Friday Food #26

What was on our table for Thanksgiving dinner?

• rolls
• mashed potatoes
• green beans
• turkey
• green salad
• stuffing
• frozen fruit salad
• coconut cream pie

Sounds like a pretty typical dinner, right?  I know that some people think that Thanksgiving is an excuse to splurge, but I think that if you can make all your favorite Thanksgiving dishes a little better for you without sacrificing the taste, then you should!  So here’s the changes we made:

• rolls—made with half whole wheat flour
• mashed potatoes—leave the skins on, mash with almond (or soy) milk and Smart Balance
• green beans—steamed with some spices
• turkey—we don’t do meat around here, but since we had friends coming for dinner, we had them bring the turkey!
• green salad—lots of veggies, lowfat dressing
• stuffing—made with whole wheat bread, vegetable broth, and no butter!
• frozen fruit salad—a traditional family recipe made with lots of fruit, cool whip, and melted marshmallows (it’s more of a dessert than a salad, but because of all the fruit, it’s a better alternative than most pies!)
• coconut cream pie—used skim milk (I also made one with almond milk as an experiment and it turned out great too) and left out the butter

I had no complaints about the dinner, in fact, most everyone went back for seconds and thirds—the mark of a fabulous dinner, right?  One of our guests even asked me for my stuffing recipe.  I combined a few different recipes and tweaked them a bit to make my own version.  I’m posting it over on my recipe blog if you’re interested!

Even before I became a vegetarian, I’ve always thought the best part about Thanksgiving dinner is the SIDES!  The only thing I’m sad about is that I didn’t get to make one of the dishes I was most excited about eating.  I was planning on making a roasted vegetable medley of carrots, brussel sprouts, and cauliflower (you all remember how much I like roasted cauliflower!) but in my hasty planning, I was not thinking about my issue of oven space.  I have a very tiny oven, and since I also had to bake the rolls and the stuffing, I had no way to roast the vegetables and have them finished at the same time as everything else.  I am dreaming of a day when I have double ovens for meals like these!

When we were done eating, we were all full and satisfied, but none of us were sick full.  No one had to run to the bathroom or unbutton their pants—a novel concept, huh?

Hope your Thanksgiving dinner was delicious as well.  Next year, are there any modifications you could make to make it delicious AND healthful?  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—DON’T BE AFRAID TO MODIFY RECIPES!

(Can you believe I took ZERO pictures of our dinner festivities?  Lame!)