Favorite twists to holiday recipes
‘Tis the season! In the darkest days of the year, we are approaching a time of joy and celebration with our friends and family. Many of us celebrate around the table, with traditional American comfort dishes and … cookies. Studies have indeed shown that the season between Thanksgiving and New Years is associated with modest weight gain, even in participants trying to lose weight. The same study demonstrated that having support through programs or professionals can help prevent that weight gain (schedule an appointment with me here).
I’d like to propose three goals to ponder for the holidays.
Goal 1: Listen to your body’s hunger cues. Wait 20 minutes before getting a second plate.
Goal 2: Only indulge in foods that you truly enjoy. Don’t take the pumpkin pie if it doesn’t bring you joy. Even if your Great Aunt made it and cut you a piece. You can say “No thank you.”
Goal 3: Be the person who brings a healthier option to a holiday gathering. Here are some of Happy Trails Nutrition’s favorite recipe modifications:
Stuffing: Classic stuffings typically have white bread with 1-2 sticks of butter. Yikes! Swap the white bread for a higher fiber wheat bread, choosing a local company such as Red Hen Baking. You can cut down on the amount of bread with other healthful fillers such as mushrooms, leeks, and celery. Several recipes, such as this one, give examples of cooking the vegetables prior to mixing them with the cubed bread in the baking dish. Lastly, you can use olive oil instead of butter or at minimum 1/2 olive oil and 1/2 butter. If you season your stuffing right with fresh sage, thyme, and parsley, you do not need to coat your mouth with so much butter to make your taste buds happy! Here is a recipe I like, with my suggestions of increasing the mushrooms, adding 2 leeks, and shredding 2oz of sharp Parmesan cheese on top.
Potatoes: Mashed potatoes are my favorite food on Thanksgiving so I will be doing a more traditional recipe and indulging. However, for those who want to lessen the density of their mashed potatoes, it’s all about adding cauliflower and Greek yogurt. Cauliflower has more fiber than russet potatoes. Dare to be different and see if you local farm stand still has purple cauliflower to increase the antioxidants. If you’ve come to my clinic, you know I believe that Greek yogurt can be used instead of sour cream or mayo if you season properly. It’s higher in protein and lower in saturated fat. For a less tangy plain Greek yogurt brand, try Cabot 2%. Split the cups of butter with 1/2 butter and 1/2 Greek yogurt. Adding 1/2 of a lemon can create a really interesting favor profile. Here is a recipe.
Sweet potato casserole: I have a dream that one day marshmallow covered sweet potatoes will be a relic of the past. Until then, fight the good fight by not adding sugar to your sweet potato casserole. Roasting your sweet potatoes prior to placing in the baking dish breaks down their starch and increases their natural sweet taste. Adding fresh or ground ginger creates a new flavor profile. Pecans add crunch to the top of your casserole. I love this recipe, although I would challenge you to not add the honey until after you taste the sweet potatoes.
Green beans: The main ingredient in a traditional French’s green bean casserole is condensed cream of mushroom soup, with approximately 2000mg of sodium. Why do we need that? What if green beans remained green on the Thanksgiving table (gasp!)? The problem with green beans is that they are a summer crop so in New England, we import green beans from the South for Thanksgiving which are starchy and tough. I often gravitate to bags of French Petite green beans at this time of year. I don’t love using bagged vegetables, but let me tell you, no green beans are local in November. Try this roasted green bean recipe with red peppers. Top with slivered almonds for an extra crunch (your favorite nutty Dietitian is always bringing some nuts in a recipe).
Cranberry sauce: Let’s take a moment to acknowledge that canned cranberry sauce is jelly, with the second ingredient being High Fructose Corn Syrup. Cranberry relish is quite easy to make and can be made the day ahead of a gathering. Did you know you can get local cranberries at your Food Co-op? Check out Vermont Cranberry or make your way to the Woodstock Farmers Market for some VT grown berries. Here is a recipe that I like, with the modifications of only 1/2 cup honey and adding fresh orange zest and juice (1-2 oranges) rather than apple juice.
Salad: I always love making a holiday salad because we have such wonderful fall produce to use. Fall crops of spinach and kale are abundant. Never made a kale salad?, check out this article about massaging kale (yup, weird but totally needed!). I always add a roasted winter squash on top of my salad and some local tangy cheese. I even love roasting chickpeas, such as this recipe, to put on top. Here is a beautiful salad recipe to impress your guests.
Dessert: In our family, pumpkin is the star of Thanksgiving dessert and cookies are the star of Christmas dessert. Your approach to dessert can be (a) make a healthier dessert or (b) have a small portion of the dessert that you love. If you decide to try to make a healthier dessert, I love the idea of small servings of pumpkin brown rice pudding or using the fruits that are at the end of season, such as pears and apples. Cookies can be a challenge to make healthy. You can take steps by substituting 1/2 the flour for golden wheat flour from King Arthur and use dark chocolate instead of semi sweet chip. I love making cookies bite size to give my guests an opportunity to taste but not overindulge.
Throughout the holiday season, it is my wish for you that you feel so good that you are able to radiate your joy to others. Let’s pause to remember why we celebrate and be thankful for the strength we have each day. Cheers!