Healthy Swaps For Your Favorite Thanksgiving Foods

By Louise Belle BHSc (Nut Med)

Thanksgiving is a time when friends and family get together, reminisce on the good times, and eat their weights worth in turkey, sides and pumpkin pie. It’s said that Americans eat more food on Thanksgiving than any other day, going through over 500 million pounds of turkey in a single day! Whilst the mere thought of the Thanksgiving feast makes our taste buds tingle, the rest of your body is dreading the massive influx of food that it has to process. Here are some simple swaps that you can make this Thanksgiving to make it a little healthier.

SWAP:

• Pumpkin pie for healthy pumpkin pie: A traditional pumpkin pie is an all-time favorite, but is accompanied by lots of sugar, pastry and calories. This year, make adjustments to your recipe to make it guilt-free. Swap the sugar for a natural sweetener or some pure maple syrup and swap the pie pastry for a healthy base using almond meal which is high in protein and other beneficial nutrients. These simple swaps will make that delicious pumpkin pie so much healthier for you.
• Garlic mash for sweet potato mash: Whilst regular white potatoes make a delicious mash, they are a refined carbohydrate and spike blood sugar levels. Sweet potatoes on the other hand are higher in fiber and nutrients, and have a lower glycemic index (GI) having less of an effect on blood sugar. This Thanksgiving, trade in your regular mash for garlic sweet potato mash and you will be pleasantly surprised how yummy it is.
• Bread stuffing for quinoa stuffing: It could be argued that the stuffing is the best part of a traditional roast turkey. Stuffing is super tasty, but is packed with refined carbohydrates that don’t do your waist line any favors. Try swapping the bread/ bread crumbs for cooked quinoa, combined with some almond meal, which are high in protein, fiber, B vitamins, healthy fats and conveniently, gluten free. Use your favorite secret stuffing spices and you’ll hardly notice the difference!
• Cranberry sauce for cranberry chia jam: Cranberry sauce makes the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving roast, but packs a big sugar punch. Here’s what you need to do- cut the sugar out of your recipe and replace it with a natural sweetener, and add a few tablespoons or so of chia seeds to thicken it. Chia seeds gel up and are great for thickening the sauce, and also bring extra protein, fiber and omega 3 to the table.
• Macaroni cheese for vegetable macaroni cheese: Traditional macaroni cheese might be delicious, but it doesn’t offer many nutrients and is high in refined carbohydrates. Sneaking in some vegetables is a great way to make it healthier. Boil and puree squash to mix through the cheese sauce (you won’t even notice it!) and finely grate some carrot, zucchini or mushrooms to mix through the pasta. Also, swap your white pasta for wholemeal pasta, or a quinoa or legume pasta that is higher in protein and B vitamins.

There you have it, five simple swaps that you can make to your traditional Thanksgiving recipes to make them healthier! Enjoy your feast, but try not to gorge yourself into a food coma. Digestive Enzymes and Betaine HCL will be your best friend on Thanksgiving day, as they will help your body to break down and digest all of those delicious Thanksgiving treats!

The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.