Thanksgiving: What will you make?

MissShancey

Healthy recipes and ideas for the thanksgiving holiday?!?

traditions?
healthy twists on old favs?
anything lol

Last year was my first year making it all by my self this is what i made

turkey
ham
bean beans with bacon
stuffing
mashed sweet potatoes with coconut milk
butternut squash with garlic and cheese
corn bread
crescent rolls
gravy
cranberry sauce (not one spoon got eaten)

vim_n_vigor

Nothing, my husband does the cooking.....

PLUMSGRL

Hate turkey, ham to salty...steak maybe?

niknokd

Thanksgiving is a day to cheat! (At least for me). However I do plan on cutting 100 calories a day for the week leading up to turkey day to avoid gaining weight.

zestyzaftig

I'll be making a traditional spread, as always:
Roast turkey
Sweet dinner rolls
Green bean casserole
Corn
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Cranberry sauce

I've always used full-fat dairy products (butter, cream) in my cooking, but your post has me thinking about ways I can make it healthier. For example, for the green bean casserole, I can use fat-free cottage cheese instead of full-fat sour cream for the filling mixture, and top it with onions caramelized in a little olive oil instead of French's fried onions. For the mashed potatoes, I can nix the cream altogether and decrease the butter, instead using homemade chicken broth to add flavor and moisture. The sweet dinner rolls can be sweetened with a touch of honey instead of refined sugar. I can make a good gravy with using a fraction of the amount of roux I normally use, and instead let a thinner mixture simmer/reduce down.

Great post, thanks for giving me ideas! :-)

Im_NotPerfect

My husband does the cooking, but he'll be making all of the traditionals. Thanksgiving is my absolutely FAVORITE holiday and you don't screw with my thanksgiving dinner. My mom tried to make homemade sourdough biscuits one year but I INSISTED on the cheap-@ss brown and serve rolls because that's what we ALWAYS have. We now refer to them as CARS in our house! My parents weren't at my house last year, but my husband insisted in making my mom's stuffing for me because he knew I'd miss it!

Edited to add our standard menu:

Turkey
Giblet Stuffing (His mom's)
Sage stuffing (My Mom's)
Cranberry sauce and jelly
mashed potatoes
Rolls
corn and/or green beans
Green Bean casserole
Pie (usually apple, pumpkin, and cherry)

RipperSB

We're all about the tradition here... roast turkey & gravy, mashed sweet potatoes, glazed carrots, cranberry sauce, my 3 bread stuffing and sweet potato pie for dessert.

secretlobster

I made this brussels sprouts and carrot casserole last year, and my family really loved it... I'm definitely going to do it again.

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Spicy-Brussels-Sprouts-and-Carrots

Cindy873

Thanksgiving is my FAVORITE holiday, so I always do it large and have some traditional items and a couple of new recipes. I don't care about calories or fat or anything on that day! I really don't worry about holiday weight gain. We live away from family so we don't go to any gatherings with food and we don't go to any Christmas parties. When I cook it's just for the 3 of us, and I don't do any holiday baking (I'd rather have a good meal than a fatty dessert).

I have already started craving Thanksgiving dinner this year! I have been known to start planning the menu as early as September.

NikkiSixGuns

I am a creature of habit. This is what our menu looks like:

For snacks/appetizers:
- A fresh veggie tray
- Coffee cake;
- Roasted cinnamon apples (I bake them with cinnamon & a bit of brown sugar - no butter needed)

For the main dinner:
- Roast turkey breast (we don't care for the dark meat);
- Steamed broccoli, carrots, cauliflower & squash blend;
- Mashed potatoes (minus the butter - I use chicken broth instead!);
- Green beans - probably fresh sauteed with a bit of garlic and a teeny bit of oil, but maybe the traditional casserole using fresh beans & more of them, light cream of mushroom soup, dried onion flakes blended in, and skip the greasy french fried onions on top;
- Lightened up yam casserole (about half is actually butternut squash);
- Homemade buttery swirl rolls (this is the only place where I don't swap for lighter options - except on the eggs)

For dessert:
- Homemade pumpkin pie (I have a recipe that swaps out many of the loaded parts for lighter options - roughly half as many calories);
- Homemade peach pie (also lightened up);
- And probably some form of homemade cookies and/or ice cream or whatever appeals to the group.

I do a mini version of this for me & my hubby the week prior, then the full shebang for the whole family on the actual day of.


And I totally forgot about the dressing! That too. Yum...

doomspark

Roast beef
Yorkshire Pudding
Green Beans
Cinnamon Baked Apples

lilac67

My family loves the standard holiday favorites, so for Thanksgiving and Christmas,I make them, just enough for the day. The days after, leftover turkey or ham with healthy sides.

KlaMorgan

BUMP

Troll

I will make........myself sick on delicious, delicious turkey and the satisfaction of not having to see my inlaws this year. but if i cook, probably sausage balls.

Skeptical_Jess

I usually roast a large chicken (we get HUGE Chickens - like 11lbs) from the Hutterites here in Alberta...
I serve it with Broccolini done with Lemon & Garlic
Carrots with Butter & Fresh Dill (REAL Butter, not margerine, and not a ton of butter.)
And my Cheese "Mashed Potatoes" (I use half cauliflower/half potatoes) and I add Parmesan and Romano Cheese when I mash them.

Skeptical_Jess

Oh and I make stuffing for the Chicken (with sausage and bacon and multigrain bread) and I baste the chicken with Beer.
And I make gravy out of the drippings.
So not the healthiest meal but if you eat it in moderation, it's fine. and it's DELICIOUS.

coyoteo

I kicked the traditional "sit and eat all day" tradition to the curb many years ago. Now I cook most of the classics, but pack them in a picnic and we go hunting. It's been great. I would much rather give thanks by doing something I love with people I love than just by eating and going through the motions. And we are always very thankful for the meat we generally leave with.

MissShancey

I kicked the traditional "sit and eat all day" tradition to the curb many years ago. Now I cook most of the classics, but pack them in a picnic and we go hunting. It's been great. I would much rather give thanks by doing something I love with people I love than just by eating and going through the motions. And we are always very thankful for the meat we generally leave with.

love that!

Tuffjourney

Smoked Turkey
stuffing
biscuits
roasted carrots and squash
green bean casserole-my DD fav
I also like roasted brussel sprouts

I buy the pies...

NikkiSixGuns

I'll be making a traditional spread, as always:
Roast turkey
Sweet dinner rolls
Green bean casserole
Corn
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Cranberry sauce

I've always used full-fat dairy products (butter, cream) in my cooking, but your post has me thinking about ways I can make it healthier. For example, for the green bean casserole, I can use fat-free cottage cheese instead of full-fat sour cream for the filling mixture, and top it with onions caramelized in a little olive oil instead of French's fried onions. For the mashed potatoes, I can nix the cream altogether and decrease the butter, instead using homemade chicken broth to add flavor and moisture. The sweet dinner rolls can be sweetened with a touch of honey instead of refined sugar. I can make a good gravy with using a fraction of the amount of roux I normally use, and instead let a thinner mixture simmer/reduce down.

Great post, thanks for giving me ideas! :-)

Yes! I totally forgot about the carmelized onions I did on my casserole last year. They rocked! So much better than the french fried ones. Also, I sub plain old milk for the sour cream. It's still delish!

tehzephyrsong

I believe it's my grandma's turn this year. I would expect the usual:

- Turkey
- Mashed potatoes
- Cranberry sauce
- Stuffing
- Gravy
- Pumpkin pie and ice cream

and of course, the reason I come home for Thanksgiving, my great-aunt's corn casserole. It's like corn, cornbread and creamed corn had some kind of incestuous food orgy in a casserole dish and made a delicious baby. It's probably terrible for you but I could not possibly care less. It's ****ing Thanksgiving, I'll walk home or something.

Wabbit05

My mother in law does Thanksgiving and my mother does Christmas. I think they would flip if I tried giving my "healthy alternatives" to their family traditions. So I'm just going to eat small portions, and allow myself to enjoy their food. Besides, I only get their cooking once a year (each).

innocenceportrayed

Everything we always have, all the food that is fattening and I'll feel so stuffed like I gained 10 pounds but I'll love every minute of it:

homemade noodles(like literally made from scratch) with turkey broth(from the turkey)....sooooo rich and creamy, yum
4-5 different kinds of pies (usually apple,pumpkin, strawberry cheesecake--i make, oreo and maybe one other)
Honey glazed ham with pineapple
Fruit and veggie tray
Deviled eggs
Baked macaroni
Mashed potatoes
Gravy
cranberry
stuffing

MsKeelah919

Why did no one eat the cranberry sauce?

katrwal

Haven't started thinking about how to (sneakily) lighten up Thanksgiving dinner yet, but here's what I cook (we call it Fakesgiving - it's the Saturday before - helps with the inlaw conflicts):
- 2 turkeys (cornbread stuffing on the side)
- redskin mashed potatoes
- sweet potatoes with sour cream & nutmeg (Emeril recipe - LOVE LOVE LOVE)
- meatballs & gravy
- buttered noodles
- butternut squash soup
- dill pickle soup
- green bean casserole
- candied carrots

i'll make a salad - and be the only one who eats any of it...

then, dessert:
- regular pecan pie
- kentucky pecan pie (with chocolate chips & bourbon)
- apple pie
- chocolate chip cookies
- oatmeal raisin cookies
- drunken oatmeal raisin cookies (soak the raisins in spiced rum the day before - HOLEY MOLEY)

with all of that - 20 people come over - i usually cook over the whole week before... and i almost never have leftovers.

on the up side - this is the easy holiday. Christmas & Easter get really elaborate. :drinker:

Bakerchk

One day is NOT going to kill anyone. There is no way that I would put healthy alternatives on the table for Thanksgiving. I usually don't cook, so that's fine. But if you are worried about it, just eat in moderation. Don't fill up your plate until it's falling off the sides. I can't eat like that anymore anyways, but I usually have a couple of slices of Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, roll and cranberries. I doubt my thanksgiving dinner is more than 500 calories and I'm stuffed!

lorib75

My husband's family always does the cooking. I'm relegated to a side and a dessert. I always bring brussel sprouts. Lemon and garlic sauteed in olive oil then add the sprouts to crisp up a bit. Delicious!

NataBost

My husband does the cooking, but he'll be making all of the traditionals. Thanksgiving is my absolutely FAVORITE holiday and you don't screw with my thanksgiving dinner. My mom tried to make homemade sourdough biscuits one year but I INSISTED on the cheap-@ss brown and serve rolls because that's what we ALWAYS have. We now refer to them as CARS in our house! My parents weren't at my house last year, but my husband insisted in making my mom's stuffing for me because he knew I'd miss it!

Edited to add our standard menu:

Turkey
Giblet Stuffing (His mom's)
Sage stuffing (My Mom's)
Cranberry sauce and jelly
mashed potatoes
Rolls
corn and/or green beans
Green Bean casserole
Pie (usually apple, pumpkin, and cherry)

I am so with you It's probably my favorite holiday as well. Last year I did a 5K Turkey Trot, so I think I evened out by the time the Turkey hit the table.


Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter

KittieLea

I love Thanksgiving, it's my favorite holiday! I don't know anything about food yet, we're more focused on where we're going to watch the Texans vs. Lions game! It starts at 11:30, so should we watch at a bar, or home while cooking?? I'm stoked!

MissShancey

Why did no one eat the cranberry sauce?

none of us are cranberry sauce people lol ... we didnt even try it .. i just made it because it seemed like i should lol .. ill skip it this year lol

KittieLea

One day is NOT going to kill anyone. There is no way that I would put healthy alternatives on the table for Thanksgiving. I usually don't cook, so that's fine. But if you are worried about it, just eat in moderation. Don't fill up your plate until it's falling off the sides. I can't eat like that anymore anyways, but I usually have a couple of slices of Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, roll and cranberries. I doubt my thanksgiving dinner is more than 500 calories and I'm stuffed!

I'm SO with you. Calories don't count on Thanksgiving!