South Florida dietitian, fitness expert offer healthier options for Thanksgiving dinner
Thanksgiving is getting closer and health experts reveal that many Americans indulge in a staggering 4,500 calories during this festive meal – more than double the recommended daily intake.
The average American gains five pounds over the holidays but that doesn't mean you have to.
CBS Miami was in the kitchen with South Florida dietitian Monica Auslander-Moreno and fitness expert Sunny Marz to learn ways to make Thanksgiving dinner a little healthier.
Healthier cranberry sauce
A classic Thanksgiving dish is cranberry sauce. "Instead of making it overwhelmingly sweet like a dessert, we are respecting the tartness of cranberry," said Auslander-Moreno.
The ingredients in this recipe included 12 oz. of cranberries, 1 cup of cranberry juice, 1 cup of pure maple syrup, 3 tbsp. of orange juice, 1 tbsp. of honey, 1 tbsp. of vanilla and some cinnamon.
"We're going to add some maple syrup and honey, water, vanilla and cinnamon to give it that warmth and spice. In addition to lending flavor, we're also getting some anti-inflammatory benefits from the cinnamon," said Auslander-Moreno.
Stir all the ingredients together, and turn the heat on high until it reaches a boil. Once it comes to a rolling boil, turn the heat down to medium-low and let it simmer for 10 minutes. If you prefer a sweeter cranberry sauce, add more honey.
So how did the cranberry sauce turn out?
"It's good, it's tart," Auslander-Moreno said. "If you like vitamin C, you're going to like it."
A typical can of store-bought cranberry sauce contains about 418 calories per cup. Auslander-Moreno's healthy version is about 150 calories per cup.
Healthier sweet potato mash
The next dish is a sweet potato mash. To the store-bought pre-cooked and cubed sweet potatoes, Auslander-Moreno and Marz added a splash of cinnamon, butter, vanilla, honey, maple syrup and mashed it all together and topped it with pecans. They baked it at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.
"We got our vitamin A, our fiber, our beta keratein up in here," said Auslander-Moreno.
The healthy version has about 150 calories per serving compared to the sweet potato dish with marshmallows and brown sugar – that's about 300 calories per serving.
Healther green beans
Now for a healthy green bean dish. The ingredients include olive oil, sliced almonds, green beans and fresh garlic. First, toast the almonds in a skillet on the oven, add salt and pepper, green beans, chopped garlic and sauté it all together.
"We have vitamin A, we have vitamin C, we have fiber, we have bunch of micro nutrients and it helps balance our blood sugar because it's going to be a little more elevated after a large Thanksgiving meal," said Auslander-Moreno.
This recipe is about 79 calories per serving.
"It took us literally half an hour to prepare all three dishes. That's perfect for a busy mom of two and I really like that taste of them. Very easy, very healthy, I would definitely do these for other holidays as well," said Marz.
Auslander-Moreno advises that when you're planning your Thanksgiving meal, it's all about strategizing. Don't fall into the trap of saving your appetite for that one big meal. Doing so will probably lead you to munch on all those appetizers before you even get to the main course.