A HealthierThanksgiving Dinner

I'll be cooking Thanksgiving dinner a bit differently this year. Healthier is my plan. My son has to get, and keep, his blood sugar and blood pressure under control and that means some changes are called for in the way we cook, not only for Thanksgiving but year round.

I've always know that most of us use too much salt but only recently have I learned how much is too much. One teaspoon of salt gives 2300mg of the maximum 2400mg of sodium recommended for healthy people. Those with high blood pressure or diabetes should use less: about 1500 is recommended by most health professionals. Since my son has both health issues, salt has to be reduced or eliminated in recipes. I've been using the Food Analyzer at Kraft Foods to check nutritional information of foods.

* The turkey will be seasoned with herbs using a product called Mrs. Dash, rather than rubbed with salt. The product contains a blend of herbs and spices and no salt.

* Butter for cooking and table will be salt free. This really isn't as bland as it sounds; it tastes sweeter than salted butter. I'm considering unsalted whipped butter because it cuts all the bad stuff almost in half compared to stick butter and I use a lot of butter. Not margarine, butter with all it's cholesterol and unhealthy fats.

* Fresh vegetables...cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, squash... will be used except for the canned green beans the kids will insist on. Canned veggies are high in sodium and need to be rinsed in cold water to remove most of the salt that was used in the canning process. Sweet potatoes will not be coated in marshmallows; they will probably be baked in the skins.

* Vegetables, including potatoes, will be cooked without salt. A small amount can be added to foods at the table. Children haven't yet acquired the taste for salt that adults have so their food can be left unsalted, unless they specifically ask for it and then it will be sprinkled sparingly.

* A lime glaze and a dill sauce made with low fat yogurt will be the toppings of choice for cauliflower, carrots, or broccoli. I looked at several dill sauce recipes and didn't like the amount of sodium in them so I think plain yogurt will work. The kids will still want cheese sauce and I'll humor them.

* No packaged foods will be used. I'll make the stuffing using bread with the lowest sodium count I can find and again, no salt. I'll boil the turkey giblets for broth to use in the stuffing. The best calculation I could find for homemade stuffing is at SparkRecipes.com. It gives the sodium count at 170mg per serving, which is not horrible and I can't remember if my son even likes stuffing.

* Dinner rolls will be wheat, 135mg of sodium each and I'll be counting.

* Fresh fruit salad will be offered as an alternative to sweet desserts.

* Sweet desserts: There are some things I can't do a thing about. Pie crust will taste pretty bland without salt. Fortunately, my son isn't a big sweet eater. He and the kids prefer brownies over pie and there is less sodium in brownies than in many other sweet desserts. I've found two butter cookie recipes at allrecipes.com that are low in sodium so I'll bake a batch of one of them. I think they'll go well with the fruit salad. Mayo Clinic has a recipe for a low sodium peach crumble that sounds yummy and that may be an alternative to brownies or pie. Desserts decisions will need to be discussed because I'm not making pie if no one wants it.

Most of us salt our food so heavily that we don't get the true taste of what we're eating. When my son's doctor told him he had to get his blood pressure down or face dire consequences, she didn't give him any hints on how to do it. (Maybe she thought he knew.) I went online and found that cutting down or eliminating salt was the best place to start and that's what he has done and I've done the same. It just seems like the right thing to do and it can't hurt. I've found that I can live without my usual habit of a heavy salt hand and get the real taste of food. Okay, I still use a little.

I can't tell my adult child what to eat but I can put healthy choices on the table and not nag about what he puts on his plate on a holiday. The recipe changes this Thanksgiving aren't major but the small changes are much healthier and that's what I want for my family.

Sources:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/
http://allrecipes.com/Default.aspx
http://www.mrsdash.com/
http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/home.asp
http://healthylivingtools.kraftfoods.com/content?page=533&cat=0&menu=FoodAnalyzer