Any vegetable that can be "candied" is always a hit at the holiday dinner table. But, not surprisingly, it's also going to need a healthy upgrade if you plan on plowing through what doesn't get polished off on Thanksgiving day.
First off, says Henderiks, scrape off the marshmallow topping, then toss the following into your blender: a cup of yams, a cup of low-fat Greek yogurt, a tablespoon of flaxseed, a handful of your favorite fruits (Henderiks likes concord grapes), and a dash of low-fat milk and apple cider.
"Between the antioxidants from the yams, omega-3s from the flaxseed and vitamin D from the skim milk, this is a pretty healthy smoothie," says Dubost. For extra, seasonal flavor, Dubost says to sprinkle in some cinnamon and nutmeg, which will also boost the antioxidant content.
Photo 9/9
Leftover: Creamed Corn
Makeover: Chicken Corn Soup
Butter, heavy cream and bacon grease can make anything taste heavenly, and corn is no exception. But since this delicious combo also makes creamed corn a veritable fat bomb, with 11 grams of fat and 225 calories in the average serving, it's the most important Thanksgiving leftover to switch up.
Henderiks suggests boiling chicken stock with egg whites, chicken and roasted potatoes before tossing in a scoop or two of the creamed corn. Not only are you diluting the amount of fat in the creamed corn by distributing it throughout the soup, but "anything you turn into soup is instantly healthier, because soup has a lot of water," says Dubost.
Ah, Thanksgiving. The long holiday weekend where you have a chance to spend quality time with the fam, get a jump on your holiday shopping and eat an obscene amount of mashed potatoes, turkey, pumpkin pie and insert-your-favorite-Thanksgiving-calorie-bomb here.
Indulging in one massive dinner a year isn't going to do too much damage to your diet. However, those inevitable Thanksgiving leftovers are another story. And while it's tempting to eat your way through the contents of your fridge until the last scrap of stuffing is gone, we've decided to try something different this year.
In an effort to be a bit more health-conscious the day after shamelessly gorging, we asked culinary nutritionist Diane Henderiks, R.D., regular on-air contributor for ABC'S "Good Morning America," to show us how to give those decadent Thanksgiving leftovers a healthy makeover.
We also asked Joy Dubost, Ph.D, and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics to weigh in on the nutritional value of these Thanksgiving leftover recipe makeovers so you can keep on eating, guilt-free.
