How to Make a Low-Calorie, Low-Fat Thanksgiving Dinner

How to Make a Low-Calorie, Low-Fat Thanksgiving Dinner

Learn how to prepare a delicious and healthy Thanksgiving feast by swapping high-calorie ingredients for low-fat alternatives in your turkey, sides, gravy, and desserts.

Thanksgiving dinner can be a chore—and it can pack enough calories to sustain a person for a week's worth of meals! However, Thanksgiving doesn't have to be overwhelming. Here is how to make a low-calorie, low-fat Thanksgiving dinner and enjoy a healthy, fabulous feast.

• Roast a turkey as you normally would. When carving, separate the dark meat from the white meat. White meat and breast meat tend to be naturally lower in fat. Use the white meat, particularly the breast meat, for your calorie- and fat-conscious guests.
• There are an infinite number of side dishes and condiments that can be served. Some healthy, low-fat, and low-calorie condiment choices include pickled asparagus, pickled beets, and freshly cut vegetables with fat-free ranch dressing.
• Mashed potatoes are naturally fat-free when prepared with fat-free milk and no butter. However, it is the gravy and the heaping mounds of creamy butter that can derail your diet. Try whipping your potatoes with fat-free sour cream and a small amount of fat-free milk, then add salt, pepper, and garlic powder for a powerhouse of flavor.
• Gravy can be made using beef or chicken bouillon cubes instead of traditional turkey drippings. Melt the bouillon cubes in water, add parsley flakes, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, and use a cornstarch-and-water mixture to thicken it rather than flour.
• Rather than serving candied yams, try baking yams and sprinkling them with cinnamon. Use pure maple syrup to slightly sweeten them instead of processed white or brown sugar. You won't believe how delicious and ultra-satisfying these can be.
• Add a variety of colorful, healthy, low-fat, low-calorie salads as side dishes instead of traditional cooked vegetables and heavy vegetable casseroles. A fresh spinach salad with mandarin oranges, crushed almonds or walnuts, and raisins, topped with a low-fat (preferably fat-free) poppy seed dressing, will satisfy your sweet tooth while adding nutritious greens to your feast. Fresh broccoli mixed with about 1/4 cup of fat-free cheese, fat-free bacon-flavored bits, and one cup of fat-free mayo or salad dressing also makes a great vegetable side.
• Instead of a traditional white dinner roll, try pumpernickel or a slice of whole-grain bread. Use sugar-free jam as a spread, or try a wedge of low-fat or fat-free cream cheese instead of butter or margarine.
• Turkey stuffing can be baked in a casserole dish rather than inside the turkey. Use a fat-free, boxed cornbread mix rather than white bread crumbs. Make your stuffing hearty by adding green peppers, green chilis, celery, onions, or other vegetables for color and flavor.