Thanksgiving may involve sitting around the table and eating all kinds of delicious dishes, but you don't have to put your heart in jeopardy to do it. Make a few changes to your traditional Thanksgiving meal and your family won't even notice they're eating healthier, more heart-friendly foods. Rather than taking away dishes, substitute high-fat ingredients for lower-fat options.
Turkey
In many families, Thanksgiving wouldn't be the same without the turkey. Rather than depriving them of eating the entire bird, give your family the option to eat only its healthiest parts. White meat is the healthiest meat on a turkey, as long as you avoid eating the skin. According to Harvard Medical School, a 3-ounce portion of skinless, white-meat turkey has a respectable 3 grams of fat and 1 gram of saturated fat, yet also has 25 grams of protein. Even better, turkey contains arginine, which creates nitric oxide in the body. Nitric oxide causes arteries to open, creating a better pathway for blood to flow from your heart.
Side Dishes
Sweet potatoes are often ruined with loads of butter, brown sugar and marshmallows before they're even brought to the table. Without all that added junk, sweet potatoes possibly the most nutritious item on the Thanksgiving table. Sweet potatoes are rich in vitamin C, beta carotene, fiber, and vitamin A, and are delicious mashed with a dollop of nonfat yogurt and a sprinkling of cinnamon, or baked and eaten whole with a drizzling of molasses. Sweet potatoes are so tasty and buttery as they are, so there's no reason to add any extra fat.
It may not seem like Thanksgiving without a sweet glaze on your vegetables, but that doesn't mean your heart has to pay the price. Rather than loading butter and sugar into your saucepan to create a vegetable glaze, create a sauce with trans-free margarine or butter substitute, a few teaspoons of sugar substitute and some lemon juice, states the Mayo Clinic. You'll still get the same sweet taste without the additional fat and calories.
Rather than buying a can of cranberry sauce from the store and dumping into a bowl, wouldn't it be more satisfying to make cranberry sauce from scratch? This year is the best excuse to make it, because it's much healthier for you and will provide some extra sweetness to your meal. Use honey and apple juice to sweeten the sauce rather than refined sugar.
Desserts
Dessert is when your family members will want to splurge a little, even if they don't know they're actually eating healthier. Instead of pumpkin pie, make pumpkin custards as suggested by Harvard Medical School. The rich desserts are individually portioned and contain only 77 calories a piece. Instead of apple pie, the Mayo Clinic suggests making baked apples with cherries and almonds, which contains 179 calories per serving.
