One my favorite foods that I miss while dieting is mashed potatoes. With the Thanksgiving holiday rapidly approaching I know there is going to be a BIG bowl of the creamy, butter-laden spuds on the table so I decided to come up with some ideas to make mashed potatos “healthier” and more waistline friendly.
Reduce the fat - use skim milk or low fat cream instead of regular cream. Add a bit of fat free chicken broth or low fat sour cream for a richer flavor. Instead of butter use Smart Balance Butter Spread with Omegas. Or use fat-free Molly McButter. If your family insists on using butter for the holidays, leave it out but let folks add a little pat on top of there individual serving - this way you get the flavor of the butter but using a lot less and each person controls their own amount. Top with fat free gravey instead of butter.
Increase the fiber - blend in roasted califlower or sweet potatoes, or even baby spinach. Leave the skins on.
Increase the flavor - to make up not using butter (or less butter and cream) add some different ingredients for flavor such as: fresh dill, rosemary or chives, roasted garlic, a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, or fat free bacon bits (for example: bacon flavored textured vegetable protein)
Reduce the sodium - use a lower sodium salt or sea salt (can use less for a great taste).
Misc. Tips: plan on having only one serving and savor it slowly after you have eaten some or all of your lean protein (turkey) and veggies (steamed). Don’t make a HUGE amount of potatoes, instead make enough for each person to have 1 serving or if there are left overs make sure your guests take them home. Serve baked potatoes or whole small potatoes (in variety of colors) to control portion size (instead of mountains of mashed potatoes), letting each person mash their own on their plate.
What recipe tips do you have to “makeover” a holiday favorite?
For a sample recipe see: Healthy Garlic Mashed Potatoes (A typical recipe for garlic mashed potatoes is approx. 200 calories, 10 grams of fat per serving. This recipe is about 120 calories and about 1.5 grams of fat for the same serving size.)
Potato Tidbits: 2008 has been declared the International Year of the Potato.
A 5.3 ounce potato is only 100 calories, a great source of vitamin C and when eaten with the skin is also a good source of fiber and potassium; it is less than 10 percent of the daily value of carbohydrates.
Related Post:
* Thanksgiving Survival Tips.
* Healthy Recipe Makeovers.
*Lower Calorie Cooking Tips.
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STUMBLE!
November 22nd, 2007 at 12:03 pm
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Anne-Marie wrote…
Another tip is to use veggie broth instead of milk and one of those immersion blenders to whip ‘em up and make ‘em creamy. Then take a portion of your mashed potatoes and set them aside for the people eating healthy. Add all the “crap” (cream, sour cream, etc.) to the remaining batch. Or you could make garlic or wasabe mashed potatoes and not need all that extra fat for taste.
Or just forget the mash and have some mashed up yams or butternut squash. They taste good with just a little seasoning.
Happy Thanksgiving!!