Being in charge of the menu presents a challenge. People want to make the most fabulous meal that will be remembered and talked about for the next century but not gain any weight or be tempted to overeat. So what to do? Modify recipes to lower the carbohydrate content? Say to heck with it and cook traditionally planning to eat less? Present some low and some not so low carbohydrate items? I am not sure I know the answer to these questions and suggest that the answer depends on the person and their friends and family.
Those playing the role of guest and will not have the control over the menu that they would otherwise exert while dieting. What to do when you have to be polite or risk not getting invited back again next year?
At my home there will be three adults (of four attending) who are on low carbohydrate eating plans so I think we will be eating generally lower in carbohydrate but some foods will be cooked traditionally and of those foods we will plan to eat less.
Turkey is easy. This is all protein. It doesn't matter if you bake or deep fry the bird, it is a protein through and through...load up. I personally brine the bird the night before and then we deep fry on Thanksgiving. It is nice to have the oven free for other things and my husband seems to enjoy his role in deep frying.
Mashed potatoes present the exact opposite concern. They are nearly all carbohydrate except for the dairy that is added. There are recipes on the internet that substitute cooked cauliflower for potatoes and claim that they can't tell the difference. My challenge here is that I struggle (ie can't stand) the smell of cooked cauliflower. I think there will be a small volume of mashed potatoes on my dinner table. I am thinking a couple large potatoes vs the usual five pound bag.
Green bean casserole has the same amount of carbohydrates regardless of the type of soup utilized. The calories don't really change all that much nor does the fat content. I personally use the 98% fat free but am questioning this practice now in looking at the nutritional information provided by the Campbell's Soup people. I also omit the soy sauce to reduce the sodium and use skim milk for lower fat content.
Stuffing/dressing has posed an interesting challenge. It seems that stuffing/dressing is a regional product or a family tradition. We have a family recipe that my mom developed but she doesn't eat it because she doesn't like stuffing/dressing. I was thinking that I would just use less stuffing cubes and apples and increase the sausage and celery. Not sure how it will come out but in essence the flavor is still there. The low-carb stuffing recipes advocate use of low carb bread and eggs as a binder. I think you could go either way on this one. I am guessing that there just won't be a lot of this eaten at our meal in the same manner that the potato volume will be down. At this point my husband issued a small, “Hooray. More for me.”
Cranberry sauce has also posed a challenge. I generally buy either the canned gel (because my husband loves this stuff) or the cranberry and oranges ground up stuff that you get out of the deli case. For the more traditional cook who makes cranberry sauce, I pulled a recipe off the internet that I figured you could just substitute in Splenda—it is supposed to be good for cooking right? It still has calories which are all carbohydrate calories but at 96 per cup versus the 774 carbohydrate calories found in a cup of sugar. This recipe also calls for ½ cup of walnuts. After further researching the 744 calories in the nuts, I am thinking about leaving them out.
Gravy. In knowing the basics in making gravy but not actually doing the work, I researched thickening agents. Whether your recipe calls for cornstarch or flour or other thickener, chances are high it will be a starch which by definition is a carbohydrate. Gravy from a jar will also contain some carbohydrates but appears to be lower. I think that you sacrifice some in the flavor on this one.
For dessert, what could be more Thanksgiving than pumpkin pie? Again the low-carb people present an option that sounds pretty good. I have even gone to making pumpkin pie without crust (generously greasing the pie plate) and have it more of a firm custard as well.
The nutritional breakdown is as follows. Play with the recipes and adjust the components as you wish. I realize that this doesn't include drinks nor appetizers. Inclusion of these items are just too much for this discussion.
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Sources: Mom |
| Food | Calories | Protein (g) | Carbs(g) | Fat (g) |
| Russett potatoes | 845 | 17.8 | 195.8 | 0.9 |
| Garlic | 18 | 0.8 | 4 | 0.1 |
| Butter | 407 | 0.5 | 0 | 46 |
| Whole Milk | 110 | 5.9 | 8.3 | 6 |
| Total | 1380 | 25 | 208.1 | 53 |
| Per serving | 230 | 4.2 | 34.7 | 8.8 |
| Food | Calories | Protein (g) | Carbs(g) | Fat (g) |
| Cauliflower | 167 | 6.7 | 26.7 | 0 |
| Butter | 204 | 0.2 | 0 | 23 |
| Heavy Cream | 200 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Total | 571 | 6.9 | 26.7 | 33 |
| Per serving | 95.2 | 1.2 | 4.5 | 5.5 |
| Food | Calories | Protein (g) | Carbs(g) | Fat (g) |
| Pork Sausage | 1461 | 64.9 | 8.1 | 129.8 |
| Apples | 165 | 0.8 | 43.9 | 0.5 |
| Onion | 46 | 1 | 11.1 | 0.1 |
| Celery | 14 | 0.7 | 3 | 0.2 |
| Chicken broth | 20 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Bread cubes | 840 | 24 | 168 | 6 |
| Total | 2546 | 93.4 | 236.1 | 137.6 |
| Per serving | 212.2 | 7.8 | 19.7 | 11.5 |
| Food | Calories | Protein (g) | Carbs(g) | Fat (g) |
| Cranberries | 176 | 1.5 | 46.4 | 0 |
| Sugar | 1161 | 0 | 300 | 0 |
| Splenda | 144 | 0 | 36 | 0 |
| Orange | 45 | 0.9 | 11.3 | 0 |
| Pineapple | 70 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| Walnuts | 702 | 27.3 | 11.3 | 67 |
| Total | 2154 | 29.7 | 386 | 67 |
| Per Serving ½ cup regular | 269.3 | 3.7 | 48.25 | 8.4 |
| Per Serving ½ cup with Splenda | 142.1 | 3.7 | 15.3 | 8.4 |
| Per Serving ½ cup with Splenda, no walnuts | 54.4 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0 |
| Food | Calories | Protein (g) | Carbs (g) | Fat (g) |
| Chicken broth | 60 | 6 | 6 | 3 |
| Flour | 341 | 9.7 | 71.5 | 0.9 |
| Butter | 204 | 0.2 | 0 | 23 |
| Total | 605 | 15.9 | 77.5 | 26.9 |
| Per serving ½ cup | 50.4 | 1.3 | 6.5 | 2.2 |
1 comment:
Dr. Gibbs:
As you research "thickeners" for gravy, check out Arrowroot. It can be purchased in large quantity (like cornstarch) and from what I understand (not researched) it does not have a high carb value. I'll see you on the 19th.
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