Healthy Living Makes a Difference

For Canadians, Thanksgiving means gathering with family in a cozy room with a crackling fire to ward off autumn chills, and waiting it out until dinner appears on the table. The focus is the feast – quite appropriate as we celebrate an abundant food supply. For many families it remains surprisingly traditional – turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie are a must with a little variation allowed in vegetables and salads from year to year. Have you ever stopped to assess how healthy the meal is or would you rather not go there since you don’t want to change a thing? The bad news is that the Thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings is not doing your arteries any favour and so laden with calories that it takes a week of exercise to burn off. The good news: with a few changes you can have your turkey and pumpkin pie and eat it too – without sabotaging a healthy diet.

When we examine the components of a typical Thanksgiving meal, it is obvious that it’s the way dishes are prepared that makes the difference between healthy and not-so-healthy. For example, roast turkey is a nutritious meat – an excellent source of low-fat protein, and high in several B vitamins (folic acid stands out), zinc and phosphorus. Those on a low calorie diet may wish to choose white breast meat over dark which is more fatty. To further lower saturated fat intake, baste the turkey with a minimum of vegetable oil instead of butter, and remove the skin (where much of the fat resides) before serving.

Trouble starts with stuffing

So far, so good. However, the trouble starts with stuffing, composed of bread cubes soaking with turkey drippings, a dish that packs a fat, carb and calorie wallop. A few quick suggestions: use fat-free chicken broth instead of butter to bind the stuffing together, add plenty of vegetables or dried fruit to cut back on bread and bake in a dish apart from the bird cavity to save on fat. Why not move away from bread stuffing for a delicious alternative such as wild and brown rice stuffing (or use a grain such as barley)?  This offers an interesting variation and accommodates people on a gluten-free diet. For gluten-free stuffing, you could also use gluten-free bread – by the time you add chopped apples, nuts and dried cranberries, everyone will be asking for seconds.

Mashed potatoes are a staple at the Thanksgiving meal, but would anyone really object to eating roasted potatoes instead? Add sweet potatoes and some sprigs of parsley or thyme for a beautiful colour contrast – and a healthy dose of vitamin A in addition to the vitamin C and potassium supplied by white potatoes. However, if you can’t envision the meal without mashed potatoes, prepare with low-fat milk and a minimum of butter to save on fat. And go easy on the gravy.

Let vegetables shine

An important and wholesome part of the meal is the vegetables in hot dishes and salads. The sky’s the limit, and the only way to go wrong is by drowning them in high fat cream and butter-based sauces and dressings. Let fresh vegetables shine by simply cooking them, adding herbs and a spritz of lemon. At this time of year, it is possible to get fresh organic root vegetables, and otherwise go with frozen. Make sure to include a mixture of green leafy vegetables, finished off with a simple olive oil and vinegar dressing. Cranberry sauce? Go with homemade instead of canned for fewer calories and preservatives – and more flavour.

Thanksgiving dinners finish off with pumpkin pie, fragrant with spices and topped with a layer of fluffy whipped cream – the crown of the meal. Health-wise it could be worse since pumpkin is a vine fruit rich in carotenoids which help prevent cancer and heart disease, and beta-carotene to help keep eyes healthy and the immune system strong.

What could you change? Instead of traditional flour-lard crust high in saturated fat, go with a graham crust to save on calories and, to accommodate those on a gluten-free diet, seek out gluten-free wafers or crumbs. Other crusts you might try are oat-pecan or coconut – or why not a crustless version of pumpkin pie?  Cover with a slim layer of whipped cream or try another topping entirely. Explore dairy-free toppings available on the market. One such alternative is a whipped topping made from coconut milk: chill and let settle. Skim off the top and whip. If you like the coconut flavour, you will love this topping.