Tips for a Healthy Thanksgiving Dinner

A few simple tricks can reduce the fat and cholesterol content of this Thanksgiving staple. Try using vegetable oil rather than turkey drippings when making your gravy. Vegetable oil is lower in saturated fat and is also cholesterol-free. If you choose to use turkey drippings for flavor, try refrigerating the drippings first and using a fat separator cup. As the juices cool, the fat is forced to settle at the top. Once cooled, this top fatty portion can be easily skimmed off. You can also make gravy with just a minimal amount of turkey drippings. Simply begin with a smaller amount of renderings from the bird. Add 2 cups of low-sodium turkey stock to the pan and cook for about five minutes until the drippings and brown bits dissolve. Place a strainer over a fat separator cup. Pour the pan drippings through the strainer into the fat separator cup, then pour your drippings back into a saucepan. Add enough stock to make 4 cups total. Add 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh sage and fresh thyme to the gravy and simmer over low heat. Cook the gravy until the liquid is reduced to about 3 cups. Pour 1 cup of skim milk into a bowl and add ¼ cup of cornstarch. Mix these together. Then slowly pour the milk mixture into the simmering stock. Slowly stir until the gravy comes to a boil and is nicely thickened.