Thanksgiving Sides We Can Toast Our Health To

With the Thanksgiving holiday coming up, we have a few ideas to add to your table! We created some side dish recipes for you to share & enjoy this holiday season with good company. These recipes may be new twists to the holiday classics, additions to your favorite dishes, or possibly something new entirely. Thanksgiving Day can be stuffed full of nutrients – so you and your loved ones can enjoy all the benefits.

Our first recipe, CAULIFLOWER MASHED POTATOES, is a new way to prepare traditional garlic mashed potatoes. This dish has a nice nutty flavor and texture and is relatively low in carbohydrates. Cauliflower is known as a superfood due to its numerous health benefits. It’s also one of the few plants that contain Choline, a nutrient vital to metabolism and brain health. Consuming enough Choline in our diet may reduce the risk of neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s and Dementia as well as heart and liver diseases. Other health benefits of cauliflower include:

• Cauliflower is rich in antioxidants and may help prevent certain cancers
• It’s high in fiber to aid in our digestion 
• It’s loaded with vitamin C – which supports immune health and wound healing

  Gratitude helps us see what is there, instead of what isn’t.  
 – Annette Bridges

Our next two recipes highlight two nutrient-packed foods.
PUMPKIN & GREEN BEANS - These foods are rich in Vitamin A and Vitamin C, which play a vital role in our eye/vision health, immunity, and tissue repair. 

• EYE / VISION BENEFITS - Vitamin A helps protect our eyes from age-related decline and night blindness. Vitamin C has been linked to preventing cataracts and may slow the progression of age-related macular degeneration.
• IMMUNITY / STRENGTH BENEFITS - Vitamin A supports bone health & strengthens our immune system. Vitamin C also plays a crucial role in our immune health, supporting both the innate and adaptive immune system, and promoting all phases of wound healing, including assisting collagen formation.

  Showing gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful things humans can do for each other. 
​– Randy Pausch

Our last dish is a delicious and easy dessert. Our baked pear recipe is the perfect option if you’re making 1-2 servings, but you can easily serve a crowd with these as well. 
Pears are full of potent polyphenol antioxidants, which help regulate blood pressure and cholesterol. The antioxidants are concentrated in the pear’s skin, so aim to eat the whole thing, skin and all! You don’t want to miss out on the heart benefits or the soluble and insoluble fiber that help aid our digestion.  ​

We hope you enjoy these recipes as much as we did. And most importantly, we hope you enjoy this holiday season – may your heart be full of gratitude and your belly full of fabulous foods!

-Paige Johnson, Dietetic Intern​