Thanksgiving Menu...healthy or no holding back?

When it comes to the holidays, do you have staples that you eat every year? Does your food become a tradition? Do you try to make healthy recipes and stay as healthy as possible or do you make traditional recipes and don't hold back at all?

My holiday meals have completely evolved over the years. When I first started cooking dinners and hosting our friends and family, I made what we ate when I was growing up. In recent years, I have tweaked recipes and have really enjoyed holding on to traditional recipes but making them healthier. Even with cutting back on the butter and sugar, the food is still delicious and enjoyed by everyone.

A turkey is a must! I buy fresh turkeys that have not been frozen and don't have junk added to them to preserve them! To me it is worth the extra money!

Stuffing- I don't stuff the turkey but make the stuffing separately. I make stuffing using bread. I grew up eating it with white bread but now I use gluten free whole grain bread. I usually don't eat grains but stuffing is a must! To make it with bread, I break the bread into pieces and squish it up with eggs, celery, onion, and poultry season. It is very basic!!!! I then bake it and make sure the top gets crispy!

Mashed potatoes- instead of just using white potatoes, I mix in sweet potatoes too. I use a splash of non fat milk and a little bit of butter. Growing up, we used a whole stick, not I use a table spoon at most!

Sweet Potato Casserole- Marshmallows? Brown sugar? More of a dessert than a  vegetable? I bake my sweet potatoes and then mash them into a casserole dish and add a table spoon of real maple syrup. The syrup still makes them sweet but no where near as bad as the original recipe. I then bake them as normal.

Squash- I love to make acorn squash! I just bake it ans skip the sugar and syrup.

Green bean casserole- steamed green beans with mushrooms, garlic, pepper, and olive oil taste even better than baking green beans with cream of mushroom soup and topping them with fried onions!

Roll- I opt for the whole grain version!

Corn bread- we bake our own or the Bob's Red Mill mix.

Desserts-

Pumpkin chocolate chip muffins with almond flour and honey to sweeten.

Pie crust made out of almond flour with no sweetener. Apple and pumpkin are musts! Apples can be sweetened with cinnamon and stevia and pumpkin can be made with a fraction of the sugar or with honey to sweeten.

Leftovers- Turkey vegetable soup! Skip the noodles!

Please let me know if you would like specific recipes! I promise it is still just as delicious when made healthier!

Nina Pears