No-regrets recipes for a tasty, healthy Thanksgiving
“Healthy Thanksgiving” is not a typo. It can be done — and no, I don’t mean you’ll feel deprived with a whisper-thin slice of dry turkey breast and a few crinkled leaves of raw, naked kale. The key to a bountiful and better-for-you Thanksgiving is to use recipes that don’t feel like deprivation and still taste like home.
Turkey, low in fat and high in protein, is a good place to start. The trouble is that the real fan favorites are the side dishes, and that’s where it’s especially easy to blow a healthy eating plan. Many sides are rich with butter, cream and bacon.
It’s not as easy as just swapping out the side dishes. One tricky thing about Thanksgiving is that the menu can seem immovable. Each family member has that one dish that is a favorite, and for some, the entire holiday is absolutely, positively ruined if the sweet potatoes are topped with something other than toasted pecans, or if the squash casserole is missing.
These strong sentiments mean a double down on what has to be served — and how you can do it so as not to disturb the family peace. These tasty and delicious recipes are makeovers of traditional favorites, altered just enough to lighten things up and keep the blessings flowing.
RECIPES
Keep the peace. Lose the extra fat and calories. These health-minded recipes for traditional Thanksgiving dishes — dressing, collards, Brussels sprouts and sweet potato pie — will please everyone at the dinner table.
Whole-Grain Herb Cornbread Dressing
Whether you call it stuffing or dressing, this iconic savory baked bread mixture is delicious. It uses whole-grain buttermilk cornbread and additional stock and vegetables instead of butter to make it tender and moist.
- For the cornbread:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, unsalted butter or bacon grease
- 2 cups whole-grain white or yellow cornmeal (not cornmeal mix or self-rising cornmeal)
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups low-fat buttermilk or 2 cups low-fat milk plus 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- For the dressing:
- 1 recipe, Buttermilk Cornbread
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 stalks celery, chopped
- 2 cups chicken stock or low-fat, reduced-sodium chicken broth, plus more if needed
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs such as sage, parsley, chives and thyme
- Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Make the cornbread: Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Place the olive oil in a 10 1/2-inch cast-iron skillet or ovenproof baking dish and heat in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the cornmeal, salt and baking soda. Set aside. In a large measuring cup, combine the buttermilk and egg. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir with a spatula to combine until smooth.
- Remove the heated skillet from the oven and pour the olive oil into the batter. Stir to combine, then pour the batter back into the hot skillet. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely. Cornbread may be made up to a day in advance and wrapped in plastic wrap, stored at room temperature.
- When ready to prepare the dressing, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a large ovenproof gratin or casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Crumble the cornbread into 1-inch pieces. Place the crumbled cornbread in a large bowl.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook until soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the cooked vegetables to the cornbread crumbs. Add the stock, eggs, herbs, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine. The mixture should be soupy; if not, add additional stock and stir again.
- Transfer to the baking dish. Bake until heated through, puffed, and golden brown, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven to cool slightly before serving.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per serving: 271 calories (percent of calories from fat, 33), 8 grams protein, 37 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams total sugars, 3 grams fiber, 10 grams total fat (2 grams saturated), 71 milligrams cholesterol, 588 milligrams sodium.
Vegan Smoky Collard Greens with Chipotles
Collard greens don’t need to be cooked with bacon or fatback to be deeply flavorful. This vegan rendition takes advantage of the smoke and heat of chipotle peppers swimming in a spicy adobo sauce.
- 1 quart water
- 2 onions, chopped
- 8 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce plus 2 tablespoons adobo sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 32 cups chopped collard greens (about 2 pounds)
- In a large saucepan, bring the water, onion, garlic, chipotles and adobo sauce to a boil over high heat. Season with salt and pepper. Decrease the heat to simmer and cook until the onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the greens and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the greens are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per serving: 65 calories (percent of calories from fat, 12), 4 grams protein, 12 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams total sugars, 6 grams fiber, 1 gram total fat (trace saturated fat), no cholesterol, 82 milligrams sodium.
Roast Brussels Sprouts with Apples and Bacon
The key to healthfully adding bacon to any dish is to use enough to add flavor, but not so much that it becomes drenched in saturated fat. In this recipe, three thick slices means less than half a slice of bacon per person; that’s still plenty of big bacon flavor. Sweet apples partner well with the smoky, salty bacon; use red-skinned cooking apples such as Gala, Honeycrisp or Rome for the best color and texture.
- 3 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into lardons
- 2 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half lengthwise
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 apples, cored and (1/4-inch) diced
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a plate with paper towels. Set aside.
- In a large ovenproof skillet or roasting pan, cook the bacon over medium-high heat until crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to the prepared plate. Do not drain the bacon grease.
- Decrease the heat to medium. Working in batches if necessary, add the Brussels sprouts, preferably flat-side down and without crowding. Cook, without stirring, until the sprouts are lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the onion and stir to combine. Transfer to the oven and roast, uncovered, until the sprouts are almost tender, about 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and add the apples; stir to combine. Return to the oven and continue to roast, uncovered, until the sprouts and apples are both tender, about 10 additional minutes.
- Remove from the oven. Add the parsley and reserved bacon. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per serving: 122 calories (percent of calories from fat, 20), 7 grams protein, 21 grams carbohydrates, 10 grams total sugars, 6 grams fiber, 3 grams total fat (1 gram saturated), 7 milligrams cholesterol, 143 milligrams sodium.
Brown Butter Sweet Potato Pie
Zapping the sweet potatoes in the microwave instead of roasting them is not only a time-saver, it also frees up some much-needed oven space. The resulting sweet potato flavor is not as sweet as when they are oven-roasted, but the bonus is that the rich, warm spices and lemon flavors shine bright. Using tangy yogurt in the pie crust reduces the fat and helps produce a sturdy crust. Fat-free sweetened condensed milk is the stealthy ingredient that enables a firm sweet potato pie custard without a lot of butter and sugar.
- For the crust:
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks
- 1/4 cup plain reduced-fat skyr or Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons ice water
- For the pie:
- 2 medium sweet potatoes (about 1 1/4 pounds), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 2 large eggs
- 1 (14-ounce) can fat-free sweetened condensed milk
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- Prepare the crust: Combine flour and salt in a food processor; pulse several times to blend. Add butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds. Add skyr or yogurt and pulse until combined. With the motor running, add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough holds together without being sticky or crumbly. Shape the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place the cubed sweet potatoes in a microwavable bowl with 1 tablespoon water. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap and cook on high until the potatoes are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Set aside to cool. Sweet potatoes can be made ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Simply microwave them on high heat for 3 to 5 minutes to reheat and soften before using.
- Prepare and assemble the pie: Position racks in center and lower third of oven; heat to 425 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before rolling. Roll dough into a 13-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick, on a lightly floured surface. Transfer to a 9-inch pie pan. Fold the overhanging pastry under itself along the rim of the pan. Press a fork around the edges or pinch the dough with your finger and thumb to crimp it. Crumple a piece of parchment paper, then lay it out flat over the pastry. Fill with pie weights, dried beans or uncooked rice.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the pie crust from the oven, take out the paper and weights and let cool. Decrease oven temperature to 350 degrees.
- Meanwhile, melt butter in a small pan over medium heat. Cook until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add cardamom, cinnamon, salt and white pepper.
- Mash sweet potatoes with a potato masher in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat with an electric mixer or the whisk attachment at medium speed until completely smooth, about 2 minutes. Add eggs and beat until well incorporated. Add the spiced butter and any browned bits, condensed milk, lemon zest and lemon juice and beat until incorporated. Pour the mixture into the crust.
- Bake until the pie is puffed and a toothpick inserted into the filling comes out clean, about 45 minutes. (If the exposed edges of the crust start to brown too quickly, cover with strips of foil for the last 15 minutes of baking.) Transfer to a rack and let cool, at least 1 hour.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per serving: 391 calories (percent of calories from fat, 29), 10 grams protein, 60 grams carbohydrates, 28 grams total sugars, 3 grams fiber, 13 grams total fat (8 grams saturated), 78 milligrams cholesterol, 349 milligrams sodium.Read more stories like this by liking Atlanta Restaurant Scene on Facebook, following @ATLDiningNews on Twitter and @ajcdining on Instagram.
