Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Healthier Options: Thanksgiving Edition!

I LOVE the fall and winter holidays!  The sights, the sounds and especially the holiday FOOD.  I remember as a kid, the scent of my Mom’s turkey and gravy wafting through the house on Thanksgiving Day.  My family and I would indulge ourselves on the bountiful feast spread before us and celebrate the holiday giving thanks to family, friends and health.

Fast-forward 20 years and I am going to be preparing a Thanksgiving meal for my OWN family now.  I will definitely have Mom’s recipes in mind and will be trying my hand at lightening some Thanksgiving side dishes so I can stay on a healthy path and not fall into the Thanksgiving “coma” from over-eating heavy foods. 

This year I plan to be a more mindful eater. I will prepare some recipes in advance to test out new, healthier side dishes so I know which ones my hubby will enjoy (and which ones he will attempt to feed the dog on the sly).  I have included some lighter side dish recipes below and encourage you to also experiment on your own!  Have fun this Thanksgiving and remember: It’s a holi-DAY not a holi-MONTH so instead of embarking on a month long food fest, take control of the day and kick-start your motivation for a healthy holiday season!



RECIPES

1.   Healthy Potato Gratin with Herbs: Skip the mashed potatoes this year and try a lighter potato dish that loses the heavy cream but keeps the flavor with fresh herbs.
(recipe courtesy of Food and Wine)



2.   Cider-Glazed Roasted Root Vegetables: Instead of a basic sweet potato/yam dish, try this delicious recipe that brings an added sweetness with apple cider.
(recipe courtesy of the Scrumptious Pumpkin blog)



3.  Cranberry-Pear Wild Rice Stuffing: Take unhealthy “stuff” out of your Stuffing this year with wild rice, whole grain bread and dried cranberries.
(recipe courtesy of the VegKitchen with Nava Atlas blog)


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