How to Modify Your Homemade Thanksgiving Recipes for Weight Loss

Written by Jordyn King BS, MS Nutrition Science

High calorie and High carb homemade recipes are a primary cause of weight gain during the holiday seasons. Most holiday recipes are carb loaded and have a high calorie content that makes us feel good in the moment, but later, not so much! A tip during the holiday season is to modify your recipes using ingredients that are lower in calories and carb content. Some of your favorite and traditional homemade recipes can often be modified to include more fiber, fruit, vegetables and less calories seasonings than others, less saturated fat and added sugars. Also, use cooking methods that are lower in calories as well such as baking, air frying, steaming or grilling instead of frying with heavy grease and fat content can help with your long term weight loss journey.  

Here are some ways you can lower your calorie content and etc. of recipes with certain substitutes or modification with these ingredients: 

  •   Replace butter with applesauce, mashed banana, pumpkin purée or unsaturated oils such as olive, canola and soy oil, if possible

  •   Limit margarine and butter, which contains fats that can raise cholesterol and have been associated with cardiovascular disease risk.

  •   Add dried fruit instead of chocolate chips or candies to your cookies

To Decrease Fat Content:

  •   Flavor your holiday dishes with herbs and spices and even lemon zest instead of butter. 

  •    Replace cream cheese sour cream or mayo with Nonfat plain Greek yogurt

  •   Substitute low-fat skim or almond milk for heavy cream-based recipes or choose vegetable-based soups and sauces.

  •   For baked goods such as cakes and cookies, substitute applesauce or other fruit purees for butter or oil; this maintains fluffiness. Cut back on sugar by one-half or more.

  •   Make pie crusts with unsaturated oils instead of butter or solid fats. Top desserts with fat-free frozen yogurt or whipped evaporated skim milk.

  •  Base appetizers on fresh or roasted vegetables, fruits, lean meats, breads and reduced-fat cheeses.

  •  Start with less fat, sugar and salt than called for, then adjust for taste.

  •  Substitute lean cuts of meat for fatty ones. Remove skins, which are fatty.

  • Use fruit purees (plum, prune or applesauce) for part or all of the fat in baked products.

  • Skim excess fat from the top of soups, gravies and stews. You may need to let it cool to make removing the hardened fat easier.

To Decrease Saturated Fat and Cholesterol: 

  • substitute egg whites or an egg substitute product instead of regular whole eggs

  • Use vegetable oils instead of solid fats.

 To Decrease Sugar: 

  • Reduce sugar by one-quarter to one-third in baked goods and desserts. This works best with quick breads, cookies, pie fillings, custards, puddings and fruit crisps.

  • Increase the amount of cinnamon or vanilla in a recipe to enhance the impression of sweetness.

  • You can also use artificial sugar

To Decrease Sodium: 

  • Herbs and spices are best rather than salt for flavor. Use garlic powder instead of garlic salt

  • Lemon zest provides 0 calories and 0 salt but flavors meals

  • Try fruit juice, water or wine as a cooking liquid instead of broth or bouillon.

  • Low sodium seasonings are also great for adding more flavor (ex. Mrs. Dash)

 To Increase Fiber:

  • Add any kind of added vegetables to recipes, while including whole vegetables when appropriate to provide all the nutrients and minerals needed for the body. For example, add grated carrots or zucchini, or mashed squash or sweet potatoes, in muffins and quick breads.

  • Add extra vegetables to quiche fillings, casseroles and salads.

  • Add beans to chili, stew, soup or dessert to not only increase fiber but also protein

In Conclusion…

With all these simple modifications to your homemade recipes, you can save calories and limit your fat content. The best thing is your homemade recipes can still taste the same, but are altered just a little to make it more healthy.

To start your sustainable weight loss journey today, check out our calorie-tracking tutorial. The first step of weight loss is being aware of how you eat and our calorie-tracking method can get you there!

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