Healthier Thanksgiving Sides and Appetizers
What are the best and worst parts about Thanksgiving dinner? For many, the sides and appetizers are best. And the worst part is easy to identify. The calories, fat, and carbs put a damper on the holiday.
But you can get into the spirit of Thanksgiving and enjoy healthier fare. The BariatricPal Store has plenty of helpers for keeping down the calories, carbs, or fat from Thanksgiving sides and appetizers.
Chips and Dip
Chips and dip usually contain a whopping dose of carbohydrates and fat, but you can make several swaps to make your pre-meal munchies healthier. Protein Potato Chips and Tortilla Style Protein Chips have up to 15 grams of protein per serving, while they have only a fraction of the carbs as regular chips. Protein Cheese Dip or dips made with cottage cheese or Greek yogurt can also keep you on track.
Nuts and Party Mixes
Make your own high-protein, low-carb party mix using ingredients such as nuts, peanuts, and Protein Puffs. Mix in some Protein Pretzels and, for a sweet contrast, add Protein Cereal. Flavors such as Ranch, Honey Mustard, BBQ, Vanilla Almond, and Cinnamon can come together in amazing ways to create party mixes that guests may ask you to make again and again.
Lower-Carb, Higher-Protein Casseroles
Those casseroles may be what you look forward to all year long, but they can sure break your diet. They don’t have to, though. Make a few smart swaps to lower carbs and raise protein in your favorite casseroles, such as green bean or sweet potato.
Protein Cream of Mushroom Soup, for example, has 15 grams of protein and only 5 grams of carbs. It can make your casseroles nice and creamy. For toppings, try sprinkling crushed Pork Rinds instead of fried onion rings to further cut carbs.
Instant Sides
When you have mashed potatoes and gravy, do you consider it having fat with your starch, or starch with your fat? Choose Protein Mashed Potatoes instead, and you’ll be having protein with your creamy flavor! It comes in Garlic and Sour Cream & Chives. Another option is Creamy Mashed Hearts of Palm, which is fully seasoned and has 7 grams of dietary fiber per package.
And if mac and cheese is a must-have at your Thanksgiving spread, don’t spoil yourself with traditional high-fat, high-carb recipes. Instead, use instant Protein Mac and Cheese, or make your own version using Shirataki or Protein Pasta to slash carbs.
Bariatric-Friendly Salads
Salads should be healthy, but so often, they are not. You can save hundreds of calories by swapping out a high-calorie dressing for Calorie-Free Salad Dressing. We have several varieties from Walden Farms, as well as 3 Zeros Calorie-Free Salad Dressing in Balsamic Style VInaigrette, Ranch, Greek, and Italian.
Low-Carb Toppings, such as nuts, SuperSeedz Premium Protein Snack, or Honey Mustard Youtopia Protein Snacks, can replace croutons and chow mein noodles. And if you like pasta salad, try making it with Shirataki Noodles or Protein Pasta instead of regular pasta.
Shake things up a bit this Thanksgiving by eating great food without guilt. It can be easy and delicious with instant and ready-to-eat choices from The BariatricPal Store. Great choices and good weight loss are worth being thankful for!
