If you are cooking the feast or preparing a dish to bring,
here are a few tips for those common holiday foods to help you cut back on
calories and make your recipes healthier!
Sweet Potato
Casserole: Use egg whites or
egg beaters in place of whole eggs; reduce the amount of margarine or use lite
margarine; add some apple sauce to the sweet potato mixture; Substitute orange
juice for some of the melted margarine in the streusel topping
Stuffing: make with low fat margarine; replace
whole eggs with egg whites or egg beaters; substitute chicken or turkey sausage
for pork sausage; use fat free, low sodium chicken broth; choose whole grain
bread
Mashed Potatoes: Make with low fat cream cheese or lite
butter; replace some of the potato with steamed cauliflower; use 2% milk or low
fat butter milk in place of heavy cream
Corn Bread: use low fat buttermilk, substitute egg
whites or egg beaters for whole eggs; cut down on the oil, and add an extra
splash of milk or some applesauce
Creamed Spinach: make with lite margarine; replace sour
cream with low fat sour cream; substitute Neufchatel cheese for cream cheese;
add half the amount of parmesan cheese called for in recipe
Macaroni and Cheese: Make with lite margarine, use low fat
cottage cheese; choose low fat half and half, evaporated milk or skim milk;
substitute egg beaters for whole eggs; select whole grain, lite bread for the
topping; replace sour cream with low fat sour cream if recipe calls for it
Have a Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving!
Estelle L. Benoit, RD, LDN