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Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes
Recipe List
Apple-Shallot Roasted Turkey | Brussels Sprouts with Chestnuts & Sage | Wild Mushroom Stuffing | Creamed Onions | Maple-Roasted Sweet Potatoes | Cranberry, Cherry, and Walnut Marmalade | Frozen Pumpkin Mousse Pie
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Apple-Shallot Roasted Turkey
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| From EatingWell: November/December 2007 |
Roasting the herb-rubbed turkey with apples and shallots is the secret to flavorful meat. Extra shallots in the roasting pan give the gravy a rich, caramelized shallot flavor.
12 servings, 3 ounces each, plus plenty of leftovers | Active Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 3 1/2 hours
Ingredients
- 1 10- to 12-pound turkey
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, plus 3 sprigs
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage, plus 3 sprigs
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme, plus 3 sprigs
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 1/2 pounds shallots, peeled and halved lengthwise, divided
- 1 tart green apple, quartered
- 3 cups water, plus more as needed
Preparation
- Position rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 475°F.
- Remove giblets and neck from turkey cavities and reserve for making Turkey Giblet Stock. Place the turkey, breast-side up, on a rack in a large roasting pan; pat dry with paper towels.
- Combine oil, chopped parsley, sage, thyme, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Rub the herb mixture all over the turkey, under the skin and onto the breast meat. Place herb sprigs, 6 shallot halves and apple in the cavity. Tuck the wing tips under the turkey. Tie the legs together with kitchen string. Add 3 cups water to the pan.
- Roast the turkey until the skin is golden brown, 45 minutes. Remove the turkey from the oven. If using a remote digital thermometer, insert it into the deepest part of the thigh, close to the joint. Cover just the breast with a double layer of foil, cutting as necessary to fit. Scatter the remaining shallots in the pan around the turkey. Reduce oven temperature to 350° and continue roasting until the thermometer (or an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh without touching bone) registers 165°F, 1 to 1 3/4 hours more. If the pan dries out, tilt the turkey to let juices run out of the cavity into the pan and add 1 cup water.
- Transfer the turkey to a serving platter (reserve pan juices and shallots) and tent with foil. Make Cider Gravy (recipe follows). Let the turkey rest for 20 minutes. Remove the string and carve.
Nutrition
Per serving : 155 Calories; 5 g Fat; 1 g Sat; 2 g Mono; 63 mg Cholesterol; 25 g Protein; 0 g Fiber; 115 mg Sodium; 258 mg Potassium
Exchanges: 3 1/2 very lean meat
Nutrition Bonus: Selenium (42% daily value), Zinc (16% dv)
Nutrition Profile
Diabetes appropriate | Low calorie | Low carbohydrate | Low saturated fat | Low sodium | Heart healthy | Healthy weight | Gluten free |
Brussels Sprouts with Chestnuts & Sage
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From EatingWell: November/December 2007
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Chestnuts and Brussels sprouts are a classic pair—the toasty, rich nuts balance the sprouts. This dish cuts down on the holiday oven gridlock because it can be done on the stovetop.
12 servings, about 1/2 cup each | Active Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 3/4 cup coarsely chopped chestnuts, (about 4 ounces; see Tip)
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
Preparation
- Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add Brussels sprouts and cook until bright green and just tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain well.
- Melt butter with oil and broth in a large skillet over medium heat. Add Brussels sprouts, chestnuts and sage and cook, stirring often, until heated through, 2 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition
Per serving : 68 Calories; 3 g Fat; 1 g Sat; 1 g Mono; 3 mg Cholesterol; 10 g Carbohydrates; 2 g Protein; 3 g Fiber; 117 mg Sodium; 308 mg Potassium
1/2 Carbohydrate Serving
Exchanges: 1 vegetable, 1 fat
Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (90% daily value), Vitamin A (15% dv)
Nutrition Profile
Diabetes appropriate | Low calorie | Low carbohydrate | Low cholesterol | Low saturated fat | Low sodium | Heart healthy | Healthy weight | Gluten free |
Tips & Notes
- Make Ahead Tip: Prepare through Step 1, cover and refrigerate for up to 8 hours.
- Tip: You don't need to prepare your own chestnuts for this dish. Cooked and peeled chestnuts are available in jars at this time of year. Look for them in the baking aisle or near other seasonal food items.
Wild Mushroom Stuffing
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| From EatingWell: November/December 2009 |
Wild mushrooms make an amazing, rich base for a stuffing for Thanksgiving dinner. This stuffing includes diced turkey liver, which gives it an intense, deep flavor. If you’re not a liver lover or if you’re serving vegetarians, you can omit it from the recipe. (Recipe adapted from Alice Waters.)
10 servings, about 1 cup each | Active Time: 1 hour | Total Time: 1 3/4 hours
Ingredients
- 10 cups day-old bread, crusts removed, cubed
- 3 cups low-fat milk
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 turkey liver or 2 chicken livers, diced
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 8 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 shallots, finely diced
- 2 cups finely chopped onions
- 2 pounds chanterelle mushrooms or mixed wild mushrooms, stemmed, cleaned and coarsely chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Place bread in a large bowl and toss with milk. Let stand, tossing or stirring occasionally, until saturated.
- Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a Dutch oven or large straight-sided skillet over medium heat. Add liver and cook, stirring once or twice, until browned, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.
- Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and butter to the pan and heat over medium heat. Add garlic and shallots and cook, stirring often, until softened and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until the mushroom have softened and the liquid released has evaporated, 8 to 12 minutes. Add to the bowl with the liver.
- Drain and squeeze the bread and add to the bowl with the mushroom mixture (discard any remaining milk). Add parsley, thyme, salt and pepper; stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Stir in eggs. Transfer the stuffing to the prepared baking dish.
- Bake until heated through and golden on top, about 45 minutes.
Nutrition
270 Calories; 12 g Fat; 4 g Sat; 5 g Mono; 80 mg Cholesterol; 32 g Carbohydrates; 11 g Protein; 3 g Fiber; 569 mg Sodium; 460 mg Potassium
2 Carbohydrate Serving
Exchanges: 1 1/2 starch, 1 vegetable, 2 fat
Nutrition Note: Vitamin A (127% daily value), Folate (39% dv), Iron (19% dv), Vitamin C (16% dv)
Nutrition Profile
Diabetes appropriate | Low calorie | Healthy weight |
Tips & Notes
- Make Ahead Tip: Prepare through Step 5, cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day. Remove from the refrigerator about 20 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350°F until hot and golden, 50 minutes to 1 hour.
Creamed Onions
From EatingWell: November/December 2009, November/December 2010
A holiday staple in many households, creamed onions are usually bathed in a rich white sauce made with heavy cream. In this version, we roast the onions for an added layer of flavor and lighten up the sauce with low-fat milk. The result is a luxuriously silky sauce with a sweet roasted onion flavor for far fewer calories and less fat. We like the smaller size of pearl onions, but boiling onions also work well.
12 servings, about 1/2 cup each | Active Time: 1 hour | Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Ingredients
- 3 pounds fresh or frozen pearl onions or boiling onions
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided
- 1/2 cup reduced-sodium beef broth
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups low-fat milk
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon white or black pepper
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- If using fresh onions, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add onions and cook 1 minute to loosen the skins. Drain. When cool enough to handle, trim both ends, leaving enough of the root end to keep the onions whole while roasting. Peel off the skins. Toss the prepared fresh onions (or frozen onions) with 1 tablespoon oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Spread in an even layer in a roasting pan large enough to accommodate all the onions in a single layer. (If you’re using fresh onions, a 9-by-13-inch pan is large enough; if using frozen, you may need a larger pan.) Roast the onions, stirring occasionally, until soft and brown in spots, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Remove the roasting pan from the oven and add broth, stirring and scraping up any brown bits. Return the pan to the oven and roast for 10 minutes more.
- About 30 minutes after the onions start roasting, start the cream sauce. Melt butter with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and cook, whisking, until the mixture bubbles and is free of lumps, about 30 seconds. Whisk in milk, then add bay leaf, thyme, pepper and the remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt; bring to a gentle boil, whisking often. Reduce heat to the barest simmer and cook, whisking often, until the sauce has thickened to the consistency of thick gravy, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Discard the bay leaf.
- Stir the roasted onions and any broth from the pan into the cream sauce. Stir in lemon juice. Transfer to a serving dish and serve warm.
Nutrition
Per serving : 119 Calories; 5 g Fat; 2 g Sat; 3 g Mono; 6 mg Cholesterol; 15 g Carbohydrates; 4 g Protein; 2 g Fiber; 249 mg Sodium; 159 mg Potassium
1 Carbohydrate Serving
Exchanges: 1 vegetable, 1 fat
Tips & Notes
- Make Ahead Tip: Reheat in the microwave on High, covered, stirring frequently, or on the stovetop over medium-low heat.
Maple-Roasted Sweet Potatoes
From EatingWell: November/December 2007
Roasting sweet potatoes is even easier than boiling and mashing them. Maple syrup glaze transforms this ultra-simple dish into something sublime.
12 servings, about 1/2 cup each | Active Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces (about 8 cups)
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Arrange sweet potatoes in an even layer in a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish. Combine maple syrup, butter, lemon juice, salt and pepper in small bowl. Pour the mixture over the sweet potatoes; toss to coat.
- Cover and bake the sweet potatoes for 15 minutes. Uncover, stir and cook, stirring every 15 minutes, until tender and starting to brown, 45 to 50 minutes more.
Nutrition
Per serving : 96 Calories; 2 g Fat; 1 g Sat; 0 g Mono; 5 mg Cholesterol; 19 g Carbohydrates; 1 g Protein; 2 g Fiber; 118 mg Sodium; 189 mg Potassium
1 1/2 Carbohydrate Serving
Exchanges: 1 1/2 starch, 1/2 fat
Tips & Notes
- Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day. Just before serving, reheat at 350°F until hot, about 15 minutes.
Cranberry, Cherry & Walnut Marmalade
From EatingWell: November/December 2007
Fresh cranberries get crunch from walnuts and an infusion of sweetness from dried cherries in this take on a classic marmalade. Leftovers are great on a turkey sandwich.
4 cups | Active Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 2 hours (including cooling time)
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup port, or other sweet red wine
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/2 cup dried tart cherries
- 1 12-ounce package fresh or frozen cranberries
- 2/3 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (see Tip)
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
Preparation
- Combine sugar, water, port (or wine), cinnamon and nutmeg in a medium nonreactive saucepan (see Note); bring to a boil. Add cherries and cook for 1 minute. Stir in cranberries; return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until about half the cranberries pop, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- Stir in walnuts and orange zest. Let cool completely. (The marmalade will thicken as it cools.) Serve at room temperature or chilled.
Nutrition
Per 1/4-cup serving : 91 Calories; 3 g Fat; 0 g Sat; 1 g Mono; 0 mg Cholesterol; 14 g Carbohydrates; 2 g Protein; 2 g Fiber; 2 mg Sodium; 53 mg Potassium
1 Carbohydrate Serving
Exchanges: 1 other carbohydrate, 1/2 fat
Tips & Notes
- Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
- Tip: To toast chopped walnuts, place in a small dry skillet and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes.
- Note: A nonreactive pan—stainless steel, enamel-coated or glass—is necessary when cooking acidic foods, such as tomato or lemon, to prevent the food from reacting with the pan. Reactive pans, such as aluminum and cast-iron, can impart an off color and/or off flavor in acidic foods.
Frozen Pumpkin Mousse Pie
From EatingWell: November/December 2007
While pumpkin pie deserves respect as a Thanksgiving icon, it's fun to shake up tradition. Surprise your family and friends with a frozen pie this year—it just might become one of their holiday favorites. No need to let them know how easy it is.
10 servings | Active Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes (including freezing time)
Ingredients
Crust
- 30 small gingersnap cookies, (about 7 1/2 ounces)
- 2 tablespoons raisins
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
Filling
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 2 pints (4 cups) frozen low-fat vanilla ice cream, softened (see Tip)
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan with cooking spray.
- To prepare crust: Combine gingersnaps and raisins in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add oil and pulse until blended. Press evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pan.
- Bake the crust until set, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To prepare filling: Combine pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg in a large bowl and mix well. Add ice cream and stir until blended. Spoon the mixture into the cooled pie crust. Freeze until firm, at least 2 hours. Let the pie soften slightly in the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
Per serving : 230 Calories; 5 g Fat; 1 g Sat; 2 g Mono; 4 mg Cholesterol; 42 g Carbohydrates; 4 g Protein; 2 g Fiber; 179 mg Sodium; 165 mg Potassium
1 Carbohydrate Serving
Exchanges: 3 other carbohydrate, 1 fat
Tips & Notes
- Make Ahead Tip: Cover and freeze the pie for up to 3 days. | Equipment: 9-inch deep-dish pie pan
- Tip: To soften ice cream quickly, microwave on Medium-Low for 30 to 60 seconds.
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