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Your guide to a healthy (and tasty!) Thanksgiving dinner

By Chef Jen, Wellness Executive Chef at Mayo Clinic

Thanksgiving dinner is one of the most anticipated food events of the year – and for good reason. Before you assume that the holiday is going to derail your diet, know this: Thanksgiving doesn’t have to be a heavy, fat-laden affair. Learn from Chef Jen, a Wellness Executive Chef with the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program, how to make a perfectly cooked bird. Plus, below you’ll find simple swaps to cut calories – without sacrificing on flavor – along with a tasty Thanksgiving recipe. 

Learn more about the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program

Step-by-step guide to perfectly cooked turkey

There’s an art to making a perfectly cooked bird

The last thing you want to do is ruin the foundation of your Thanksgiving meal. Chef Jen explains how to season, cook and carve your turkey, and why letting the turkey rest is an essential step not worth skipping.

How to make a mouthwatering turkey

Chef Jen’s tips to make Thanksgiving dinner as healthy as it is delicious

Make smart swaps

Try adding pureed cauliflower to mashed potatoes. This will cut calories and add more fiber to your dish. Instead of mixing the potatoes with butter, use milk and serve butter on the side. For a healthier stuffing, use whole-wheat bread and add lots of veggies, such as carrots, celery, onions and mushrooms.

Use leftovers wisely

Got extra turkey? Put it to good use! Add it to a spinach salad, use it in a panini or quesadilla, or transform it into turkey salad by chopping the meat and mixing it with onions, celery, light mayo and grapes. Add a scoop to a salad or use it in a sandwich stacked with fresh veggies.

Create simple side dishes

You might be surprised to find that sweet potato mash with a tiny drizzle of maple syrup is just as satisfying as your aunt’s calorie-busting casserole. Sautéed green beans, butternut squash soup and vegetable brown rice pilaf with dried cranberries and pecans are also tasty additions to any Thanksgiving meal.

Meet Chef Jen

Jennifer A. Welper is a Wellness Executive Chef with the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program where she creates recipes for practical, healthy meals and teaches patients how to meal plan and prep for a healthy lifestyle. Chef Jen enjoys cooking food that not only tastes good but is healthy and relatable.

Sautéed green beans with almonds

This classic green bean recipe is from the new Mayo Clinic cookbook Cook Smart, Eat Well. It is a healthy and delicious alternative to the fat-laden traditional green bean casserole.Ingredients

• 1½ pounds fresh green beans, cleaned and trimmed
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• ¼ cup sliced almonds
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper  
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder 

Instructions

Heat a medium to large sauté pan to medium heat; add oil. Sauté green beans for approximately 5 minutes until the beans are slightly blistered. Approximately 3 minutes after adding the green beans to the pan, add the sliced almonds and sauté.  

Taste a bean to see if it’s done to your liking. If the beans need more time to finish cooking, add ¼ cup water.  

Add the seasonings and mix well.  

Makes 6 servingsNutrition facts per serving: 75 calories, 3.6 g (44.6%) total fat, 0.4 g (5.1%) saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 83 mg sodium, 9.9 g (52.6%) total carbohydrates, 4.1 g dietary fiber, 4.3 g total sugars, 3 g (15.8%) protein.

The New Mayo Clinic Diet coming soon!

Launching early December 2021

The New Mayo Clinic Diet is a medically based, scientifically proven approach to weight loss and improved health. Built by a team of weight-loss experts at the Mayo Clinic, the program is designed to help you reshape your lifestyle by adopting healthy new habits and breaking unhealthy old ones. 

Launching in early December 2021, you can look forward to a new website and mobile app, exciting tools that help create healthy habits that last, and delicious meal plans with new recipes that are quick and easy to prepare and taste great.

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