Serves: 5
Traditional holiday meals can pack quite a caloric and fat-laden punch! However, you can still eat your favorite foods with some simple recipe modifications and attention to portion control. We’ve shown you below how to navigate a Thanksgiving meal, but the same principles would apply to any holiday meal or special-occasion meal.
Appetizers: Stick to fresh vegetables, fruit, shrimp, crab and pretzels. Avoid the dips, spreads (unless made with fat-free or low-fat products), creamy and cheesy mixtures and fried foods. Try our Tangy Sunset Dip with fresh vegetables.
Roast turkey: Eat white meat without the skin.
Stuffing: Cook the vegetables in broth instead of butter or margarine. Skip the sausage and bake the stuffing in a casserole rather than inside the bird this will prevent extra fat from absorbing into the stuffing.
Mashed potatoes: Mash potatoes with skim milk and no fat. Flavored mashed potatoes add pizzazz without fat. Try adding garlic cloves to the cooking water or stirring chopped fresh chives or horseradish into mashed potatoes. For buttery flavor, try butter-flavored sprinkles or packets that are mixed with water and used like melted butter.
Gravy: Use a fat strainer to separate the juices from the fat. For richer gravy, stir in evaporated skim milk before thickening.
Green bean casserole: Use a reduced-fat cream soup and skim milk. Sprinkle top with only 2 tablespoons fried onions—if the onions are crushed after measuring they will stretch further. Another option is to top the beans with crushed reduced-fat potato chips. Or, for a change of pace, prepare Honey Green Beans with Cranberries.
Sweet potato casserole: Top sweet potatoes with 2 tablespoons brown sugar or honey and 1/2 cup miniature marshmallows skip the butter. Whole baked sweet potatoes are delicious, too.
Pumpkin pie: Use evaporated skim milk and cholesterol-free, fat-free egg product for the filling and skip the crust. A crust isn’t necessary for successful results, but because it may get done more quickly, check for doneness five to ten minutes earlier than indicated in the recipe. Top with fat-free or light whipped topping instead of whipped cream. Cut the pie into eight or ten pieces.
From "Betty Crocker's Best of Healthy & Hearty Cooking." Text Copyright 1998 General Mills, Inc. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
This Surviving the Holidays recipe is from the Betty Crocker's Best of Healthy & Hearty Cooking Cookbook. Download this Cookbook today.
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