Thanksgiving Dessert Ideas

Now that you have begun to prepare your healthy Thanksgiving meal you don't want to go overboard with a high-calorie or high-fat dessert. Here are some things to have as a sweet treat to end your festive holiday meal:

Fresh fruit

Unsweetened dried fruit

Poached Pears in Earl Grey Tea with Dried Fruit

Apple Oatmeal Crumble

Chocolate Pecan Tartlets

Any of these desserts - or even your favorite healthy dessert can be served for Thanksgiving. If you know there is a dessert that you are looking forward to enjoying this holiday then take smaller portions during your meal to save room for a small serving of it.

Don't forget to start planning out how you are going to start your Thanksgiving Day too...exercise, breakfast, healthy snacks should all be part of your day.

photo by: Sang An

Sides and More for Thanksgiving

To follow up from Monday's post of healthy starters for your Thanksgiving meal here are some more dishes that are healthy and delicious (and many are vegetarian friendly!)

Stuffings

Wild Rice and Mushroom Stuffing

Quinoa Stuffing

Vegetables

Sauteed Green Beans and Brussels Sprouts with Chile and Mint

Kale with Garlic and Cranberries

Squash

Spiced Winter Squash with Fennel

Turkey

Herb-Rubbed Turkey with Roasted Garlic Gravy

The Simplest Roast Turkey

All of these dishes can be part of a healthy Thanksgiving meal. They are low in fat, high in fiber, and the variety of seasonal foods are very nutritious. These dishes make great leftovers and can be dishes that you serve for friends and family throughout the season. 

Don't forget to check back on Friday for healthy Thanksgiving dessert recipes and tips to get you through the day!

Ten Days Until Thanksgiving

Have you started putting your menu together for Thanksgiving?

Do you need some ideas for healthy dishes for your family and guests?

Here are some tips and dishes for you to try for your Thanksgiving feast:

Sweet Potatoes are Healthy and Weight Loss Friendly

Sweet potatoes are a healthy food that can be prepared in a variety of ways. Once cup of sweet potatoes has
180 calories. They are high in fiber making them good for digestion and also are a complex carbohydrate helping keep your blood sugar from spiking and dropping.

You can just bake sweet potatoes and enjoy the sweet delicious flavor as a side dish or a snack. One side dish to try is Thyme Roasted Sweet Potatoes. This dish has 107 calories per serving and 5 grams of fat, 3 grams of fiber, and 1 gram of protein. A nutritional profile of this recipe is available.

Don't forget to save this recipe to your my ND Recipes. As you start planning your Thanksgiving menu think about making a healthy dish with sweet potatoes so you know you have a dish that is weight loss friendly.

A Spicy Recipe Rub - Help for Inflammation

A few weeks ago I was discussing the anti-inflammatory diet. Since a big component in this diet and food plan includes adding in specific spices I thought I’d share a great recipe I came across on EatingWell.com.  It’s a “rub” which can be used on most protein sources; it contains very few calories and has all the great benefits of fighting inflammation regardless of your own diet plan! So here it is:

ACTIVE/TOTAL PREP TIME: 5 minutes

EASE OF PREPARATION: Easy

• 6 Tablespoons curry powder
• 3 Tablespoons coarse salt
• 4 teaspoons crushed red pepper
• 1 Tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 Tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 Tablespoon dried mint
• 2 teaspoons turmeric
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger

Combine curry powder, salt, crushed red pepper, cumin, coriander, mint, turmeric and ginger in a small bowl. "Rub" on your favorite protein source and cook as desired. Note: not for those of you who prefer milder tastes although you could easily eliminate the red pepper and still get some great benefits.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per teaspoon: 5 calories; 0 g fat (0 g sat, 0 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 1 g carbohydrate; 0 g protein; 0 g fiber; 211 mg sodium; 19 mg potassium.

To fight any kind of inflammation (heart disease, diabetes, obesity, lupus, etc.) utilize ND's IF factor on any food you do a search on. Go here and check out what the label can tell you.

 

Vegetables as the Main Dish

If you are looking for a vegetarian dish, or if you just want to have a meatless meal, prepare 
your friends and family this Cornmeal-Crusted Roasted Ratatouille Tart. Although this is a little bit labor intensive it is packed full of fresh vegetables and fresh flavor - and it is truly delicious!

Each serving has 225 calories, 20g carbs, 3g fiber, 14g fat, 3g saturated fat, and 6g protein

This fabulous dish can fit into all meal plans and will be a hit for dinner, lunch or brunch.

Hummus, More than Just a Dip!

As a nutritionist I am always encouraging my dieters to consume more veggies because they not only benefit weight loss but they are so darn good for you! Hummus (a healthy Middle Eastern mix of chickpeas and tahini) is a natural for dipping veggies (and chips) but it certainly can be used for other nutritious options as well. (Note: A generous serving size of one fourth cup  according to the Diabetic Exchange System is equal to one starch serving and one fat serving equaling about 125 calories.)  The following are some other ways to use this tasty versatile dip:

• Try broiling some chicken or fish with it and then sprinkle some diced tomatoes and black olives over it. Remember though both the hummus and olives are (healthy) fat sources so consider your total fat intake  for the day when consuming it. Fat sources are calorie dense.
• Use it in egg white omelets. Top with your favorite veggies like broccoli or asparagus and onions.
• You could also thin out the hummus with some freshly squeezed lemon juice and use as a sauce over steamed vegetables and rice or even a salad.
• This also makes an obvious choice of dip for football season as well!

Enjoy. Readers do you know any other ways to use this healthy food?

Eating with the seasons

In many cultures people eat with the seasons. As it gets colder people eat less cold foods and start eating warmer foods. One way to eat with the seasons, and still get your fill of vegetables, is to eat soups.

Soups are easy to prepare and can help you with your weight loss. Studies have shown that if you start off your meal with a broth based soup you will eat less during the rest of your meal.

White Bean, Kale, and Roasted Vegetable Soup is a great recipes to try at the start of the fall season. This soup can be a great starter for any meal or can be a meal itself. You can also prepare this soup ahead of time and freeze it in individual containers so you always have a quick meal to go. This soup is low in calories and high in fiber making it a great addition to your weight loss plan. A nutritional analysis of this recipe is available.

photo by: Carrie Lloyd

Brussels Sprouts at the Farmers Market

The picture on the right is Brussels sprouts on the stalk. I remember the first time I saw it and had no idea what it was because I was so used to seeing Brussels sprouts in a small container wrapped with plastic in the supermarket, which I'm sure is the way many other people know of them.

If you have the chance to get to a farmers market see if you can find fresh on the stalk Brussels sprouts. By doing this you are supporting local farms and are getting connected to the story behind your food. Amazingly this connection can make food taste better and can encourage children to eat their vegetables.

Preparing Brussels sprouts is easy. Just cut off the bottoms and cut them in half. Steam over boiling salted water for about 10 minutes then saute in olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Another easy recipe is Carrots and Brussels Sprouts. This is a low calorie, high fiber dish that can be a great side dish for any dish. It can also be combined with whole wheat pasta, brown rice, or quinoa to make a delicious vegetarian dish. A nutritional analysis of this recipes is available.

A Great Low-Calorie Noodle, Really!

To my delight recently I discovered a very interesting type of Asian noodle that I can eat in a generous portion totally guilt free!  It tastes pretty good with a little doctoring up and it’s very filling and cooks in a few quick minutes. The noodles are called Shirataki noodles made either from soy or yams. They are available at Asian markets, Whole Foods and Safeway.

They have about 20 calories or less for a generous three ounces. Just make sure you thoroughly rinse the noodles as they have a bit of a sour smell which is characteristic of them when you first open them up.

I love cabbage so I’ve made several great dishes with the noodles and the cabbage as a base. Here are a few:

Chicken noodle soup: just cook some add cabbage, onions, water and add chicken bouillon for flavor. You can eat that alone or add carrots, celery, tofu or chicken and the noodles.

Cabbage Asian Salad: Add to pre-chopped cabbage some snow peas, water chestnuts, ginger, the noodles and Asian salad dressing. I top it with almonds or sesame seeds.

I'm sure there are more ways you can use these low-cal little noodles for as well. Enjoy!