Hormone Healthy Recipes for Your Thanksgiving Feast

Alicia Stanton, MD, November 23, 2009

Keeping with the theme of avoiding weight gain during the holidays, I am providing you with some delicious recipes to include with your Thanksgiving feast that are sure to keep your hormones happy and your weight on track. These sides are the perfect complement to your protein whether it be turkey, ham, tofurkey, or beef.

Roasting vegetables is a very healthy and delicious way to cook vegetables. It enhances the flavors of the vegetables without losing any of the nutrients. Drizzle the vegetables with heart-healthy olive oil, season with a little Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper. You could also use some fresh or dried herbs, a squeeze of lemon, etc.

Roast Asparagus
Start by trimming the ends of a bunch of asparagus. The easiest way to do this is hold one at each of the ends and bend until it snaps, this will give you a good guide and then you can use a knife to cut the rest of the bunch at the same place.

Lay the asparagus out on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil and season with Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper. You could squeeze a little fresh lemon on top. Bake the asparagus in a pre-heated oven at around 400 degrees. Cook for about 10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the stalks. At about halfway turn the asparagus.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts
Lay out the brussel sprouts on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil; season with Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper. Bake for 30 minutes in a 400-degree oven.

From aModernHousewife.blogspot.com

Instead of mashed potatoes, serve a delicious and creamy cauliflower puree. Your family won’t miss the potatoes one bit.

Creamy Cauliflower Puree

8 cups bite-size cauliflower florets (about 1 head)
4 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
1/3 cup buttermilk
4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon butter
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Snipped fresh chives for garnish

1. Place cauliflower florets and garlic in a steamer basket over boiling water, cover and steam until very tender, 12 to 15 minutes. (Alternatively, place florets and garlic in a glass  – never plastic! – bowl with 1/4 cup water, cover and microwave on High for 3 to 5 minutes.)

2. Place the cooked cauliflower and garlic in a food processor.  Add buttermilk, 2 teaspoons oil, butter, salt and pepper; pulse several times, then process until smooth and creamy. Transfer to a serving bowl.  Drizzle with the remaining 2 teaspoons oil and garnish with chives, if desired.  Serve hot.

From Eating Well Magazine

Fennel, Apple and Walnut Salad
This refreshing and crunchy raw salad provides a clean, satisfying contrast to typical high-fat Thanksgiving sides.
  Serves 4 – 6

1 large fennel bulb
2 Granny Smith apples, halved, cored, and thinly sliced
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Directions
1. Slice the fennel bulbs into quarters, top to bottom, and remove the core and outer leaves. Cut the quarters with the grain into paper-thin slices.
2. Place sliced fennel, apples, and pecans in a large bowl.
3. In a small bowl, whisk olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley, salt, and pepper. Add to the fennel-apple mixture and toss gently to coat the salad just before you serve it.

Adapted from Natural Health Magazine

Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are very healthy and are low GI, so they’re a great choice for Thanksgiving dinner, but not when loaded with brown sugar, tons of butter and those little marshmallows. Instead, use skim milk, a little unsalted butter and cinnamon. Cinnamon has been shown to lower cholesterol and stabilizes blood sugar.

Here’s a more modern, healthy take on the traditional green bean casserole.

Green Beans with Carmelized Onions and Sliced Almonds
2 lbs green beans, ends trimmed and rinsed
1 yellow or sweet onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 large clove of garlic, chopped
1 small package of sliced almonds (can be found in the baking aisle of your grocer)
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Fresh black pepper

Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick pan over medium to medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté until caramelized, about 10 minutes or so. Meanwhile in another shallow pan with tight-fitting lid, add a couple of inches of water. Bring to a boil. Season well with a few good pinches of the salt. Add the green beans and put on the lid. Let steam for about 3-5 minutes. They should be bright green and still have some crunch. This maintains flavor and nutrients. Drain the green beans and shock them in a bowl of ice water. This allows the beans to maintain that great bright color. Once the onions are caramelized, add the garlic and almonds to the pan and let brown for just a minute. Then add the green beans and sauté to coat them in the oil and allow for the onions and almonds to distribute. Season well with pepper and a little more salt.

From aModernHouseWife.blogspot.com

Looking for an alternative to cloyingly sweet pies? Here is a great dessert that won’t wreak havoc on your blood sugar levels, hormones, or waistline!

Roasted Pears With Blue Cheese, Cranberries and Nuts
Adapted from an Ina Garten recipe.

SERVES 4 -6

3 ounces Stilton cheese or Roquefort cheese, coarsely crumbled (or other good quality sharp blue cheese)
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup walnuts or pecans, toasted and chopped
4 large pears (Anjou or Bartlett, ripe but still firm)
Jjuice of one lemon
1/2 cup apple cider (or apple juice)
3 tablespoons port wine
1 tablespoon pear, liquor such as poire williams (optional)
1/4 cup light brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
1. Toss the crumbled blue cheese, dried cranberries, and walnuts together in a small bowl. Set aside.

2. Chop off the top of one pear to remove the stem. Peel and slice it lengthwise into halves. With a small sharp paring knife and a melon baler or small cookie scooper, remove the core and seeds leaving a round well. Remove a bit more from the center so you have a nice hole in each pear half. Trim a small slice away from the bottom rounded side of each pear half so that they will sit upright without wobbling. Place the pear halves in a baking dish core sides up and brush them all over with lemon juice using a pastry brush. Repeat with all the pear halves. Use a 2 to 2 1/2 quart shallow casserole dish so that the pear halves all fit snugly in the dish.

3. Stuff each pear hole with some of the cheese mixture, mounding it on top of the holes and packing it slightly.

4. Combine the apple cider, port, pear liquor and brown sugar in a small bowl. Stir well to dissolve the sugar. Pour the mixture by tablespoons over each pear half letting the excess run over in to the dish.

Bake the pears, basting each half every 10 minutes with the cider mixture, for 30 minutes, or until the pairs are tender. Set aside to cool.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Adapted from Recipezaar.com

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