Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. But my heart – and yours – deserves better than the usual artery-clogging fare. I’m out to prove that you can enjoy an amazing feast this Thanksgiving, without all of the saturated fat and salt. This is my Healthy Thanksgiving Challenge, and you’re invited to participate – and maybe even win a great holiday cookbook!

Food Bloggers: Simply make a healthy Thanksgiving dish using my 10 Tips for a Heart-Healthy Thanksgiving as your guide (not hard and fast rules), then post it on your blog. Link to this page and download the Healthy Thanksgiving Challenge badge for your post or sidebar. Be sure to leave a comment below with a link to your post, and I’ll include you on a roundup of participants on November 22. I’ll also throw your name into the hat for the giveaway of Myra Kornfeld’s The Healthy Hedonist Holidays or Vegan Holiday Kitchen by Nava Atlas (your choice – winner will be selected randomly, on November 25.)

Non-bloggers: Post a comment below about how you plan to lighten up your Thanksgiving menu. I’d love to hear your ideas … whether you’re just using soy milk in your mashed potatoes or have a devious plan to fool your family into eating vegan stuffing. One commenter will be randomly chosen for a second book.

10 Tips For A Heart-Healthy Thanksgiving

1. Say no to butter, heavy cream and full-fat cheese
Instead of butter – or heaven forbid, shortening – make heart-healthy choices like extra virgin olive oil, high-oleic safflower oil, organic canola oil or macadamia nut oil. This goes for the outside of the turkey, sautéing vegetables, enriching stuffing, and baking pies (see Tip #9). To replace heavy cream in soups or sauces, try evaporated skim milk or MimicCreme.  Fat-free yogurt and sour cream can be used in mashed potatoes, creamy dips, soups, sauces and more. If a recipe calls for whole milk, use skim, soy or almond milk.  There are many reduced-fat cheeses available, and fat-free ricotta and feta are surprisingly good (albeit processed, hypocritically violating Tip#10.)

2. Ditch the fatty  meats
Sausage stuffing? Bacon-wrapped turkey? No, you really don’t the extra saturated fat on this already-decadent day. For your stuffing, consider crumbled Field Roast vegetarian sausages (although they are super high in sodium, so use sparingly). The smoked apple variety is particularly well suited for Thanksgiving. Wild mushrooms (fresh or dried) can also lend a wonderfully meaty flavor. Smoked paprika can add a bacon-y taste, too. And if you’re cooking a turkey, be sure to remove any extra globs of fat before you roast (leave the skin on of course, but don’t eat it.)

3. Use whole grains
Less white flour = fewer empty calories and carbs. White whole wheat flour and whole wheat pastry flour are superior substitutes. Use them for your baking, and try whole grain breads for your stuffing. Find ways to work in whole grains like quinoa and barley into the meal – there’s no rule that stuffing has to be made with bread, and gluten-free folks will appreciate an alternative, too.

4. Look beyond the turkey
If there are any vegetarians at your table, they deserve more than a plain hunk of tofu. With vegetarian entrees that serve as centerpieces in their own right, you’ll have hardcore meat eaters straying from the turkey platter. Festive stuffed pumpkin or squash, smoky maple seitan sausages, wild mushroom strudel … the possibilities are endless.

5. Cut down on the salt
Start with one third the amount that would be used in a traditional recipe (except for baking recipes) and go from there. You’ll be surprised that you don’t miss the excessive amount. Use lemon juice to brighten the flavors of vegetables, which will reduce the need for salt.  If you are using commercial broths, be sure to look for the lowest sodium brands you can find.

6. Watch the sugar
Sure you’re going to eat pie this Thanksgiving, and I’m all for that (as long you follow the guidelines below – see Tip #9). But to make up for it, reduce or eliminate the sugar in other places, such as in your sweet potatoes and cranberries. Try chopping and roasting sweet potatoes with savory herbs and spices instead of making a traditional sugary sweet casserole, and serve a less-sweet (but no less delicious) cranberry sauce. Bring sweetness to the table with naturally sweet vegetables like beets and with fresh fruit in salads. And remember, sugars also come from carbs, so do yourself a favor and don’t serve bread with your meal. It’s really the last thing you need, especially with bread stuffing.

7. Go overboard on vegetables
Mashed potatoes don’t count, people!  Instead of one vegetable side dish, why not serve four or five?  Green salads are often missing on the Thanksgiving table, and it’s a shame – bitter greens like watercress, arugula and radicchio are holiday naturals, especially when combined with seasonal fruits and nuts. Be sure to make some superstar vegetables like kale, brussels sprouts and broccoli so you can load up on antioxidants. Remember, the more vegetables on your plate, the less carbs and sugar you’ll eat during the meal. And speaking of mashed potatoes, try replacing half the potatoes with more nutritious vegetables like cauliflower, carrots or even beets.

8. De-fat your gravy
If you’re a meat eater, turkey gravy is an essential. But it doesn’t have to be made with loads of turkey fat. Here’s the Mayo Clinic’s method for low fat turkey gravy. Of course, you can also make a rich, flavorful vegetarian gravy that will knock the meat eaters’ socks off.

9. Lighten up dessert
Pie is a holiday practically a requirement. But here are some guidelines. Fruit pies tend to be better choices, but it is also possible to make a heart-healthy pumpkin pie.  Whatever pie you make, be sure the crust is heart-healthy and not full of butter or shortening.  Use whole wheat pastry flour for at least half of the amount called for. Skip the step of dotting fruit pie fillings with butter, it is simply not necessary. Instead of a top and bottom crust, try a top-only crust – and if you cut it into rough pieces and patch it together, you’ve got a pandowdy.  If you really want to lighten up your Thanksgiving dinner, baked apples are a delicious but often-ignored light dessert alternative.

10. Avoid processed foods
Processed foods tend to be high in salt, calories and unhealthy fats. Use Eating Rules’ October: Unprocessed guidelines: “If you pick up something with a label (and if it doesn’t have a label, it’s probably unprocessed), and find an ingredient you’d never use in your kitchen and couldn’t possibly make yourself from the whole form, it’s processed.”

Get the word out!

• Use Twitter (hastag #healthythanks) and Facebook to let people know about the Healthy Thanksgiving Challenge and my 10 Tips for a Healthy Thanksgiving. Here’s the short link:  http://wp.me/p12us2-1ig

• Send the 10 Tips for a Heart-Healthy Thanksgiving to friends and family

• Put the Healthy Thanksgiving Challenge badge on your blog, Facebook page, email signature or anywhere else

Look forward to great recipes for a healthy holiday.

Of course, I will also be bringing you a number of new holiday recipes in the coming weeks, along with favorites from some of my healthy blogging buddies. With those recipes and the ones from other Challenge participants, I hope we’ll all have healthiest – and most delicious – Thanksgiving ever.

 

 

This is the story of a cake gone horribly wrong…and yet wonderfully right.

I was going to a dinner party and wanted to  impress everyone with my vegan chocolate layer cake.  However, I was impatient and didn’t wait long enough for the cake to cool. So when I went to place the top layer on the bottom one, all hell broke loose. The middle part had stuck to the pan, causing the center of the cake be a bit sunken. Worst of all, the layer broke apart as I tried to transfer it. Some of it fell off in big chunks…I literally had to piece it together on top of the bottom layer. It was one hot mess of a cake.

Now, normally I would get downright panicked over this turn of events. Luckily, my friend Janet was with me. She had a great sense of humor and had me laughing instead of crying.  I smeared frosting over the whole thing, and even though there were big holes and it was ugly as sin, I decided to take it to the dinner party anyway. People may have laughed when I brought the pitiful thing to the table. But the crowd’s snickers soon turned to cries of joy as they tasted it.

This isn’t just one of the best vegan cakes I’ve ever  made, it’s one of my favorite cakes of any kind. The cake itself is tender and richly dark, with a subtle coffee undertone. The recipe is a slight variation on “Wacky Cake“, which dates back to the 1940s. The frosting takes the humble cake to a whole new level of sophistication – it’s pure chocolate heaven. I got the idea from a ganache recipe on The Tasty Nest. Combining chocolate, maple syrup and non-dairy milk is a brilliant idea. This frosting makes me wonder why anyone makes the buttercream kind at all. A lovely variation is to use raspberry jam between the two layers of the cake, and use all of the frosting on the top and sides.

Words of wisdom: cool your cake completely and  use parchment paper on the bottom of your pan so it doesn’t stick. Or, make this as a single-layer cake in a 9×13″ pan and avoid the layer stress altogether. Either way,  you will be very happy.

Though it’s vegan, this cake is still a splurge, with white flour and lots of sugar. Consider it a special occasion dessert!

Vegan Chocolate Cake with Dark Chocolate Frosting

For the cake:

3 cups unbleached white flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (the better quality, the better your cake will be)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup organic canola oil
1 cup cold brewed coffee
1 cup cold water (or more coffee)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons cider vinegar

For the ganache:

3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
6 ounces 72% dark chocolate (Sharffen Berger bittersweet is great here)
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar, sifted

For optional raspberry filling:

1/4 cup raspberry preserves

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Spray two 8-inch round cake pans with cooking oil spray, then place a circle of parchment paper in each pan and spray again.

Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt and sugar into a mixing bowl. In another bowl, mix the oil, water, coffee and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix with a spoon just until combined. Add the vinegar and stir just until it’s evenly distributed in the batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes, or until it springs back when lightly touched in the middle. Set aside to cool.

Place frosting ingredients in a small pot, heat gently and stir until the chocolate is totally melted.  Cool until it’s the right texture for spreading. If it seems too runny, put it in the freezer for a few minutes.

When the cakes have cooled, put a serving plate on the pan and and carefully invert. Remove the parchment paper. Spread a small amount of frosting (or the raspberry jam) over the top. Place a flat plate on the pan containing the second layer, invert and remove the parchment. Repeat the process with another plate so the rounded side is up.  Transfer it onto the bottom layer. Spread the frosting over the top and sides of the cake.

Serve immediately or leave lightly covered at room temperature and serve later or the next day.

Serves 8

Hope you’ll let your friends know about this great cake! Show me some button love, below.

I was in a panic because the escarole plants in my garden were so ready to eat, and I hadn’t planned out a recipe. I made up this Escarole and White Bean Soup with what I had on hand, and inadvertently created what might just be my ultimate comfort soup! It’s proof that escarole is one of the most under-appreciated greens out there.

With a short list of ingredients, this soup sounds so humble – but it’s remarkably satisfying. The leeks and celery really gave it a lovely depth of flavor. The just-picked basil and parsley from the garden didn’t hurt, either.

Be sure to serve this soup with some crusty bread. You’ll want to do lots of dipping.

White Bean and Escarole Soup

12 ounce dried cannellini beans, picked over and rinsed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 or 5 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium stalks celery, very thinly sliced, plus any leaves from the head of celery
3 leeks, white and light green part thinly sliced (about 3 cups)
Pinch of red pepper flakes
2 large heads escarole, well-washed and chopped
4 cups vegetable stock (recommend Imagine No-Chicken broth)
1 15-oz can tomatoes, with juice (not puree), well chopped (or use Eden brand diced tomatoes, which are already finely chopped)
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (optional)
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley (optional)

Soak the beans overnight, or use the quick soak method. Drain. Place the beans in a large pot with water to cover by two inches. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook until beans are completely tender, about 45 to 75 minutes depending on the freshness of your beans.  If you’re not using them immediately, let the beans cool in the cooking liquid.  If you are using them now, drain and reserve the liquid.

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large heavy pot or dutch oven. Add the garlic, celery, leeks and red pepper flakes. Sauté for 10 minutes.

Add the escarole and cook for one minute, until it wilts. Add the beans, stock, tomatoes, pepper, and 2 cups of reserved bean cooking liquid. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the basil and parsley (if using) and serve.

Serves 8