How to Make Thanksgiving a Little Healthier

Indulge in all your favourite Thanksgiving treats without feeling like you've been stuffed more than the turkey! From reinvented classics to out-of-the-box alternatives, make Thanksgiving a little healthier without sacrificing an ounce of flavour!

Everybody loves Thanksgiving but for different reasons. Some of us love being in the kitchen, preparing a wholesome and big meal for expectant family and friends, others are posted up in the living room, drooling over the scents from the kitchen that we’ve been unceremoniously kicked out of for having too many little samples, and some of us just have a haphazard get together over some pizza and good vibes, because Thanksgiving is all about giving thanks. Thanks to those who’ve stayed with us, thanks to our homes, our lives, yadda yadda, but one of the biggest thanks that we both say and hear is “thanks for the food”, and sometimes it’s not even on thanksgiving because we’re all thankful for sharing a meal with good friends and family, regardless of the occasion. One of the qualms about a good, filling Thanksgiving feast though is “itis”, or more commonly known as the “food coma”, and it’s totally normal, especially after indulging on a heavy meal, which Thanksgiving meals are usually known for. But, if you’re changing up your diet or just want to stick to having a bit more healthier and still delicious options, here are a few great substitutions that you can integrate into your Thanksgiving meal so you and your family can still indulge in a good, hearty meal without all that extra stuff and hopefully without dozing off after dinner!

If you’re not a fan of regular russet or blanched potatoes but love yourself some mashed potatoes to go along with your turkey or roast beef dinner for Thanksgiving, try substituting it with some mash made of Heart of Palms! For those who are on a keto diet, Natural Heaven’s creamy mash made with palm hearts yields only 5 grams of net carbs per serving and is still just as creamy and delicious as a regular mashed potato side! Not only that, but it’s so much easier and faster to make, so if you’ve devoted all your time to basting that turkey and don’t have enough time to boil potatoes, just add in this to a pan with some vegetable oil or butter and season accordingly while stirring for 2 minutes and bam! You’ve got yourself some great mash to munch on! Or, if you have a bit of extra time on your hands and want the process of cooking Thanksgiving dinner to be as authentic as possible, you can also try Native Forest’s organic heart of palms, and go through the whole process as you would when making a conventional mash potato side, and no need to add in any extra salt for Native Forest’s heart of palms, it already has a touch of it, but you can definitely go wild with other seasonings as you see fit to make your perfect mash!

Another great substitute for a main component of your Thanksgiving meal is this no dairy mushroom gravy with cashew butter from Primal Kitchen because what better side to add to your mashed heart of palms than some great, vegan-friendly gravy? Not only is it a healthy substitution, it’s incredibly easy and convenient to make as it’s a premade gravy so no more stress about making all these sides from scratch, all it takes is a minute to heat up and it’s ready to serve! And if you want to add a touch more of a chicken flavor without the chicken, try adding a couple of teaspoons of Ecoideas’s organic vegan bouillon stock base which is entirely chickenless but still serves the same great umami taste to elevate your gravy for your meal! It goes great with mashed heart of palm, and is also great to use as a base when boiling your veggies as well, just add a tablespoon of this to boiling water that you’ll use to soften your veggies and you’ll have another succulent, awesome side dish to add to your meal! 

If you love yourself a good homemade, tossed salad you need some dressing! And dressing is often the component of any salad that usually has the most trans fats, calories, and all that, but now you don’t have to worry about all that extra stuff with Primal Kitchen’s whole30 keto friendly ranch dressing! It’s dairy free with no sugar added and is lower in carbs than the conventional salad dressing while still maintaining the same great taste of ranch that you’ve come to love! 

We hope these suggestions allow you to enjoy a happy and healthier Thanksgiving this year!