Healthy Thanksgiving Meals
Thanksgiving is a wonderful time of the year, full of family gatherings and delicious food.
While the food spread on the table can vary from family to family, it’s common for the dishes to be rich in flavor and full in calories, which leaves many people to take a day off from the diet.
Fortunately, there are a wide range of dishes that are tasty and won’t wreck your diet. Below we’ve compiled a list of recipes that’ll satisfy your dietary needs and your taste buds.
Sweet Potatoes with Maple Butter
Turkey is the main course for many Thanksgiving celebrations! Turkey can be intimidating for some people to cook, but you don’t need to fret. This is an easy method to produce a moist turkey.
Time: 30 minutes of prep and 3 hours of cooking / Serves 12
Ingredients:
- (1) 10-12 lb. turkey
- Aromatics – 1 onion (peeled and quartered), 1 lemon (quartered), 1 apple (quartered), 1 head of
garlic (cut in half), sprigs of herbs (rosemary or thyme) - ½ cup of canola or neutral-flavored cooking oil
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 teaspoon ground sage
- 1 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon of salt
Directions
- Reposition the oven rack to the lower third setting, then preheat the oven to 475 degrees F
- Remove the giblets and neck from the turkey, if necessary
- Place turkey breast-side up, on a rack in a large roasting pan then pat dry with paper towels
- Mix the garlic powder, basil, sage, oil, salt, pepper in a small bowl
- Rub the herb mixture all over the turkey, under the skin and onto the breast meat. You can
loosen the skin by running your hand between the skin and the breast meat. - Place aromatics and 10 of the herb sprigs in the bird’s cavity
- Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wings under the turkey
- Add 3 cups of water and any remaining herb sprigs to the pan
- Roast the turkey for 45 minutes, until the skin is golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and cover with a double layer of aluminum foil.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F until an instant read thermometer inserted into
the thickets part of the thigh without touching the bone until the thermometer inserted reads
165 degrees F – about 1:15 to 1:45 hours - If the pan dries out, add another cup of water
- Once the turkey reaches 165 degrees, transfer the bird to a serving plate, cover with foil and let it rest for 20 minutes before serving
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Roasted Turkey
Turkey is the main course for many Thanksgiving celebrations! Turkey can be intimidating for some people to cook, but you don’t need to fret. This is an easy method to produce a moist turkey.
Time: 30 minutes of prep and 3 hours of cooking / Serves 12
Ingredients:
- (1) 10-12 lb. turkey
- Aromatics – 1 onion (peeled and quartered), 1 lemon (quartered), 1 apple (quartered), 1 head of garlic (cut in half), sprigs of herbs (rosemary or thyme)
- ½ cup of canola or neutral-flavored cooking oil
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 teaspoon ground sage
- 1 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon of salt
Directions
- Reposition the oven rack to the lower third setting, then preheat the oven to 475 degrees F
- Remove the giblets and neck from the turkey, if necessary
- Place turkey breast-side up, on a rack in a large roasting pan then pat dry with paper towels
- Mix the garlic powder, basil, sage, oil, salt, pepper in a small bowl
- Rub the herb mixture all over the turkey, under the skin and onto the breast meat. You can loosen the skin by running your hand between the skin and the breast meat.
- Place aromatics and 10 of the herb sprigs in the bird’s cavity
- Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wings under the turkey
- Add 3 cups of water and any remaining herb sprigs to the pan
- Roast the turkey for 45 minutes, until the skin is golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and cover with a double layer of aluminum foil.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F until an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickets part of the thigh without touching the bone until the thermometer inserted reads 165 degrees F – about 1:15 to 1:45 hours
- If the pan dries out, add another cup of water
- Once the turkey reaches 165 degrees, transfer the bird to a serving plate, cover with foil and let it rest for 20 minutes before serving
Cranberry Crumble Bars
Here’s a fun spin using a cornerstone of the Thanksgiving feast – cranberries. These Cranberry Crumble Bars have a natural sweet and tart flavor thanks to the berries. Give this a try if your family isn’t a big fan of the traditional pumpkin pie.
Time: Prep 25 minutes and 40-50 minutes of cooking / Makes 16 bars
Ingredients:
For the Filling
- 2 cups of cranberries
- ½ cup of the juice from an orange
- Zest of ½ of an orange
- 1/3 cup of granulated sugar (or sugar alternative used for baking)
- 1 ½ tablespoons of cornstarch
- 1 teaspoons almond or vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
For the Crust
- 1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour (substitute with gluten-free flour with xantham gum)
- 1 ½ cups of almond flour
- 1/3 cups of granulated sugar (or sugar alternative for baking)
- 4 tablespoons of cold, unsalted butter (cubed)
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- Zest of ½ orange
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoons of almond or vanilla extract
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, let some overhang on the long sides.
- In a large bowl, prepare the filling by combining the filling ingredients and stir well until
combined, then set aside. - For the crust, whisk the all-purpose flour, almond flour, sugar, orange zest, baking powder, salt in a bowl using a stand mixer or a hand mixer.
- Add the butter into the mixture and whisk one piece at a time until the dough forms and the
mixture is crumbly. - In a small bowl, beat eggs and extract, then combine with the flour mixture. Set aside 1/3 cup of
the dough for later. - Press the rest of the crumble mixture to the parchment lined baking pan to form the bottom
crust layer. - Pour the cranberry mix over the bottom layer of crust and spread evenly.
- Take the remaining crust and optional walnuts and spread it over the top of the cranberry filling mixture.
- Stick a toothpick into the center of the mixture and bake for 40-50 minutes until golden brown
and the toothpick comes out without the bars sticking to it. - Remove the bars from the pan and transfer to a wire rack and let it cool in a pan for 15 minutes.
- Use a knife to cut into bars.
Ensurem posts new food recipes throughout the month. Each recipe is curated to meet the needs of people who have specific dietary requirements while not sacrificing flavor. Click here to see more recipes.
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Denise Austin, 65, Ensurem Ambassador
Best-Selling Author, Creator of Fit Over 50 Magazine
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