Talking Turkey: Heart Healthy Tips for Holiday Cooking

If you’re doing the cooking this holiday season and you want to keep your holiday meals as heart healthy as they can be, follow these tips and you will avoid the heaviness and discomfort of the fatty, sugary and salty foods, and what they do to your arteries.

• First: Don’t be a turkey! Read the labels in everything you buy! Check the saturated fat amount, the sodium level, and the amount of sugars. Always choose the product with the lowest % of all of the above.

• Second: Buy fresh and organic whenever you can. You will pay a little extra for your food, but the lack of antibiotics, hormones and pesticides will benefit you and your family for years to come.

• Third: Less is more. Buy higher quality products and eat less of them to experience a bigger health benefit.

Appetizers

Chuck the cheese! Go for the light and healthy. Use yogurt dips, hummus, fresh veggies like carrots, celery sticks, pepper slices, broccoli and cauliflower florets and choose sour cream fat free and cheese-free dips served with low fat, low sodium crackers like rice thins or nut thins.

Turkey

Pop for the better bird! Buy organic, no salt added and cook without butter. Use virgin olive oil or a flavored olive oil to coat the skin. Remove the skin before eating. Make the dressing on the side (see below). If you stick with white meat you will be avoiding the extra fats.

Dressing

Banish the white bread! Use whole wheat cubes you make yourself by drying the bread in the oven and cutting into cubes and use a lot less than the recipe calls for. Instead, use brown rice or a mixed rice medley, add extra vegetables (celery, carrots, onion, water chestnuts, raisins, nuts, apples, cranberries) and use only low fat, low sodium chicken or vegetable broth.

Green Bean Casserole

Rethink your options! Come off automatic, use fresh green beans, skip the sauce and the fried onions, use chunks of potatoes and cauliflower (puree them together to make a sauce – or leave them chunky with the beans). Top with toasted almonds or walnuts.

Seasonings

Salt is for wimps! Use lots of herbs, fresh if you can get them, and season all your dishes like a French cook. Use plenty of herbs, garlic and onion and don’t tempt your guests to stray: put only a pepper shaker on the table.

Mashed potatoes

Friend or Foe? It’s not the tater that’s the problem, it’s the butter and the gravy! Use a butter substitute like Smart Balance Light or I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, and use less than you would of butter. Use non fat milk to moisten it and skip the salt or only use 1/4 teaspoon per 10 potatoes. (Honest, you won’t miss it.)

Gravy

Think thinner! Buy a packaged gravy mix that has 0 fat, 0 cholesterol, low sodium and 0 sugars. Make it with non fat milk and add some herbs like dill or rosemary to create extra flavor.

Rolls

Simple switch: use only whole grain rolls and, if you can, make them yourself reducing the amount of sugar and salt called for. Replace butter on the table with Smart Balance Light or I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter.

Desserts

Make a crust-less pumpkin pie, reduce the sugars (use organic or raw sugar). Replace heavy creams with non-fat evaporated milk and top desserts with fresh fruit instead of glazes or frostings.

Be heart healthy this Thanksgiving and you’ll have a lot more to be grateful for next year.