Plan a Healthier Thanksgiving This Year: 3 Tips for a Low Sugar Feast

The holidays don’t have to derail your healthy diet. Thanksgiving, in particular, can be a difficult day for those watching what they consume since the entire holiday is centered around food. But while holiday meals can be tricky to navigate, you can still enjoy the celebration in a healthy manner.

Traditionally, most Thanksgiving meals are chock-full of foods loaded with highly processed ingredients, chemical additives, sugar, and refined carbs. But binging on high-carb stuffings, sugary candied yams, buttery mashed potatoes, and pecan pie will only lead to bloating, fatigue, and general discomfort, sabotaging the rest of your holiday.

Whether you’re trying to stick to a weight loss plan, cutting sugar, or simply prefer to eat healthier and feel better this Thanksgiving, a little planning and these tips will help you plan a delicious, low-sugar feast:

#1. Reinvent Your Favorites

You don’t have to forgo your favorite holiday foods. There are lots of delicious food and drink substitutes and satisfying recipe swaps so that you can still enjoy a healthier twist on the Thanksgiving staples you love without sacrificing flavor.

Start by eliminating sugars and marshmallows from your sweet potato mash and opt for natural seasonings like sage, rosemary, and salt instead of a sweet glaze on your turkey and vegetables. For those dishes that require a hint of sweetness try adding fruit like apples or even a splash of fresh orange juice for a sweet and savory flavoring. You won’t miss the heavy creams or sugar in traditional favorites like mashed potatoes and green bean casserole.

#2. Opt for Healthy Fats

When adding flavor to your Thanksgiving feast focus on healthy fats. A tad of extra butter or olive oil in place of the sugar that may be traditionally called for will ensure your dishes are still bursting with flavor. Make sure to avoid seed oils in your cooking though. Reach for olive or avocado oil and salted butter instead.

#3. Swap the Sugar in Your Dessert Recipes for Stevia

While you can select desserts like berries and cream or baked apples that are naturally low in sugar or sugar-free this Thanksgiving, you don’t have to. You can still make all your favorite holiday desserts by choosing recipes that call for stevia instead of sugar to sweeten them.

Use our Stevita Erythritol or Monk Fruit baking alternatives or any of our stevia sweeteners to whip up pies, cookies, muffins, breads, and more that taste just as delicious as the sugar-laden originals.

Find recipes for healthier versions of pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice cookies, cranberry pumpkin bread, and others on our website.

Find more tips for a happy and healthy Thanksgiving here!

Now you’re ready to begin to play your healthier, low-sugar menu for Thanksgiving! You and your guests will not only be satisfied with the great-tasting food, but you’ll feel better too!