Thanksgiving Recipes
Looking for new recipes to add to old family favorites, or just a few ways to cut down on holiday calories? Relax. We've done the work for you - a classic Thanksgiving menu (two kinds of pie included!), served up with a healthy twist.
Roast a Perfect Bird
You can't go wrong with turkey at Thanksgiving - or any other day of the year. Low in fat and high in protein, white turkey meat is a good source of iron, zinc, phosphorus, potassium and B vitamins.
Yummy Mashed Potatoes Recipe
Mashed potatoes get a makeover with these healthy tips. Pairing potatoes with olive oil instead of butter, or plain yogurt instead of sour cream, helps keeps the flavor high but the fat low.
Makes: 6 servings
Ingredients and Preparation
# | Ingredients | Measures |
---|---|---|
1 | Garlic cloves | 8 to 10 |
2 | Potatoes, quartered | 2 lbs |
3 | Light sour cream | 1/3 cups |
4 | Fat-free milk | 1/4 cup |
5 | Snipped fresh oregano, rosemary, or thyme | 1 tbsp |
6 | Salt | 1/2 tsp |
7 | Black pepper | 1/4 tsp |
Directions
- To roast garlic, wrap unpeeled cloves in foil. Bake in a 400-degree oven 25 to 35 minutes or until cloves feel soft when pressed. When cool enough to handle, squeeze garlic from peels into a small bowl.
- Meanwhile, put potatoes in a large saucepan with enough cold water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat. Lower heat to maintain a simmer and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain potatoes; return to saucepan.
- Mash potatoes and softened garlic with a potato masher or an electric mixer on low speed.
- Add sour cream; milk; oregano, rosemary, or thyme; salt; and black pepper. Beat until light and fluffy
Stuffed Acorn Squash With Apples and Cranberries
Studded with cranberries and chopped apples, this festive dish is packed with nutrition: Squash delivers disease-fighting beta carotene, while the fruit adds powerful antioxidants. Using a meat alternative gives a healthy dose of protein.
Makes: 4 servings
Ingredients and Preparation
# | Ingredients | Measures |
---|---|---|
1 | Medium acorn squash | 2 |
2 | Olive oil, separated | 1 1/2 tsp |
3 | Crushed red pepper | 1/8 tsp |
4 | Garlic, minced | 4 cloves |
5 | Sliced scallions | 1/2 cup |
6 | Coarsely shredded (prepackaged) carrots | 1 cup |
7 | Ground turkey or ground beef alternative | 1 bag (12 oz) |
8 | Medium Granny Smith apple, peeled, diced | 1 |
9 | Fresh lime juice | 3 tbsp |
10 | Dried cranberries | 1 cup |
11 | Mirin (rice wine) | 1/4 cup |
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Halve squash crosswise, seed and place cut side down in 1" of water in a 9" by 13" pan.
- Bake for one hour while preparing stuffing.
- Discard water and replace squash in pan, cut side up.
- Heat oil and crushed pepper in 10" frying pan over medium-high heat.
- Add garlic, scallion and shredded carrots. Sauté 3 minutes.
- Add beef alternative and cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Drizzle diced apple with lime juice.
- Add to pan with cranberries and mirin. Lower heat to simmer and cook 5 minutes.
- First spray the flesh of each squash with olive oil and divide the filing among the four halves.
- Cover each with foil and bake for 10 minutes, or until heated through.
- Serve with jellied cranberry sauce.
Brussels Sprouts With Bacon and Sunflower Seeds
Picky eaters will be begging for more of this delicious, nutrient-rich side dish. Bacon complements the Brussels sprouts beautifully, while the sunflower seeds add extra crunch and lots of heart-healthy vitamin E.
Makes: 6 servings
Ingredients and Preparation
# | Ingredients | Measures |
---|---|---|
1 | Brussels sprouts, trimmed | 1 lb |
2 | Olive oil | 2 tbsp |
3 | Bacon, cooked, drained, and crumbled | 3 slices |
4 | Sunflower seeds | 2 tbsp |
5 | Salt and ground black pepper | to taste |
Directions
- Cook Brussels sprouts in boiling, salt water in medium sauce pan 6 to 8 minutes or until tender crisp; drain.
- Cut Brussels sprouts in half, if desired.
- Sauté Brussels sprouts in hot oil in large skillet with cooked bacon and sunflower seeds 2 to 3 minutes or until heated through.
- Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Cajun Deviled Eggs
Looking for a tasty appetizer that's carb free? These spicy deviled eggs fill the bill. The simple recipe uses mayonnaise, Dijon mustard and cayenne to make a creamy filling with a bit of a bite. These Cajun Deviled Eggs make a deliciously spicy appetizer that's free of carbs. The simple recipe uses mayonnaise, Dijon mustard and cayenne to make a creamy filling with a bit of a bite.
Makes: 12 servings
Ingredients and Preparation
# | Ingredients | Measures |
---|---|---|
1 | Eggs | 6 |
2 | Mayonnaise | 2 tbsp |
3 | Dijon mustard | 1 tsp |
4 | Salt | 1/2 tsp |
5 | Ground black pepper | 1/4 tsp |
6 | Ground cayenne (red pepper) | 1/4 tsp |
Directions
- Place eggs in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil and immediately remove from heat.
- Cover and let eggs stand in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from hot water, cool and peel.
- Slice eggs in half lengthwise. Remove yolks and place in a medium bowl.
- Set aside egg whites. Mashing with a fork, mix mayonnaise, Dijon-style mustard, salt, and black pepper with the egg yolks.
- Fill hollowed egg white halves with the yolk mixture. Sprinkle with cayenne pepper, adjusting the amount to taste.
- Cover and chill in the refrigerator until serving.
Additional Information
Serve on a bed of fresh lettuce, if desired. TIP: Use a pastry bag for a cleaner, more polished presentation.
Sautéed Green Beans
Green beans are full of vitamin C, a natural antioxidant -- and almonds are rich in heart-healthy monounsaturated fats and disease-fighting vitamin E. Even better: This dish is delicious.
Makes: 4 servings
Ingredients and Preparation
# | Ingredients | Measures |
---|---|---|
1 | Green beans, trimmed | 1-½ lbs |
2 | Olive oil | 4 tsp |
3 | Shallots, minced | 1 tbsp |
4 | Freshly ground black pepper | 1⁄4 tsp |
Directions
- Simmer green beans in a large saucepan for three minutes until crisp-tender.
- Remove from heat and drain, and then plunge into cold water to blanche them. This stops the cooking process and retains the color.
- Heat skillet with oil, add shallots and sauté for one minute.
- Add blanched green beans, sauté for three minutes, and serve.
Perfect Pumpkin Pie
Mmmm - this pie not only tastes good but is good for you. Loaded with vitamin A, pumpkin is also a good source of potassium, beta-carotene and immunity-boosting zinc. Whole wheat flour, oat bran and silken tofu up the nutrition in this recipe even more.
Makes: 8 servings
Ingredients and Preparation
# | Ingredients | Measures |
---|---|---|
1 | Whole wheat pastry flour | 1 3/4 cups |
2 | Oat bran | 1/4 cup |
3 | Sea salt | 1/4 tsp |
4 | Brown rice syrup | 2 tbsp |
5 | Mild olive oil | 1 tbsp |
6 | Ice water | 1/4 cup |
7 | Lite Silken Extra Firm Tofu, divided | 25 oz |
8 | Sucanat | 3/4 cup |
9 | Pumpkin puree | 2 cups |
10 | Pure vanilla | 1 tbsp |
11 | Ground cloves | 1/8 tsp |
12 | Ground cinnamon | 1 1/2 tsp |
13 | Ground ginger | 3/4 tsp |
14 | Ground nutmeg | 1/4 tsp |
Directions
- Spray pie pan with olive oil cooking spray.
- Place whole wheat pastry flour, oat bran and salt in food processor and pulse to mix.
- Add tofu and process for a few seconds.
- With motor running, pour rice syrup through feed tube. Next add oil and ice water, processing until dough begins to form a ball.
- Place the pie dough between two sheets of wax paper, dusted lightly with whole-wheat flour.
- Roll into a circle between 1/8" to 1/4" thick. Peel off top sheet of wax paper and lay dough over 9 inch deep pie plate.
- Peel off second sheet of wax paper and gently press into pie plate. Trim and shape around the edges.
- Set aside in refrigerator while preparing filling.
- Blend remaining tofu in a food processor until smooth.
- Add remaining filling ingredients and blend thoroughly.
- Pour into unbaked piecrust.
- Bake on center rack of preheated oven for about 1 hour. Filling will be soft, but will firm up as it cools.
- Chill and serve with a dollop of dairy-free whipped topping.
Apple Pie With Oatmeal Cookie Crust
Pairing juicy fall apples with the cinnamon-y flavor of oatmeal cookies makes perfect sense. Plus, oatmeal gives this pie crust a healthy fiber boost.
Makes: 10 servings
Ingredients and Preparation
Oatmeal Cookie Crust:
# | Ingredients | Measures |
---|---|---|
1 | Oat or white flour | 2 2/3 cups |
2 | Maple or natural cane sugar | 1 cup |
3 | Rolled oats | 1 cup |
4 | Cinnamon | 1 tsp |
5 | Baking soda | 1 tsp |
6 | Unsweetened applesauce | 3/4 to 1 cup |
7 | Egg whites | 1 |
8 | Vanilla extract | 1 1/2 tsp |
9 | Canola oil cooking spray |
Apple Filling:
# | Ingredients | Measures |
---|---|---|
1 | Large, tart apples | 6-8 (about 11 cups sliced) |
2 | Maple or natural cane sugar | 3/4 cup |
3 | Apple juice | 3/4 cup |
4 | Cinnamon | 2 tsp |
5 | Vanilla extract | 2 tsp |
6 | Cornstarch | 1 tbsp |
Directions
For Crust:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine flour, sugar, oats, cinnamon and baking soda.
- In another bowl, combine applesauce, egg white and vanilla.
- Combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients; stir until blended. If mixture seems dry, add up to 1/4 cup applesauce.
- Spray a 9" pie pan with cooking spray.
- Roll out half the oat mixture on a lightly floured surface to make a 12" circle. Press dough into pan to get it in position. Reserve remaining mixture for the top of the pie.
- Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and fill.
For Filling:
- Peel and core apples and cut into 1/8" slices.
- Cook apples, sugar, 1/2 cup apple juice, cinnamon and vanilla in saucepan over medium heat until tender, about 5-10 minutes.
- Dissolve cornstarch in remaining apple juice. Add to hot apple mixture, stir constantly until mixture thickens, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Place apple mixture in baked crust.
- Roll out remaining crust dough onto lightly floured surface. Roll into an 11" circle. Pierce with a fork.
- Cover filling with top crust. Fold top edge under and crimp. Set pie pan on a larger pan to catch drips.
- Bake until top crust is firm, about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve warm or chilled.
References:
- Yummy Mashed Potatoes Recipe: Marjorie Nolan Cohn on behalf of Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Nutrition & Dietetics
- Stuffed Acorn Squash with Apples and Cranberries: Dole Nutrition Institute
- Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Sunflower Seeds: Dole Nutrition Institute
- Cajun Deviled Eggs: dLife - It's YOUR Diabetes Life!
- Perfect Pumpkin Pie: Dole Nutrition Institute
- Apple pie with oatmeal cookie crust: Dole Nutrition Institute