Thanksgiving dinner review - the best food picks

By Pauline Williams, MPA RD CD
USU Extension Services

Appetizers

A healthy diet includes at least 3 servings of vegetables each day. Vegetables are loaded with disease fighting antioxidants, vitamins A and C, and fiber. You can crunch on a 1/2 cup of raw mixed vegetables for only 25 calories and no fat.
Add 2 tablespoons of ranch dressing to those vegetables and you add a whopping 115 calories and 12 grams of fat. Dip your healthy vegetables in fat free dressing instead to keep a four star food pick.
Although nuts contain heart healthy mono and polyunsaturated fats and fiber they can add calories in a hurry. A small handful of mixed nuts, about 1/2 cup, comes with 438 calories, 15 grams carbohydrate, 12 grams of protein, and 40 grams of fat. Limit your serving of nuts to 1 or 2 tablespoons.
One ounce of tortilla or potato chips is a high fat high calorie choice. On average a small serving adds 200 calories, 25 grams of carbohydrate, and 12 grams of fat all before dinner. Skip the chips and save room for some of your Thanksgiving favorites.

Entrees

Turkey, the star of Thanksgiving. Naturally low fat, turkey is a best pick for Thanksgiving. A three ounce serving a turkey contains about 170 calories, 29 grams of protein, and only 5 grams of fat.

Cured Ham, although similar to turkey in calories and fat, is loaded with sodium. A three ounce serving of cured ham has 150 calories, 20 grams of protein, 7 grams of fat and a whopping 1275 milligrams of sodium, almost half your daily allowance. Choose a fresh roasted ham which has much less sodium and you’ll have a four star pick.

Side Dishes

Who can resist creamy mashed potatoes whipped with milk and butter? A 1/2 cup serving will add 106 calories to your plate, 17 grams of carbohydrate, 2 grams or protein, and 4 grams of fat. Potatoes are good source of potassium which is used for muscle and heart contractions. Leave out the butter and your potatoes can be four star.
Add 1/2 cup gravy to your potatoes and you add 60 more calories and 577 milligrams of sodium.

The bright orange color of Sweet Potatoes is a giveaway this vegetable is packed with nutrients. A 1/2 cup serving provides over 200% of your daily value for vitamin A and 31% of you daily value for vitamin C along with 3 healthy grams of disease fighting fiber. But candy those yams with marshmallows, brown sugar, and butter and you’ll pack in the calories 137 calories to be exact, with 28 grams of carbohydrate and 4 grams of fat. With all that said, even candied sweet potatoes can be a nutritional bargain if you watch your serving size.

There are as many varieties of stuffing as there are cooks, but on average a 1/2 cup is a high fat, high sodium dish. One serving gives you 178 calories, 22 grams of carbohydrate, 3 grams protein, 9 grams of fat, and 543 mg sodium. Your heart and waist will be better off skipping the stuffing.

Pies

Lower in calories and full of vitamin A, pumpkin pie is best pick for Thanksgiving dinner. One slice (1/8 of a pie) has 180 calories, 27 grams carbohydrate, 4 grams protein, and 7 grams of fat. If you eat only the custard and leave the crust you can cut your calorie and fat intake in half.

Even though it’s made with fruit, apple pie is full of added sugar and fat. One eighth of a nine inch pie has 410 calories, 58 grams of carbohydrate and 19 grams of fat and that is without ice-cream.

Pecan pie is high in calories and fat, with one slice providing 25% of your total daily calories. Eat a slice of pecan pie and add 478 calories, 71 grams of carbohydrate, and 20 grams of fat to you nutrient load.

Extras

Thanksgiving wouldn’t be complete without cranberry sauce. Cranberry’s bright red color suggests they are full of health promoting phytochemicals. One slice of jellied cranberries or 1/4 cup of cranberry sauce has about 85 calories and 22 grams of carbohydrate. For a low calorie sauce, mix cranberries, orange peel, and artificial sweetener in a food processor.

Fruited gelatin – the varieties are endless. Eating 1/2 cup provides 118 calories and 29 grams of carbohydrate mostly from added sugars. You are better off with 1/2 cup of fresh fruit pieces which have 60 calories and 15 grams of carbohydrate from natural sugars.

The smell of freshly baked dinner rolls can’t be beat, but with all the other foods available save the rolls for another day and splurge on something else. One dinner roll has 110 calories, 18 grams of carbohydrate and 2 grams of fat. Slather that with a teaspoon of butter and you add 45 more calories and 5 grams of fat.