Healthy Thanksgiving Side Dish Recipes

November 14, 2016 3 Comments

I thought I would put together a list of my favorite healthy Thanksgiving side dish recipes for those of you looking for inspiration.

I love Thanksgiving because it is all about cooking from scratch and it can be fun if you get into it. My husband and I usually split the responsibilities so neither of us gets too tired or stressed out.

He does the turkey, gravy, and stuffing and I do every thing else. Now that I have written that down – I am not sure that division of responsibilities is fair.

Of course, if you hate to cook you can always find a place that will cook Thanksgiving for you. Whole Foods will pack up an entire meal and send it home with you to heat up. I think this is kinda great – especially for those of us who get to the end of November totally exhausted.

Sometimes my family has gone out for Thanksgiving and that can be expensive but also very relaxing. Nothing like having someone else pick up your plate, put it in the dishwasher, and you not having to scrub the pots and pans.

Perhaps I don’t like Thanksgiving as much as I thought ☺

Thanksgiving is a great opportunity to eat a lot of vegetables. You don’t have to put marshmallows on all of them, right? You can buy beautiful rainbow carrots, fennel, an Brusssels sprouts and enjoy them for how they taste without a lot of extra flavors or sugar added.

Walk into your favorite supermarket or farmer’s market and envision all the great dishes you can make.

I included some easy desserts for those of you who are trying to avoid pecan pie. You know who you are.

Please add any of your favorite recipes or ideas to the comment section. Let’s share!

Easy Desserts

Simple Homemade Apple Pie Filling

Get the recipe here: Simple Homemade Apple Pie Filling

Pumpkin Dip for Apples

Get the recipe here: Pumpkin Dip for Apples

Pumpkin Chia Seed Pudding

Get the recipe here: Pumpkin Chia Seed Pudding

Pumpkin Angel Food Cake Recipe

Get the recipe here: Pumpkin Angel Food Cake Recipe

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3 Comments:

This is our 3rd annual Lobster Thanksgiving! This year its baked and stuffed with fresh crab, vegetables and buttery crackers. Some sides are equally awesome with seafood, like sweet potatoes. I'm stealing William Sonoma's recipe because it's beautiful AND healthy. http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/hasselback-sweet-pota…. I've cut russets this way to rave reviews. Another plus, they can be prepared the night before. The best way to cut these is to use two wooden spoons' handles on both sides of the potato as a guard, so you don't cut all the way through. I'll be putting traditional chestnut stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy on hold until December 24th to lighten the carb load. And thanks to your recent inspiration, Lisa, I'm going to make pumpkin chia pudding parfaits; alternating with a layer of pie dough cookie crumbles*, topped with whipped cream and a squiggle of maple syrup, and a whole cookie. It's really a deconstructed pumpkin pie but healthier and prettier! It might even be more fun to have each person make their own.
*Pie dough trimmings cut in triangles, sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar, few raisins, rolled like crescents and baked. This year will require a complete pie's worth because they're so good its hard not to eat them all as they cool. WARNING: Do not attempt to make these with any man or child in the house, cool quickly and hide well until needed.
[Women have more self-control, ha-ha!]

BarbL

@BarbL - What? I am coming!!! Sounds amazing. Lobster Thanksgiving - I am STEALING that. Thanks for sharing!!

Snack Girl

@Snack Girl- ha-ha! Yeah, if you're a New Englander, you definitely get it. Plus its easier, a real holiday for all. Thank you for all you do, its a real treat seeing your emails pop-up.

BarbL

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November 14, 2016 3 Comments

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