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Healthy eating

Starters and sides complement the big dinner
Written and photographed by Nancy Monaghan

The average Thanksgiving dinner - with moderate portions - packs a whopping 1,455 calories. And that doesn’t include all the extra flavor enhancers – think about that half stick of butter melted into the mashed potatoes and the warm and gooey miniature marshmallows on top of the sweet potatoes - or the extras such as snacks beforehand, a glass or two of wine, and a second helping of gravy on your turkey.

Let’s face it: The main attractions at the Thanksgiving table are the turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie with whipped cream. Just those three add up to 775 calories, and who can pass up mashed potatoes with gravy, cranberry sauce and warm rolls?
If you want to splurge on the goodies, lightening up the appetizers and side dishes will help keep your calorie intake in check. You’ll find some tasty, healthy dishes in these recipes, and the good news for the Thanksgiving cook is that many can be fully or partially prepared the day before and assembled or heated at the last minute.

Cranberry greens salad
6 cups baby spinach, mixed greens, or lettuce
1/2 cup craisins
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
3 tbsp celery, finely diced
¼ cup red onion, thinly sliced
3 tbsp olive oil
Sliced strawberries or diced Granny Smith apple (optional)
3 tbsp good blue cheese (optional)
Coarse salt
Fresh ground pepper

Mix vinegar, oil, half the celery, salt and pepper in a measuring cup and let stand one hour (or up to four hours). Mix greens, remaining celery, and onion in salad bowl, add dressing and toss to coat. Sprinkle in craisins and strawberries or apples, toss, and fold in crumbled blue cheese if desired.

Celery bisque
Despite few ingredients, this is a rich-tasting yet very light soup that can be made well ahead of time. A pinch of blue cheese on top for garnish adds an extra layer of flavor to this lovely first course, or just garnish with a sprinkle of chopped parsley or chives or a pinch of fresh ground pepper.

1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
4 cups celery (about 8 stalks) sliced
1-1/2 cups sliced leeks (about 2 medium, use only the white and pale green parts)
¾ lb Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and chopped
4 cups reduced-sodium, fat-free chicken broth
¼ to ½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp each salt and fresh-ground black pepper

Wash leeks well to remove sand. Combine butter and oil in a heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Saute celery and leeks until softened, about five minutes. Add potatoes and broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until vegetables are tender, about 35 to 40 minutes. Puree soup in blender or food processor in batches, or use a stick blender. Return soup to pot and whisk in cayenne pepper, salt and pepper
---Adapted from a recipe in Bon Apetit

Balsamic clementines
Chef Mario Bataldi made this delightful dish on Food Network TV, and it’s perfect for a Thanksgiving dinner appetizer. Although the few ingredients may sound unappetizing together, this is a superb blend of flavors. His recipe:

8 Clementine oranges
1/3 cup high quality Balsamic vinegar
1 tsp sugar
Fresh ground black pepper

Peel the oranges (trim excess strings remaining from rind) and pull apart into separate segments. Combine orange segments, vinegar and sugar in a large bowl and stir well to combine. Divide the mixture among four martini glasses, using all the liquid. Sprinkle top with fresh pepper.

Note: Peel the oranges ahead of time since this is the most tedious chore in making this dish. Then store them overnight refrigerated in an airtight container. You can add a little orange zest for garnish, and you can also use other small oranges such as mandarins but the tartness of the Clementines is hard to match.

Shrimp With Remoulade Sauce
1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tbsp olive oil
Fresh ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup fat-free or reduced-fat mayonnaise
Juice of one lemon
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 kosher dill pickle, minced
½ tsp mashed capers (about 8 capers)
1 tbsp fresh chopped flat-leaf parsley

Combine olive oil, one clove garlic and pepper with shrimp, toss to coat, and marinate one hour or overnight. (You can use fresh cooked shrimp from your fish market to save time.) Broil shrimp until opaque, about 2-3 minutes on each side.

Measure mayonnaise into a large bowl and whip until smooth. Lightly sweeten fresh lemon juice with a pinch of sugar. Add all ingredients to mayonnaise and stir to combine. (Sauce recipe yields enough for about two pounds of shrimp.)

Note: Shrimp and sauce can be made a day ahead. Shrimp can be served cold or at room temperature.

Brussels Sprouts Surprise
Don’t even tell the kids this is a Brussels sprouts dish. They won’t recognize the sprouts, which are sliced very thin, and they’ll love the taste.

2 tsp olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1-1/2 lbs Brussels sprouts, cut in half and thinly sliced
½ cup non-fat low-sodium chicken broth
1-1/2 tbsp sugar
½ tsp salt
¼ cup chopped pecans

Trim stem ends from sprouts. Heat olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until lightly browned. Stir in Brussels sprouts and sauté about two minutes. Add broth and sugar, cook until liquid almost evaporates, stirring frequently. Stir in salt and pecans.
Note: Chop the vegetables ahead of time and you can make this dish at the very end of dinner preparation. It’s fast and easy and should be served immediately.
---Adapted from a recipe in Cooking Light

Sweet Potatoes
Thanks to Aunt Edna we learned how to enjoy sweet potatoes with the sweet but without the butter, brown sugar and marshmallows!

2 lbs sweet potatoes (about 3 large)
2 15--oz cans Lite Apricot halves
3 tsp ground cinnamon
3 tsp ground allspice
2 tbsp honey

Peel sweet potatoes. Cut in half vertically and then slice into 1/4-inch slices. Spray a 7-1/2 x 11 two-quart glass baking dish with fat-free cooking spray. Spread half the potato slices in the dish and cover with one can of the apricots, including juice. Drizzle with one tablespoon of the honey and sprinkle with half the cinnamon and half the allspice. Repeat layer. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 375 for 1-1/2 hours. Check to make sure potatoes are soft but not mushy. It may take slightly longer depending on thickness of potatoes.

Note: You can use peaches in this dish or mandarin oranges – we used apricots and oranges for the dish pictured – in any combination. Take care not to overfill the dish with the fruit juice - you may want to spoon out some of the juice at the very end, and serve with a slotted soon. This dish can be made the day before and reheated.

Roasted Root Vegetables
3 large carrots
1 rutabaga (yellow turnip)
3 parsnips
3 red skin potatoes
¼ cup olive oil
4-5 fresh sage leaves, chopped
Coarse salt
Fresh ground pepper

Peel vegetables and cut into small chunks or wedges of similar size. Put all vegetables in a large bowl, add olive oil, sage, salt and pepper and toss well to coat. Spread vegetables on a large cookie sheet. Roast in 375-degree oven, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are golden brown, about one hour.
Note: You can add almost any herb of your choice to these vegetables.

A word about mashed potatoes...and stuffing

Mashed potatoes can be creamy and tasty without a lot of fat. Here are some substitutes for high-fat milk and butter to make the mash:
Fat-free half-and-half
Reduced fat chicken broth
Non-fat sour cream
Low-fat milk and reduced-fat cream cheese

You can add chives, sage, tarragon or almost any herb to add zest. Or mix regular white potatoes with yellow turnips (rutabaga) or parsnips for flavor.

The turkey stuffing can also be delicious without adding a lot of high-fat butter: Simply skip sautéing the onions and celery in butter and moisten the stuffing using only turkey stock. Mince the onions and celery finely and add them raw to the stuffing to add flavor or soak them in the turkey stock for a few minutes to soften before preparing your stuffing. Minced fresh sage adds a lot of flavor.