Thanksgiving is right around the corner and at least for me that means family, friends, and a whole lot of not-so-healthy and not-so-animal friendly food.
The time around the holidays fosters eating patterns that can snowball into long-term weight gain and diet sabotage, so today I begin the first of a multi-part series dedicated to strategies and recipes for a healthy, indulgent, and fun holiday season!!
PART ONE: Tasty Thanksgiving Treats!
1) Pudge-free Pumpkin
HERE is a recipe for fabulous vegan pumpkin muffins! Replace your slice of fat-filled pumpkin pie with one of these delicious, portion-controlled substitute to save calories without sacrificing taste. Great for the whole family, vegan or not, and left-overs make a great breakfast!
-To add a little extra sumthin-sumthin to these, whip up an easy vegan frosting:
1/4 cup soybean margarine
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1/3 cup confectioners sugar
1/4 cup soymilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2) Meat-Free Main Course
HERE is a recipe for a delicious vegetarian"nut loaf" (think meat loaf but tastier, less greasy, and more humane). This is NOT VEGAN, but to make it vegan just switch out the butter with Earth-Balance and use egg substitute. If you are having thanksgiving with some meat eaters, your friends can still enjoy this dish in addition to their turkey.
-To up the "yum" factor of your loaf, whip up a quick vegan brown gravy! Recipe available HERE
3) Not-So-Sinful Stuffing
HERE is a recipe for a sweet cranberry stuffing that is vegan AND low calorie! To make heartier AND healthier, mix in some cooked quinoa and chopped pecans for a healthy dose of filling-fiber and protein! ALSO, since most dried cranberries are covered in added sugar, replacing the cranberries with pomegranate seeds will up the antioxidant punch in this dish! Mmm mmm mmm!
4) Bulge-Free Beverage
HERE is a recipe for a lower-calorie hot cranberry-apple cider. Warm liquids are great for digestion after a large meal and this drink can serve as a low-cal dessert on the nights before and after the big feast. Only 80 calories per serving!!
Look for my next post in this series. I'll be addressing holiday portion control, staying social without creating a diet disaster, and fun activities for the whole family to help keep your holidays active!
