Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes Your Family Will Love

An overhead shot of fresh Thanksgiving foods.

Thanksgiving is all about the food, and it’s the one day a year when you don’t want to think about the calories. The good news is that healthy holiday meals can also be delicious. The following Thanksgiving recipes make traditional dishes even better by incorporating fresh vegetables, fruits, and herbs. So put down that can of cream of mushroom soup and join us on a culinary revamp of everybody’s favorite meal.

Healthy Holiday Meals Begin With Turkey

Turkey is a healthy food, to begin with, but it can also turn out dry and flavorless if you’re not careful. (Does anybody remember that scene from “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”?) The following tips can make your turkey both healthy and flavorful.

Instead of using butter, create a rub with olive oil and fresh herbs like thyme, sage, rosemary, and oregano.
The USDA now advises cooking your stuffing separately for safety reasons. To keep your turkey moist, stuff the inside with oranges, lemons, limes, or grapefruit instead.
Roast your turkey on a bed of root vegetables like Ina Garten does.

Healthy Recipes for Thanksgiving

Traditional Thanksgiving recipes include stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole, and green bean casserole. Here you’ll find ways to make all of them healthier — and even more delicious.

Stuffing. Next to the turkey, there’s nothing more important than your stuffing. This cranberry apple farro stuffing adds flavorful ingredients beyond white bread and sausage. If you prefer a bread-based stuffing, this apple sausage stuffing uses low-fat chicken sausage instead of pork. Here’s a nice vegetarian stuffing that gets its earthy, fresh flavor from an assortment of herbs, garlic, and leeks.
Mashed Potatoes. If your goal is to reduce fat, try these garlic mashed potatoes. If you’re trying to reduce carbs, check out these keto mashed “potatoes,” which are actually made with rutabaga. This healthy mashed potato recipe, which incorporates both cauliflower and Greek yogurt, is a delicious middle ground between the two.
Cranberry Sauce. Many of us grew up on jellied cranberry sauce, which is filled with high fructose corn syrup. But the real thing is so much better — and fun to make. boil fresh cranberries in a saucepan with water until they pop, then add in a touch of natural sweetness. Any leftovers can be used the same way you’d use jam. Here’s a nice Thanksgiving recipe to get you started.
Sweet Potato Casserole. Long touted as a superfood, sweet potatoes are good for you — unless you douse them in brown sugar before topping them with marshmallows. This healthier version uses a pecan crumble topping instead of marshmallows and is more savory than super sweet.
Green Bean Casserole. All you need to make the traditional version of this is three cans — green beans, cream of mushroom soup, and crispy fried onions — and five minutes. This version embraces the same flavors but with real food from the produce aisle. It’s creamy, crunchy — and fresh!

Healthy Holiday Meals Are All About Balance

Does your family love deep-fried turkey? Are mashed potatoes made with cream and butter non-negotiable? Do you cringe at the thought of not using your mother’s stuffing recipe?

If that’s you, think of Thanksgiving dinner as a balancing act — and it starts when your guests walk through the door. Instead of mayo-laden dips, chips, and summer sausage, put out appetizers that aren’t full of empty calories that will fill everybody up before the turkey even comes out of the oven. Maybe it’s a charcuterie board of fresh veggies, nuts, a little cheese, olives, and fruit. Here’s some inspiration to get you started. Balsamic roasted mushrooms, sweet potato hummus, and pepper vodka cherry tomatoes are all good options, as well.

What drinks will you have on hand? Not so long ago, you could count on a fridge filled with soda at family parties. The big choice was between a Coke or a Sprite. These days, however, many people opt for bottled water or sparkling water such as Topo-Chico, LaCroix, or Polar Seltzer. You can see the same trend in alcoholic beverages with lower-calorie drinks like White Claw and High Noon.

Dessert Recipes for Thanksgiving

As far as desserts go, pumpkin pie, which is packed with vitamin A, is one of the better options.

If you’re like most families, however, there’ll be at least one person eating vegan or avoiding gluten. This vegan apple cheesecake with a gluten-free oatmeal crust will appeal to both camps, as will these easy cinnamon baked apples.

Enjoying Life at Moorings at Lewes

Located on the Delaware coast, The Moorings at Lewes offers 35 acres of opportunities, including walking paths, community ponds, a butterfly garden, a dog park, and many pleasant places to enjoy a sunny fall day. Indoors, you’ll find a heated pool, a fully equipped fitness center, a woodworking shop, a library, an art center, and a variety of options for enjoying fresh, healthy meals. See how interesting and active life can be by scheduling a visit to our campus in Lewes, Delaware.