If you look in the Sticky section of the Recipe forum, you will see 4 threads that start with SBD Holiday. We created these last Thanksgiving. In the side dishes thread, I have posted a cranberry sauce recipe that I make with Splenda. I make plenty and freeze it to use during the year in single serving portions.
I should try to find time to post my homemade stuffing recipe. I've converted it to use Whole Wheat bread cubes and Smart Balance/olive oil so the only thing that isn't OP is where I add the turkey giblets and they could be left out if you wanted to.
Last edited by beachgal; 10-30-2008 at 09:29 AM.
Reason: fix name change
Anyone thinking about the holidays yet? Normally, I would just splurge on the traditional recipes, but with my trend the last couple months of slipping down the San-Francisco-grade hills after a little cheat, I'm going to try to stay on plan through the holidays this year.
Our family menu usually looks something like:
turkey (I don't eat this as I'm a vegetarian)
stuffing (white bread staled (is that a word?) and then sauteed in butter with onions and garlic)
green bean casserole (the old Campbell's soup recipe)
corn
mashed potatoes
rolls
carrot sticks/celery (I don't serve this - I HATE celery!)/olives
cranberry sauce
pumpkin and apple pie for dessert
It's the same exact menu for Christmas! Isn't that funny?!
Anybody have any good ideas?
I have tried stuffing with whole wheat bread and it just wasn't the same. I think I'll just make it regular and then abstain myself. For the green bean casserole I'm thinking about making my own cream of mushroom soup with some good mushrooms and skim milk and olive oil in place of butter. I think I'll mash some sweet potatoes and then mix in salt and pepper and garlic. The rolls I can easily pass on. I might add some cheeses to the carrots, etc. munchies. Maybe I'll use Equal in place of sugar for the cranberry sauce. I usually cut the sugar in half anyway so it would probably be fine. Anyone tried cranberry sauce with Equal before? I'm not a Splenda fan. What about the pies? Gotta have pie with Thanksgiving dinner, even if it's a little piece! I guess if that's all I "cheat" on, it won't be that big of a deal, especially since we'll be having a crowd over and I can send the rest home with the guests.
tur-duck-en: turkey, duck and chicken de-boned, wrapped together, and baked. It's super rich, so just a few slices go a loooong way.
Hot potato salad
Corn, green beans
sometimes stuffing; my husband hates it
pumpkin/banana bread or cranberry muffins
whole wheat rolls
and bring on the pies: pumpkin, apple, chocolate cream, peanut butter, and coconut custard. This is actually the healthiest part, because I take a tiny sample while I'm baking, and give the rest away to adoring relatives.
I have never heard of peanut butter pie! I *have* heard of chocolate cream and coconut custard, but have never tried them. What part of the country are you from? We're originally south (New) Jersey-ers.
Kara, Never heard of peanut butter pie?!!! OMG, it is sooooooooooooooo good! It's really popular among the Amish around here, and that's probably where I first tried it. I make a pretty decent one that's not too high in calories by stirring some peanut butter into SF FF vanilla pudding (made with skim milk), and folding FF Cool Whip into the mixture. Then I spoon it into a pie crust that I make with crushed Fiber One, Smart Balance, and a little splenda. Sometimes I'll make some SF FF chocolate fudge pudding and spoon that into the shell before I before adding the peanut butter mixture.
This sounds like a naughty idea. I could eat an entire jar of natural peanut butter in a sitting if I let myself... What are your measurements on this delicacy???
mmm.. I love coconut custard. One of my faves. I think this thread is starting to look like food porn.lol
I'm having a bittersweet Thanksgiving this year. DH will still be at school so I don't have to make a big dinner like I usually do, so, I can stay OP. However, I really wish that he was here because I actually like making Thanksgiving dinner.
I'm thinking of making a pumpkin soup but I have never made it before so I'm trying to find a good recipe. I was also thinking of watching Food Network this weekend. Rachel Ray is suppose to have a new Thanksgiving special. Hopefully, I'll be able to pick up some tips there.
Of course, I have to make stuffing and buy that already jellied can of cranberries because the kids love it and they only have it once a year.
I've been thinking about it some. I think Thanksgiving is a meal that can be made pretty healthy without too much trouble. We go to my mom's with my brothers' families and usually have:
Turkey
Chestnut Stuffing
Gravy
Sauerkraut with Apples
Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potato Casserole
Some kind of veggie
Pies
I plan to have the turkey, sauerkraut and veggies, and skip the stuffing, gravy, and mashed potatoes. That won't be too hard. They always ask me to bring the sweet potatoes, and I usually make it with lots of butter, brown sugar, and pecans. This year I will lighten it up considerably and skip the sugar, so I'll be able to eat that too. I'm going to offer to bring a pumpkin pie and apple pie, because I think I can make those both SB friendly, and I just won't eat the crust. I don't like it that much anyway! My birthday is just a few days after the holiday and I've got a birthday goal I want to make, so I hope that will be incentive enough.
The peanut butter pie and pumpkin soup are some good ideas too. I may try those. Mmmm black bottomed peanut butter pie. This is definitely food porn!
I'm going to be in WV for Thanksgiving at my grandma's house. She's probably already started baking. lol I'm planning on doing a little grocery shopping before the big day. I want to sneak in enough healthy choices onto the menu that I won't feel deprived when I have to pass on some of my favorites. I know I'll make the grape salad, but I need to look for some other ideas, that apple crisp sounded good too. Here's what the menu will look like:
Turkey
Ham
Mashed Potatoes and gravey
Green Beans (with sugar and bacon added)
Macaroni salad
Broccoli Salad (with full fat dressing added)
Deviled Eggs (full fat mayo)
Baked Beans (full of brown sugar)
Stuffing (made from white bread crumbs)
Dinner rolls
The list goes on and on, and I won't even list the pies, cakes and cookies. maybe I'll just have a bowl of FiberOne and forget it. Thankfully I'm doing a 5K Turkey Trot that morning, so I can escape for a little while. I wonder if she'd let me do all the cooking except the turkey and ham?
I'm going traditional...both for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I've planned for those days and won't break with tradition for those 2 days. The other 363 days belong to South Beach..those 2 days belong to the Ansestors...can't lose the traditions!!
when I was a kid, my mom didn't like bread stuffing, so we always had a mushroom and wild-rice stuffing that I would think would be Ph3 friendly. It is absolutely delicious. The original recipe called for 100% wild rice, but mom always mixed it up with regular brown rice and only a portion of wild rice since that can be so chewy and somewhat of an acquired taste.
I can get the recipe and post it if anybody wants it.
ok i plan on staying on plan this thanksgiving for the most part.
we will have:
turkey
lasagna made with whole wheat pasta
green beans sauteed in olive oil and garlic
asparagus broiled with olive oil salt and pepper
mashed potatoes~not going to eat
sweet potaoes with icbinb and splenda brown sugar blend no marshmellows
stuffing (with sour dough bread and chicken broth)
pie not sure what kind
of course pumkin, maybe the lemon pie with merengue and choc. pudding pie of course all sf
The recipe section has several threads for Holiday recipes that we started a few years ago. I make up a big batch of cranberry sauce with Splenda and freeze that and eat it during the year occasionally. It is really good. For Thanksgiving I serve that as well as regular cranberry sauce.
I serve turkey with stuffing made from whole wheat bread, Smart Balance, onions, celery etc. I've made if for years and everyone loves it. By the way, I serve my meal on Friday and have a bunch of people over.
I make my sweet potatoes in the crockpot with Brown Sugar Splenda and then have an assortment of other holiday foods. I still need to plan for this year.
pretty please