Low-Carb Thanksgiving: 5 Tasty Recipes to Celebrate the Holiday

While eating a low-carb diet may be a change in your lifestyle, it doesn't have to make the Thanksgiving holiday any less festive. Living in the South, Thanksgiving has always meant turkey accompanied by bread stuffing, rolls, gravy, green bean casserole, and creamy mashed potatoes. Don't get me started on the desserts. This isn't a low-carb meal. High-carb diets are linked to higher blood pressure, diabetes, and weight gain and there is no more dangerous time to over-indulge than the period between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. I have had a family member suffer a heart attack on Thanksgiving afternoon after our Thanksgiving meal. While these foods are so good to eat, they aren't good for you. Combine the food with the stress of the holidays and it just isn't worth it. Enjoy your Thanksgiving. You should keep some of your traditional Thanksgiving foods. But look for ways to lighten them up so that they are lower in carbs. Also try new foods and make them festive so that they feel like a treat instead of a punishment. If you approach Thanksgiving from this standpoint, adding low-carb recipes to your Thanksgiving meal can be just as tasty as your regular holiday fare.

Low-Carb Thanksgiving: Easy Ways to Carve Those Carbs

Some easy ways to cut carbs for your Thanksgiving meal start with meal preparation. When oil or butter is called for in a Thanksgiving recipe, use olive oil or Smart Balance Butter Substitute. For health reasons, I have switched to using olive oil on a regular basis. I also have used the Smart Balance Butter Substitute and found it to be surprisingly good.

Smart Balance comes in both spread and sticks. When you remove the paper from the Smart Balance stick, you may notice that it doesn't smell like butter. Actually, I don't think it smells that good at all. I was surprised to find out that it tastes much better than it smells. In fact, I don't notice a major difference when I eat it or use it to saute my foods.

If you are a hard-core butter fan, then you will need to get used to the change. If you've been cutting carbs and calories for awhile, then you will quickly adapt to Smart Balance.

As far as adding sweetener to your food, I have had good success in cooking with Splenda. If you are unsure, use half sugar and half Splenda for your Thanksgiving dishes. Or use recipes specifically adapted to Splenda. Overall, however, you should try to cut as much sugar from your Thanksgiving recipes as possible. Save the sweeteners for your dessert.

Low-Carb Thanksgiving: Danger Areas

The major areas to avoid for Thanksgiving that will send your low-carb diet into a tailspin are the high-carb vegetables (that's no small potatoes here, folks), the flour-laden gravy, pie-crusts from the pies, and bread, bread, bread from stuffing and rolls. You should attempt to avoid these at all costs. Or limit these high carb foods by making tasty low-carb recipes so you won't feel slighted.

It may not be your traditional Thanksgiving menu, particularly if you are from the South but there's nothing wrong with changing things up now and again. The following low carb Thanksgiving menu includes 5 recipes that you can be proud to serve to your family and guests. These low-carb Thanksgiving recipes remove the high carb danger areas while still managing to be festive and very tasty.

Low-Carb Thanksgiving Recipes: Appetizers

Boiled Shrimp with Cocktail Sauce
If you are in the Lower South, boiled shrimp usually make an appearance for most holiday meals. It is very easy to keep them low-carb for Thanksgiving by preparing a low-carb cocktail sauce. Make this with low-carb ketchup (available at the grocery store), horseradish sauce, and hot sauce and some lemon juice. Combine these four ingredients to suit your taste.

Crudites with Crab Dip
Another staple of the Thanksgiving table in the South is a vegetable (crudites) platter. Low-carb vegetables to include are celery, radishes, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, and cucumber. Make this vegetable plate memorable by including this Low-Carb Crab Dip Recipe.

Low-Carb Thanksgiving Recipes: Main Course

The great thing about a low-carb diet is that turkey is included. So that's one less thing to worry about on Thanksgiving Day. It would be better if you prepared it yourself, however, so you know what goes into or on your bird.

You can keep your Thanksgiving Turkey stuffing if you're willing to make some modifications. If you are from the South, then you are probably used to some variation of cornbread stuffing. If you are from another part of the country, a wild rice stuffing may be part of your Thanksgiving repertoire. A wild rice and whole wheat couscous stuffing is a perfect solution for this Thanksgiving Day dilemma. Here is a good recipe for Thanksgiving Day Wild Rice and Couscous Stuffing.

As for that turkey gravy you are craving, here's a surprise. Why don't you keep it as part of your Thanksgiving meal. However, I'm suggesting that you do give up the potatoes and the bread. It's all just too tempting to load those potatoes and bread with some gravy, too. However, cooking the turkey to perfection is too stressful and gravy is the saving grace if your bird comes out a little dry. So have a little gravy with your turkey and enjoy.

Low-carb Thanksgiving recipes for preparing Turkey gravy can be found here.

Low-Carb Thanksgiving Recipes: Stand-ins for Potatoes

Everyone has heard of the Mock Mashed Potatoes made with cauliflower. But it's Thanksgiving Day and unless you really prefer the cauliflower "potatoes," you might feel penalized by having to prepare them. Why not just skip the whole thing and have something else that is rich and creamy and in the spirit of the holiday.

Try this Pumpkin Casserole which actually tastes somewhat like scalloped potatoes. Regardless of whether you think it tastes like potatoes or not, no guest would turn down this creamy, festive dish. Yum. The low-carb Thanksgiving recipe for pumpkin casserole is here.

Low-Carb Thanksgiving Recipes: Keep Your Cranberries

Cranberries are very low in carbs so you can have your cranberry sauce as long as you replace the sugar with Splenda. Making your own cranberry sauce is so easy to do. Just bring the cranberries and some liquid to a boil, add your spices and sugar and you're done. A recipe for homemade Thanksgiving Cranberry Sauce can be found here.

Low-Carb Thanksgiving Recipes: Thanksgiving Dessert

One thing my family has done over the years is change up the Thanksgiving dessert. So it is very easy for me to include low-carb desserts for Thanksgiving Day. Everyone is looking for a new dessert, anyway. I don't tell them it is low-carb. If you must include the traditional pecan pie, look for ways to reduce the sugar and do something about that pie shell. Personally, I'd rather just a have a new dessert that I can enjoy without worry. A low-carb Thanksgiving recipe for pumpkin bars can be found here.