Save Thanksgiving

Save Thanksgiving – and Your Taste Buds

Thanksgiving: the holiday that tempts you to toss nutritional judgment out the window for an all-day smorgasbord of eating and drinking until you can’t sit up. You’ve heard the advice about portion control and carb-overloading, but what about all that stuffing, mashed potatoes, and pie? Is it possible to enjoy Thanksgiving and keep some of that nutritional judgment in check?

Quick fixes

Small changes in recipes can make a big difference nutrition-wise. What they say is true: you can gain up to five pounds during the holiday season. Save yourself hundreds of calories and numerous grams of fat and carbohydrates with some simple tweaking of those cherished family dishes.

Below are some star ingredients in traditional Thanksgiving dishes, along with healthier substitutions that will let you maintain the same flavor.

Instead of	Try
1/4 cup sour cream	1/4 cup low-fat or fat-free plain Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp mayonnaise (for salads)	1 Tbsp mayonnaise + 1 Tbsp plain, low-fat or fat-free Greek or regular yogurt + pinch of lemon zest or splash of hot pepper sauce
1 Tbsp butter (in baking or sautéing)	1 1/2 tsp canola, olive or other heart-friendly oil + 1 tsp butter
1 cup sugar (in baking)	3/4 cup turbinado sugar + pinch of sweet spice, such as ground cinnamon, and/or extra 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 oz regular cheese	3/4 oz high-flavored regular cheese, such as extra sharp cheddar instead of mild cheddar cheese
1 oz chocolate	3 Tbsp unsweetened natural cocoa powder + 1 Tbsp canola oil
1 cup bleached all-purpose flour (in baking)	1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour + 1/3 c up whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt	1/2 tsp sea salt + up to twice the amount of herbs or spices already in recipe
1/4 cup vinaigrette	1/4 cup  natural low-fat vinaigrette or puree of 1/4 cup cubed fruit + 1 Tbsp oil + 1 Tbsp vinegar

These substitutions are taken from the American Diabetes Association’s world-renown All-Natural Diabetes Cookbook, by Jackie Newgent, RD. © 2007 by the American Diabetes Association.

Looking for more?
The at-a-glance substitutions above are only the tip of the iceberg. Ethnic dishes, gourmet sides, and other less-traditional Thanksgiving plates sometimes include unique or off-the-wall ingredients. To find healthier options to those ingredients – or to search for healthier Thanksgiving recipes – visit MyFoodAdvisor™. With MyFoodAdvisor, you can look up foods, make substitutions, and browse healthy recipes, based on different search criteria, including carbohydrates, calories, sodium, saturated fat, and fiber.