Thanksgiving Substitutions For A Healthy meal

With Christmas just around the corner, you simply know that your waistlines are going to be taking a direct hit, up until the 1st or second of January, when you make the same New Year’s resolution that you always do, which is to lose weight (not helped by the overindulgence associated with Christmas time) and get in shape for the new year. Unless you’re especially disciplined and lucky, then you’re going to be gaining weight over the festive period so take a look some substitutions for Thanksgiving meal.

Healthy alternatives and substitutions for thanksgiving

Before December even arrives however, you’ve got Thanksgiving dinner to get out of the way first. You may already be watching what you eat, and looking to minimize the amount of weight you gain over the festive period, so a greasy fatty thanksgiving feast, is not going to be doing you any favors. There are ways of making your holiday little bit healthier, by making a few simple substitutions for Thanksgiving Dinner. The taste will still be amazing, and the calories will be significantly reduced in the process.

Use less oil, or low calorie cooking sprays

Say you’re making roast potatoes. Normally you’d cover them in spoonfuls of greasy cooking oil or fat, but there is a way around this, which will still make delicious roasts. Parboil your potatoes, and simply use one tablespoon of oil. Give the potatoes a good toss in the oil, and whack them in the oven. That way you know exactly how much fat is on them. Alternatively, to be even healthier, you could spray them with a low calories cooking spray and roast them that way. They’ll still be crispy and taste delicious. Substitutions for Thanksgiving

Leave the cream and butter out

No thanksgiving dinner would be complete without mashed potatoes, and we certainly wouldn’t ask that you skip them. However, rather than adding cupfuls of calorific cream and melted butter, add a splash of milk, an egg yolk, and plenty of seasoning instead. The milk and egg yolk work wonderfully together to make it extremely creamy and rich, only without the extra calories. Ensure you add the egg yolk at the end, and mix it in immediately to avoid scrambled eggs. Substitutions for Thanksgiving

Use low fat meats and forget the skin

It’s thanksgiving, which means turkey! Turkey is a naturally lean bird anyways, minus the skin, so when you roast the bird, don’t coat it in butter or oil, and don’t eat the skin when it’s ready. The meat itself will be very juicy, and almost entirely fat free. If you’re making stuffing, use extra lean sausage meat instead. It’ll still taste great, and again, by making a simple substitution, you’ll save yourself unnecessary calories.

Eat plenty of vegetables : substitutions for Thanksgiving

The foods we’ve listed above, when combined with plenty of vegetables, will actually make one heck of a healthy balanced meal. Vegetables are packed full of natural vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, so load up your plates and go wild.