The holidays are just about here and for many of us with certain fitness and dietary goals, holiday meals can be full of stumbling blocks and stress. However, there are ways to adjust the sugar, fat, or sodium content without sacrificing taste of some of your favorite Thanksgiving dishes. Check out our tips below for simple changes to try this holiday season (and, of course, talk to your doctor before making any changes to your diet).

•   Skip the marshmallows in your sweet potatoes. This might seem monstrous if you love your sweet potatoes with marshmallows, but it is an easy adjustment to make. “A medium-sized baked sweet potato contains about 100 calories, but many people add sugar, butter and other ingredients, which really ups the calorie count. A baked sweet potato with a little brown sugar and cinnamon is far healthier than one topped with butter, sugar and marshmallows.”

•   Opt for fresh cranberries over canned. Canned goods often contain additional sugar or sodium for preservation purposes, so using fresh ingredients allows the phytonutrients to take center stage.

•   Skip the turkey skin. While it is a good idea to leave the skin on your Thanksgiving turkey during cooking, “removing it before serving [will] reduce the overall fat content.”[1]

•   Steam or roast your vegetables. Look, we all love cooking things in butter, but steaming or roasting your veggie dishes instead will reduce the fat content for an overall healthier dish. Plus, this gives you an opportunity to flex your spice muscles so you can experiment with flavor combos and bring some variety to your favorite veggies.

•   Check out new recipes. If you are looking to start new traditions, you could look for new recipes for the holidays that are already designed with health in mind. For inspiration, check out this list of healthy Thanksgiving recipes from the Mayo Clinic.

What are some of your favorite Thanksgiving recipes? Tag us on social media @therealbodepro and show us your holiday prep while you keep yourself going with Happy & Skinny!

[1] Clark, Caitlin. “How to Make Healthier Thanksgiving Recipes.” Texas A&M Today, Texas A&M University, 20 Nov. 2020, https://today.tamu.edu/2020/11/20/how-to-make-healthier-thanksgiving-recipes/.