The holidays aren't quite complete without Mom's famous mashed potatoes and Grandma's green bean casserole. Sure, these sides are made with love, but they're also typically loaded with salt, fat and calories. We all expect to pack on a few extra pounds by the season’s end!
But not all your holiday dining has to be unhealthy. There are some healthier alternatives of your holiday favorites. Even your family's staunchest health food haters are sure to enjoy these dishes.
Skinny cranberry stuffing
- In a sauce pan over medium heat, sauté three medium stalks of chopped celery and one diced yellow onion with a tablespoon of canola oil until softened, about five minutes.
- Add in a ½ cup of fresh, chopped cranberries, 8 ounces of bread crumbs and 4 to 6 ounces of low-sodium chicken broth, until you get the desired stuffing consistency. Stir in a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Spray an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray and spoon in your mixture.
- Bake at 350ºF for 25 to 30 minutes.
Enjoy a half-cup serving for just 188 calories; the recipe makes between 8 to 10 servings.
Tip: Most supermarkets carry fresh cranberries around the holidays, but if your produce department is lacking, you can pick up a frozen bag. Just thaw your fruit before you toss it into your pan.
Lighter green bean casserole
Casseroles are some of the biggest offenders at the holiday table. Typically made with heavy cream or condensed soup, a single serving of traditional green bean casserole contains more than 200 calories.
Lighten casseroles by adding more veggies, without altering the other ingredients. This way, you'll fill up on vegetables, and still enjoy the same flavor you know and love. Build your casserole in an oven-safe dish with a lid the night before and toss it in the oven the day of to save yourself some time.
You can even skip the baking altogether with this recipe:
- Steam one pound of trimmed green beans on the stovetop until tender, about three to five minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper, ¼ of a teaspoon each.
- In a skillet over medium heat, combine 3 tablespoons of butter with two minced cloves of garlic. Add a ½ cup of whole wheat bread crumbs, and stir until crispy.
- Toss your green beans with the breadcrumb mixture and top with 3 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese.
A serving of this guilt-free side – about 3/4 of a cup – contains just 108 calories. The whole casserole makes about five servings.
Better-than-canned cranberry sauce
Canned cranberry sauce is a holiday staple, but despite its fruit content, it isn’t all that healthy. A thin slice – about one-eighth of the can – contains 90 calories but is loaded with almost 22 grams of sugar.
Some of this sugar comes naturally from the cranberries, but a good portion also comes from high fructose corn syrup and other sweeteners. According to the American Heart Association, women should limit their added sugar intake to 25 grams a day, and men should stick to under 36 grams.
Prep this no-sugar-added sauce the night before your get-together.
- In a sauce pan, combine 12 ounces of fresh cranberries – about 3 ½ cups – with a ¼ cup of water, a ¼ cup of unsweetened applesauce and 1/3 of a cup of unsweetened pineapple juice.
- Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Let your sauce simmer for about 15 minutes, until the berries begin to explode.
- Grate in the zest of one orange and simmer for another 15 minutes.
- Store the dish in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.
One-fourth of the batch contains just 58 calories and fewer than 8 grams of natural sugar. To make it sweeter, add a sprinkle of cinnamon and a touch of honey, but only a modest amount. Cinnamon is virtually calorie free, but honey contains 64 calories and 17 grams of sugar per tablespoon.
Sautéed garlic and herb mushrooms
Add more veggies to your holiday table! This dish is packed with flavor but won’t cause unwanted belly bulge like some side dishes.
- De-stem, wash and slice 1 pound of mushrooms. You can use white button, shiitake or portabella.
- Add to a heated sauté pan with a tablespoon of olive oil, two cloves of minced garlic and ¼ cup of diced white onion.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, before adding a tablespoon each of fresh rosemary, thyme and oregano, a dash of salt and pepper and a splash of balsamic vinegar.
In about 20 minutes, this recipe makes four servings, with only 68 calories each. Mushrooms also contain potassium, a mineral that helps regulate blood pressure and promotes muscle health.
A tip when preparing this dish for a crowd: Mushrooms shrink up during cooking, so you may want to double – or even triple – the recipe for large gatherings.
Maple roasted sweet potatoes
This recipe has all the candied flavor of a classic sweet potato casserole, without the extra calories and unhealthy ingredients.
Skip the marshmallow topping, which adds 80 calories and 14.4 grams of sugar per ½ cup – and add some natural sweetness, instead.
- Wash, peel and slice 2 ½ pounds of sweet potatoes, about eight or nine spuds.
- Toss with a 1/3 of a cup of natural maple syrup, 2 tablespoons of melted butter, 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice and a dash of salt and pepper.
- Arrange coated potato pieces on a baking pan, cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until tender and golden. Total cook time should take about 45 minutes but give your potatoes a toss every 15 minutes or so.
The batch yields 16 half-cup servings, each with just 92 calories, and loads of vitamin A, which helps regulate cell growth and plays an important role in the health of your bones and white blood cells.
Baked sweet potato pieces also make good leftovers, and can be added to warm salads, nourish bowls or your morning oats.
Creamy cauliflower mash
A cup of traditional, homemade mashed potatoes contains about 240 calories. And if your family recipe calls for whole milk and butter, calories aren’t the only concern; a single serving can have 9 grams of fat or more.
If traditional spuds are a must for you and your family, try lightening the recipe by replacing whole milk with 2 percent or even 1 percent milk. Swapping whole milk for skim saves about 63 calories and more than 7 grams of fat per cup.
Looking for a lighter option still? Replace your potato base with mashed cauliflower, a swap that eliminates nearly three-fourths of the calories, before any flavorful add-ins.
- Chop and steam 3 pounds of cauliflower – roughly one medium head – on the stovetop for 10 to 12 minutes.
- Once the cauliflower is tender, mash with three cloves of minced garlic, a tablespoon of olive oil, a dash of salt and pepper and the herbs and spices of your choosing.
One cup of this smooth mixture contains just 40 calories; the batch makes about 12 servings. Cauliflower is also a great source of vitamin C, which aids in collagen production and promotes faster wound healing.
Cauliflower also makes a great substitution for rice. Most grocery stores sell fresh or frozen riced cauliflower, or you can make your own by grating and sautéing a head of cauliflower. It has just 20 calories per cup, compared to 170 calories in a cooked cup of white rice.
Roasted Brussels sprout salad
These bite-sized veggies are at their ripest during the fall and winter months, just in time for your holiday gatherings.
- Halve 3 cups of sprouts. Coat with a tablespoon of olive oil and your favorite herbs and spices, like parsley and thyme.
- Arrange in an even layer on a sheet pan and roast at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until tender, about 25 minutes.
- Plate your sprouts on a bed of fresh arugula and layer on seasonal fruit, like seedless red grapes and crisp apple slices. Start with one chopped cup of each but add more if you’d like.
- Top with 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. Garnish with an ounce of creamy goat cheese.
Dish up 10 half-cup servings with just 59 calories each.
You won't have to worry about these veggies going to waste; what doesn’t get eaten can be blended into a seasonal soup, topped with a poached egg or folded into a pasta dish.
Semi-sweet broccoli salad
Broccoli doesn’t have to be sautéed in garlic, butter and oil to be tasty. This blanched broccoli salad is simple, sweet and helpful for staving off some holiday pounds. Veggies, like these vibrant florets, provide your body with essential nutrients, and a diet rich in produce can help lower your risk of chronic disease.
Unfortunately, most Americans – about 90 percent – don’t get the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables a day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add three pounds – four to six medium heads – of broccoli florets. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Immediately transfer your florets to a bowl of ice water.
- Toss your drained and dried broccoli with a cup of chopped red onion, ¾ of a cup of raisins and ½ a cup of sliced or chopped almonds.
- Coat your salad in a mixture of a tablespoon of olive oil, two tablespoons of red wine vinegar and tablespoon of Dijon mustard. Sprinkle the batch with salt and pepper.
This recipe makes about 10 cup-sized servings, each with about 110 calories.
If you want to punch up the protein, black beans or chickpeas also make a great addition.
Harvest grain salad
Whole grains, like brown rice, quinoa and farro, make a hearty base for a salad any time of year, but especially during the chilly holiday months. This recipe combines a few of the season's freshest veggies and can be served warm or cold.
- On a lined sheet pan, arrange a cup each of peeled and chopped beets and winter squash, like butternut or acorn. Lay a cup of de-stemmed and sliced mushrooms on a second lined pan.
- Toss your veggies with a tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and tablespoon of fresh rosemary.
- Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 to 30 minutes, or until your veggies are tender. The mushrooms cook up quicker, so pop those in your oven when the beets and squash have 10 or 15 minutes left.
- In the meantime, add 2 ½ cups of water to a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil. Add 1 cup of farro, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 25 to 40 minutes.
- Once your ingredients are cooked and cool enough to handle, combine in a large bowl with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and a tablespoon each of honey, Dijon mustard and olive oil.
Serve right away or store in the fridge and serve cold. One eighth of the batch – about ¾ of a cup – contains 124 calories.
Other healthy holiday tips
Stay active! Cutting down on calories can help stave off weight gain, but so can burning them. Offset some of the calories you plan to consume by staying active.
You can even burn calories at gatherings. Lend a hand in the kitchen or horse around with the kids to get even more exercise.
Skip the foods you’re not crazy about. You don't have to load your plate with every side dish. Instead, just choose your favorites, and leave room for the things that you really want.
For more healthy recipes, wellness tips, interviews with doctors, and more, become a HealthMatters member!
$webqFacilityNumber
Need a Physician?