{"id":1300,"date":"2012-11-19T07:00:36","date_gmt":"2012-11-19T07:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.napervilledentistry.com\/?p=1300"},"modified":"2018-02-27T19:43:42","modified_gmt":"2018-02-27T19:43:42","slug":"healthy-alternatives-to-holiday-comfort-foods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.napervilledentistry.com\/blog\/healthy-alternatives-to-holiday-comfort-foods\/","title":{"rendered":"Healthy Alternatives to Holiday Comfort Foods"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Who said that holiday dishes have to leave us over stuffed?<\/p>\n

The holidays are just around the corner and so is the potential for extra holiday pounds. You can still eat your favorite holiday foods but with fewer calories and little or no “bad stuff”.<\/p>\n

The typical modern Thanksgiving dinner contains about 2,000-3,000 calories, but it\u2019s not the turkey that\u2019s adding up these numbers. Instead, it comes from butter, cream, and sugar \u2013 ingredients that are usually included in every side dish these days.<\/p>\n

But, let\u2019s look at the\u00a0traditional<\/em>\u00a0Thanksgiving dinner. Each item is actually healthy in its natural state. According to\u00a0Smithsonian Magazine<\/em>, there was turkey, corn, venison and perhaps turnips, carrots, onions, garlic, pumpkins, chestnuts and walnuts. The colonists did not have butter and wheat flour to make mashed potatoes or pie crusts, so theirs was a healthy celebration<\/p>\n

If we kept our menus the same for the last 392 years, then we could leave the table feeling good and energized not tired and bloated.<\/p>\n

So, let me ask you this?<\/p>\n

What are your favorite Thanksgiving side dishes? I\u2019m going to guess that your answer includes stuffing, mashed potatoes, biscuits, gravy, cranberry sauce and potato salad.<\/p>\n

What if I said you could still enjoy your holiday favorites in a modified, healthy way? Are you on board? Then keep reading\u2026<\/p>\n

Instead of mashed potatoes<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013have creamy white bean and vegetable mash or creamed cauliflower. You get more protein from the legumes and less fat from the nonexistent butter and cream. (See recipe below)<\/p>\n

Instead of biscuits<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013try whole grain skillet cornbread. (See recipe below). You get fiber from the whole grains instead of nothing from white flour.<\/p>\n

Instead of bread filled stuffing<\/strong>\u00a0 –\u00a0 add whole grains and fruits such as fig, apple and sage.<\/p>\n

Instead of sugary cranberry sauce<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 skip the sugar and add more fruit.<\/p>\n

Instead of the old stand bys<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 try side dishes such as saut\u00e9ed brussels sprouts, oven roasted beets and other root vegetables, and honey glazed carrots with garlic.<\/p>\n

Go ahead and try something new this holiday season. You might just be pleasantly surprised at how good things taste in their natural state and how good you feel leaving the dinner table.<\/p>\n

Broiled citrus and Cranberry Tart (serves 4)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Ingredients:<\/span><\/p>\n