dried cherries, and only a touch of sugar, cooked and chilled to perfection.
The best way to make the most out of your healthy eating is to create an exercise plan to follow. If you would like one-on-one help, consider contacting a personal trainer at Downtown Athletic Club in Amarillo.
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