Here are some suggestions on the different ways one can experiment with the way Thanksgiving dishes are made. While traditional stuffing is used, one can deviate from the norm and offer sides instead.

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Making the Sweet Potato a Dish of Its Own

Most of the memories of Thanksgiving dinner revolve around turkey and stuffings with mashed potatoes on the side. However, for those who wish to do something different this Thanksgiving, they can look at variations of the same dishes. For instance, the sweet potatoes can be dressed up in different ways:

  • The sweet potatoes can be dressed with cinnamon, brown sugar and butter and baked.
  • One can even try gazing baked sweet potatoes with cranberry sauce.
  • Sage better and sweet potatoes will make a great casserole dish as well.
  • The glazing of sweet potatoes can be done with anchovies and maple syrup.

How to Add a Variation to the Green Bean Casserole

In many homes the green bean casserole is made with fried onions that have a crunchy taste. However, this dish does not have to be made in this way all the time. Green beans can be made with lighter stuffing. One can add to fresh green beans and cook them in a slow cooker with garlic, butter, thyme as well as red onions. This variation would be healthier than and not as heavy as the traditional way of making this dish. There are other variations to try as well like green beans with vinaigrette and bacon as well as fennel and apricot.

Substitute for Mashed Potatoes

Those who dread the traditional Thanksgiving dinners due to the overload of calories they represent, need not fret as there are low calorie alternatives to try as well. One could ditch the mashed potatoes and try mashed cauliflower instead. How about cauliflower gratin? This is another low calorie version of the traditional dish. Made with low calorie cream and cheese, this dish is sure to be a hit among everyone and ensure that they have a healthier Thanksgiving dinner.

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Trying Squash Instead of Pumpkin

Those who are looking to add to the quintessential pumpkin pie to their list of dishes for Thanksgiving, squash is a vegetable that could be looked at. This is a seasonal vegetable as well, which works with the other meat dishes of Thanksgiving. It can be added as a stuffing as well as a sweet dish or an appetizer as well. There are many kinds of healthy squash dishes to try like the butternut squash and bread pudding, Mac and cheese with butternut squash, the quintessential butternut squash soup with curry ingredients and so forth. For more soup recipes for winter, check out Two Tasty Winter Soups to Keep You Warm this Winter.

These are some of the different variations that one can try in a traditional Thanksgiving dinner menu. While the turkey is a lean meat to have, combining red meat like bacon and beef with vegetable based sides will help to balance out the nutritional content of a meal and ensure that everyone has a hearty and healthy meal at the same time.