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Be Thankful with a Healthy Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is one of the biggest feasts of the year for most American cooks. The typical fare is sugary and fatty and leaves the guests feeling like they will have to diet for a week to make up for it. The recipes presented below are simple to make, healthy and delicious.
I have not included a turkey recipe because there are so many available. As for me, being a vegetarian, I just love all of the side dishes and it is more than plenty to eat. Therefore, I have not included a "vegetarian entree." However, if you would like an unconventional but delicious Thanksgiving entree, try either my Roasted Vegtable Vegan Lasagne or the vegetarian Roasted Vegetable Lasagne.
Now for my favorite part, the side dishes...
You can begin your feast with my Luscious Butternut Soup. It is sweet, gingery and creamy.
Mashed potatoes are standard fare at the Thanksgiving table. To make your favorite recipe more healthy, you can simply substitute olive oil for margarine or butter and use low fat or skim milk instead of whole. The results will be equally good but much more healthy.
Whatever vegetables you are serving, try serving them steamed with nothing on them. At many American tables, this would be absolute sacrilege. However, if the vegetables are very, very fresh, they will be sweet enough to serve like this. Also, the vegetables will mix in with all of the many dishes that you will be serving, so it will not be necessary to add any extra sauce, butter or oil. One of the most popular and famous restaurants in Malibu, CA. (where so many celebrities live,) Gladstones 4 Fish, serves steamed vegetables, with nothing on them, as a side dish. If Gladstones does it, you certainly can.
 Festive Wild Rice is elegant yet simple to make. Minced vegetables complement the delicious, earthy taste of the wild rice to make this a superb side dish.
Yams are so sweet, it just does not make sense to me why they should be candied with tons of sugar and butter or margarine. Instead, try my Orange Yam Puree. Good old Baked Yams, dripping in their own, naturally occurring syrup, are also a great option. These recipes enhance the yams' naturally sweet and yummy flavor.
Cranberries are typically loaded with white sugar. Admittedly, cranberries are so sour that they really do need a lot of help to make them palatable. Try my Raisin Cranberry Sauce. You will get all of the iron and other benefits from the raisins instead of empty calories from sugar.
Last but not least, try my Pumpkin Pie. It is so healthy that we eat it for a meal. You can try it with or without a crust.
Enjoy and happy Thanksgiving!
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