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Ways to make your Thanksgiving meal healthier

BY SARA LOPINSKI, MS, RD, LDN
Published Nov. 25, 2009 @ 6 a.m.

Here are a few suggestions that can help to make your Thanksgiving meal healthier.

Appetizer suggestions:

Raw veggies + low fat or fat free dip made with a Lipton dry onion soup mix plus fat free plain yogurt or non-fat sour cream.

Fresh fruit tray.

Low fat sliced cheese or cheese spread with Hint of Salt Triscuits or Wheat Thins.

Ways to get through the day:

Think of Thanksgiving as a holiday, not a holiweek or holimoth.

Use portion control and enjoy your favorite holiday foods, but in smaller portions. If you deprive yourself of some of your holiday favorites, then you will feel deprived later and overeat other foods.

Slow down and enjoy your food. Holiday eating is not a competition to see how much weight you can gain or how fast you can eat your food. Eat mindfully, taking time to enjoy your food and have conversation with your dinner guests and family members. You will have less indigestion with slower eating.

Make recipe modifications to make your holiday favorites healthier. Make homemade cranberry sauce using Splenda for less sugar and calories.

Take a walk after dinner.

I have included two healthy desserts below.

The first is crustless struesel pumpkin pie. Crustless streusel pumpkin pie saves you calories, sugar and fat. The pie is made with no crust, a Splenda sugar substitute, evaporated skim milk and egg whites in place of whole eggs. Traditional pumpkin pie can have 400 calories with 10 grams of fat; this version has 140 calories with just 1.5 grams of fat.

The second are Dove bars named after James Dove, MD, founding MD of Prairie Cardiovascular Consultants, and feature the use of a reduced fat margarine, fat free cream cheese, egg whites in place of whole eggs, reduced fat sweetened condensed milk in place of the full fat version, and cocoa powder in place of baking chocolate which is loaded with saturated fat. All of these substitutions save calories, fat especially saturated. Per serving (2" X 2.25" square) 180 calories with 5 grams fat.

Sara Lopinski, MS, RD, LDN is a registered dietitian with a masters degree from Iowa State University and over 30 years of experience. She is a member of the American Dietetic Association and has served in several leadership capacities.

CRUSTLESS STRUESEL PUMPKIN PIE

INGREDIENTS

Non-stick cooking spray

1/4 c. Brown Sugar Splenda^TM for Baking

1/4 c. oats, dry

1 Tb. tub margarine

15 oz. can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

12 oz. can fat-free evaporated milk

3 egg whites

1/2 c. Splenda^TM for Baking or ¼ c. granular Splenda^TM + ¼ c. white sugar

1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. ginger

1 tsp. cinnamon

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 10 inch X 1.5 inch pie plate with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside. For topping, combine the brown sugar, oats and margarine in a small bowl, and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients in the order listed and mix on medium speed until smooth. Pour mixture into pie plate; sprinkle with topping. Place in oven and bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes, then refrigerate for about 4 hours or until chilled. Slice into 8 servings. Store pie covered in the refrigerator. Serve with fat-free whipped topping if desired.

YIELD: 8 servings

CALORIES PER SERVING: 140

FAT CALORIES: 15

CHOLESTEROL: 0 mg.

SODIUM: 70 mg.

CARBOHYDRATE: 22 gm.

FIBER: 2 gm.

PROTEIN: 4 gm.

CALCIUM: 150 mg.

DOVE BARS

INGREDIENTS

1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 c. low fat (? less fat) stick margarine

8 oz. pkg. fat-free cream cheese

14 oz. can reduced-fat sweetened condensed milk

2 egg whites

2 tsp. vanilla extract

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar and cocoa. Cut in margarine until crumbly. Mixture will be dry. Reserve 2 cups of this mixture, and press remainder firmly on the bottom of a 9X13-inch baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in the sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Add egg whites and vanilla, and mix well. Pour over prepared crust. Sprinkle reserved crumb mixture over the cheese mixture. Bake for 25 minutes. Cool and chill in the refrigerator. Cut into bars, and store in a covered container in the refrigerator.

YIELD: 24 servings - 2 X 2¼-inch square

CALORIES PER SERVING: 180

FAT CALORIES: 45

CHOLESTEROL: < 5 mg.

SODIUM: 180 mg.

CARBOHYDRATE: 29 gm.

FIBER: < 1 gm.

PROTEIN 5 gm.

CALCIUM: 80 mg.

Note: Both recipes taken from the Eat Well, Be Well Cookbook available for $15 at the Center for Living located at the Prairie Heart Institute.