The Healthy Side of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is round the corner and, surely, everyone thinking hard about the holiday menu. Don’t forget the wholesome and tasty fruits of the autumn season when planning what you will serve to your guests and family.

Cranberries: If you are looking for fresh berries packed with loaded with antioxidant vitamins and fiber, cranberries fit the bill to a pin. Making your own cranberry sauce is easy and this way you control the amount of sugar added. Orange juice goes well with this tart berries and brings out the sweetness in them use it, if possible, to sweeten the sauce, in total or part of it –using part sugar, part orange juice.

Sweet potatoes, yams, and squash: These vegetables bring more vitamin A, fiber, potassium, and antioxidants, and they are light and low in sugar. Any of them becomes a healthy option and an alternative to potatoes, a thick puree with a pinch of cinnamon and a little brown sugar will do for the traditional mash, cut into large chunks, sprinkled with cinnamon, and baked and serve instead roast potatoes. Serve them even if you cannot renounce to the potatoes, at least you’ll have some of their goodness.

Pumpkin: You may have already guessed -the bright orange color is telltale- it is packed with beta-carotene, the powerful anti-oxidant easily converted into vitamin A... add to it pumpkin is low-calorie, a good source of calcium, potassium, iron, and fiber. Fresh pumpkin is light and has a mildly sweet flavor that ends up well however you cook it –you can do almost anything. A pumpkin dish will flatter any dining table – serve it just baked, turn it into filling for ravioli or sauce for pasta, mix it into the batter for waffles or pancakes, add grated pumpkin to the dough for breads, cakes or cookies, cream it into pumpkin butter or a soup. The traditional Thanksgiving staple, the pumpkin pie, is sure to be a hit with both kids and adults alike. Should you find at your table the odd one out who does not fall for pumpkin pie, try pumpkin cheesecake. Canned pumpkin feels heavier and has a more pronounced taste than fresh one; however, canned pumpkin is better than no pumpkin at all.