Healthy Thanksgiving recipes, anyone?

[debby s.]

I shared a couple of my favorite vegetable recipes in the daily blog today. Does anybody have a favorite healthy Thanksgiving recipe or food idea that they'd like to share with us?

[Hannelore N.]

I wish I could, Debbie, but I'm not the 'domestic goddess' type. Just one thing that works for me: I take a tub full of salad stuff to work for lunch these days and didn't know what to do about a dressing. All the ones I really like are heavy on oil or mayo. But I found an alternative: I mix some 'Passata' with fat free yoghurt and add some herbs. I don't get bored with it because I can vary the herbs.

[debby s.]

Hi Lorchen, This is the kind of 'real life' suggestion most people need--something that is actually workable in their everyday life. I have to admit, I had to google 'Passata'--I'd never heard of it. Now that I know its tomato paste (is that right?) I think that's a brilliant idea. And changing the herbs is a great idea too. Seems like a good replacement for thousand island dressing.

My favorite dressing is a combo of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, mustard, and honey. You can vary the ratios depending on how many calories you're willing to use on a salad dressing.

[Rita C.]

Lorchen, have you tried Quark cheese? It's a very low fat or no fat soft cheese (more like yoghurt or sour cream in texture). If you mix about a tablespoon with 1/4 teaspoon of agave syrup it makes a pleasant dressing.
I make a cabbage salad with shredded white cabbage, shredded onion mixed with the quark. I toast plain noodles (uncooked so that they are crunchy) - just a small handful and freshly toasted cashew nuts. Mix it all together and it is very more-ish. You could also use the quark instead of mayonnaise in coleslaw: just shred up cabbage, carrot, onion and an eating apple. Add a tiny bit of lemon juice to stop the apple discolouring then mix with the cheese and yum yum.
Hmmm, this is making me hungry and it's bed time here in Ireland. I better be off!

[wendy w.]

Lorchen try mixing some sweet chilli sauce and mint sauce. It makes an interesting salad dressing, you don't need much.

[Hannelore N.]

OK, one after the other......

Passata is a medium thick liquid made from sieved tomatoes and nothing else, so it's perfect for any type of diet. It can also be used in stews, soups, etc. It comes in cartons, jars or tins. Once opened it can be kept in the fridge for a couple of days. But it freezes beautifully. So I always put any leftovers (I live on my own and don't go through a whole carton in one go) in small containers in the freezer.

Passata also makes a really nice (and very healthy) 'Chilli'. I'm hopeless with measures, because I just eyeball things and throw it together. So here goes: Seal and brown extra lean minced beef (I think you call it ground beef in the US) and some chopped-up onion in a non-stick pan, then put Passata, kidney beans, the beef, chilli powder in a pot and simmer gently. Eat with rice or pasta.

I grew up with Quark. It's very popular in Germany, and often used for making cheese cakes, or mixed with fresh herbs (especially chives) on dark rye bread. But like with all cheeses you have to check if they used full fat milk when making it. If you live in a rural area and your local shop does not stock Quark, but you don't like cottage cheese as an alternative because it's 'lumpy', then just push the cottage cheese through a sieve to make it smooth.

Vinegars are ok, but oils are not. Unfortunately I have a problem with any vinegar. My stomach doesn't like it. So I had to look for alternatives.

Unfortunately honey, even though a lot tastier, has about the same calorific value as sugar, so it's one of those things that's not in my kitchen at the moment . And there is something else I had to do (I know myself too well!): I went through everything in my kitchen and gave my sons all the 'nice' stuff so that I wasn't tempted anymore. Also, I go shopping at the moment with a list and only buy what's on the list. No more inpulse buys when walking past the cookies or cakes.

Another thing I learned: Consider staying away from all the lovely fruit juices because they use processed fruits. In order to get your metabolism working you can eat as much fruit as you want, but is has to be 'the real thing'. I now buy a lot more melons because they are naturally very juicy.

And one more thing (and then I shut up): I used to have a big bowl of muesli with milk for breakfast. I now have 30g of muesli mixed together with a fat free yoghurt and a sliced banana. Tastes great, gives me a good start to the day, and keeps me on track at the moment.

I don't get obscessive about my weight. I go to a club every Tuesday where I get weighed. It would drive me crazy if I would weigh myself every day. It's also very satisfying to see a quite significant change, rather then a couple of grams twice a day. And getting weighed at the same time of the day also means that I don't get frustrated with the weight difference we all have between morning and later in the day. I checked it once, and I weigh over 2 pounds less in the mornings.

Like with all these 'healthy eating' things, it really depends on what you are trying to achieve. If you want to maintain your present level of weight then a little of the 'naughty things' is no problem at all. If you need to loose weight, then you have to be more radical and disciplined for the time being.