Thanksgiving food ideas to make it not so evil...

W

winsomehill

Cathlete
So, let's brainstorm some ways to slip a little health into Thanksgiving. I recently made cornbread and added cottage cheese to it to boost the protein and nobody noticed. It was yummy too. I'd love to have a few dishes on the table that I reach for and avoid some of the not so friendly ones. Can't wait for your ideas.
Heather
 
Grilled/ roasted veggie platter:

My dish to pass every year is a very large platter of grilled and roasted veggies. I use sweet peppers, asparagus, portebella mushrooms, zucchini, eggplant broccoli and even carrots. I only spray them with olive oil in a misto sprayer and lightly salt them with kosher salt. We put them out with appetizers and they are gone in no time. I make them for every holiday and my extended family expects them.

Judy "Likes2bfit"
 
I know most of you will go YUK!!! But I am trying a Tofurkey Roast dinner. As a Vegan the choices can be interesting..:)...I am also in charge of the mashed potatoes and I make them Vegan using soy milk, Earth Balance Spread, some garlic and DH wants me to put some chipotles in them but...not sure everyone will go for that. I'll be at my sisters and they all eat the Turkey and other goodies....:)...Carole
 
>Grilled/ roasted veggie platter:
>
>My dish to pass every year is a very large platter of grilled
>and roasted veggies. I use sweet peppers, asparagus,
>portebella mushrooms, zucchini, eggplant broccoli and even
>carrots. I only spray them with olive oil in a misto sprayer
>and lightly salt them with kosher salt.

Yum! Send me some of those!;-)
 
>I know most of you will go YUK!!! But I am trying a Tofurkey
>Roast dinner.

I've tried Tofurkey and another vegan "turkey" (I can't remember the name). They are pretty good! I did think there needed to be more stuffing on the side, though (with whole grain bread, apples, sunflower seeds, etc.)

Carole: I know there will be some turkeys who are thankful for US this season! ;-)


As for other healthy alternatives to the regular Thanksgiving fare:
Instead of the sugary-sweet candied yams, peel and slice some yams and bake then with an apple juice basting.
 
>
>I've tried Tofurkey and another vegan "turkey" (I can't
>remember the name). They are pretty good! I did think there
>needed to be more stuffing on the side, though (with whole
>grain bread, apples, sunflower seeds, etc.)
>
>Carole: I know there will be some turkeys who are thankful for
>US this season! ;-)
>
>
Thanks Kathryn, I was hoping you'd post if you had tried it. It does look good. I actually found it here local and I had been worried about that..:)...I agree turkeys will be very happy with US...http://bestsmileys.com/thanksgiving/2.gif[/img]...Carole
 
I take salad to my inlaws every year. I toss red leaf lettuce, romaine, spinach, radicchio, and red onion in a dressing of fresh squeezed orange juice, olive oil, sea salt, and fresh ground pepper. I sprinkle it with toasted walnuts and dried cranberries, and garnish each serving with orange segments. My FIL specifically asks for this salad every year and it never goes to waste.

Michele
 
I love ya all but NUH UH on the subs for Turkey day. My one day to be a fatty and I'm diving in ;)


"you miss 100% of the shots you never take"


Debbie
 
Oh yeah! No skimping on the essentials. I must have the real deal when it comes to the turkey, stuffing, and mashed potaotes. :p :9 :D

Michele
 
Heather,
would you kindly provide me with the recipe for your cornbread with cottage cheese please! This sounds fabulous and delicious! I am definately going to give this a try.
Thanks a bunch
Claudia
 
I have tried the Tofurkey and I have to say I wasn't that wild about it. I made a "tofu turkey" one year and it was really yummy! The recipe has you do this thing where you push all the water out of the tofu and it makes it this yummy consistency, and you add sage, rosemary, and thyme. I can't remember the whole thing, I have it somewhere. In the past I have made a vegie pot pie, which is also really yummy, but it uses a butter and nutritional yeast gravy. I'm going to splurge on my dad's mashed potatoes, so I want to have everything else be pretty healthy. I'm gonna have to have some kind of tofu, I think...It's a work in process. Love to hear what else you vegetarian ladies do for Thanksgiving.
Heather
 
Oh Claudia,
I'm kind of a haphazard cook, I throw in a little of this and a little of that. I find the key to good corn bread is using good corn meal, I always get the stoneground kind they sell in bulk at the coop. Also, I use whole wheat pastry flour and it makes it light enough but not that white cakey consistency. I have a great vegan corn bread recipe Carole might like that's usually my stand-by version. But, this last time the coop was out of cornmeal. So, I got a mix! It's "Bob's Red Mill Old fasioned Stone Ground cornbread mix and cornmeal muffin mix" and I made it with nonfat yogurt, milk, and through in some cottage cheese til I thought it was a good consistency. I don't eat eggs, so I just leave those out. But, I am sure if you do eat eggs you could use the egg whites to keep the fat content down. I tried this with a little added oil and without and it was fine both ways.
Heather
 
The real deal for me too Deb... I just have to remember portion control!!! My MIL has really gotten creative in the past few years since she was diagnosed with diabetes and my DH's stepfather also has diabetes but she is still making those cheese cakes though with the cherry pie filling topping for DH. I can't make her stop. He usually winds up eating the whole pie himself because he brings it home. She makes three or four just so he'll have plenty!!! I guess DH is next in line for diabetes but I can't make her see that. **sigh**
 
Another idea: instead of the typical "mashed potatoes," you can make mashed cauliflower, or mashed daikon radish (a bit peppery) or a combo of both. Just steam and mash (the daikon takes a lot longer to soften than the cauliflower if you are using both).
 
Not just for thanksgiving, but in my mashed potatoes I use chicken broth instead of milk/cream and butter. To me it has more flavor.
 
Carole - Funny, when you mentioned tofurkey i thought of that Everybody Loves Raymond episode where Marie tries to swap out the real bird. FUNNY FUNNY STUFF :)


"you miss 100% of the shots you never take"


Debbie
 
Well I just did my grocery shopping for the Thanksgiving feast. There might be some disappointed guest. I didn't buy crap! LOL! I thought we would have some healthy sandwiches to eat while the turkey is cooking so I bought lite wheat bread and deli turkey meat. The only thing "evil" I bought was the cranberry sauce and regular potatoes which I won't eat...they make me bloated. I told everyone if they want carbonated sugar water, they will have to bring it themselves and take it back home themselves. I refuse to buy crap and I didn't buy any booze. Want to come over? LOL!

Charlotte~~
 
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