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Chow down on a traditional Thanksgiving meal, and you're certain to wind up overdosing on fat and calories. Here, from our friends at Chow.com, are 13 recipes that yield yummy, satisfying flavors along with a nod to nutritional needs.
Baked Sweet Potato
Chow.com
It may never replace your classic baked russet potato heaped with sour cream, but a baked sweet potato topped with molasses butter is a close runner-up. GO TO RECIPE
Herb-Rubbed Roasted Turkey Breast
Chow.com
Black peppercorns, garlic, fennel seeds, lemon zest, and rosemary are blended into a paste that gives this turkey breast a flavor that falls between a traditional Thanksgiving bird and Italian sweet sausage.
Chow.com
Slathering small young potatoes in olive oil and roasting them with salt, pepper, and herbs brings out their mild, earthy flavors. This side dish from Mark Peel, executive chef of Campanile, complements so many mains.
A good cranberry sauce can make or break Thanksgiving. This one, flavored by orange and grapefruit, is aromatic, sweet, and tart all at once. It's a natural on turkey, but would be equally good on any roasted poultry or pork.
Chow.com
Most stuffing recipes made with squishy sliced white bread and the usual celery-onion-pork combo end up resembling, at best, sausage-flavored paste. Here, the bread cubes stay crispy on top, and the vegetables give the stuffing a great flavor--you won't miss the pig products.
Chow.com
Fresh and dried mushrooms, red wine, mushroom broth, and soy sauce add umami to this easy vegan gravy. Delicious over tofurkey, pan-seared chicken breast, or a steak, this sauce appeals to vegans and meat-eaters alike.
Chow.com
When it comes to turkey recipes, intricate techniques and exotic ingredients can just add to an already chaotic Thanksgiving Day. Make your life easier with a straightforward cooking method and only a few flavorful ingredients. Just because it's basic doesn't mean it won't be delicious. GO TO RECIPE
Tofurkey with Brown Rice Stuffing
Chow.com
Premade faux-turkey roasts are typically laden with impossible-to-pronounce ingredients and chemicals that we prefer not to ingest. Our tofurkey contains fresh ingredients and a toothsome, nutty brown-rice stuffing.
Chow.com
Acorn squash is a satisfying side when roasted and topped with a pat of butter and a drizzle of maple syrup, but filled with a hearty stuffing of wild rice, pecans, and cranberries, it's a meal in itself. Loaded with comforting flavors, this dish brings fall home, but it can be made any time of year. GO TO RECIPE
Fennel-Apple Slaw
A slaw can consist of anything that can be thinly sliced. In this case sweet apples, crisp fennel, and crunchy Belgian endive make a light salad that's perfect served alongside rich fall or winter food.
Chow.com
Celery root is delicious when simmered with potatoes and apples and then pur
Applesauce
A far cry from that overly sweetened, grainy mush that dominates supermarket shelves, this is tart with a hint of sweetness. Try it on latkes, with some braised pork, or on its own.
