5 Low Calorie, Vegetable Recipes for Thanksgiving

Written by Jordyn King BS, MS Nutrition Science

How to get veggies with Thanksgiving. 

Thanksgiving is a time for family, friends, and reflecting on the past year. Planning out your thanksgiving meals can be stressful. Considering who is coming, how much food to make, what you're making, and if you will be satisfying all your guests with their signature favorites. From sweet corn pudding (which is by far my favorite side dish) to green bean casserole, adding in your thanksgiving veggies is important. Incorporating veggies into your meals not only adds fiber but also adds protein. Including vegetables in your meals is extremely important. Veggies are rich in nutrients, phytochemicals, and antioxidants, which boost your immune system and help fight off disease. Vegetables are beneficial in weight management due to their low calorie contents.

 
 

Here are some ideas to Add Vegetables into your Thanksgiving meal w/ Recipes:

Add in a vegetable to your dessert table:

Sweet Potato Casserole

For example, sweet potato casserole. This is a marshmallow free sweet potato casserole that can be everyone, even the none sweet potato casserole lovers. I’m serious! If you enjoy sweet potato casserole, I’m confident you’ll love this casserole.

Add in 1 veggie into one of your signature recipes

Beans, greens, potatoes, and tomatoes are some of the vegetables you'll need to make your Thanksgiving side dish recipes a hit. For example, Green Beans.

Almost Homemade Green Bean Casserole

This casserole dish uses fresh green beans, and mushrooms not canned. For preference, you can either use potato chips or fried onions, but either way still add thats crunch.

Calories 286, Fiber 6g and Protein 5g

Make your table colorful with Thanksgiving vegetable side dishes. 

Roasted Carrots w/ Farro, Chickpeas & Herbed Creme Fraiche

Can we talk about how beautiful those rainbow carrots are?! You are looking good today, carrots. You want to try to bring in the colors of fall onto your table on thanksgiving and veggies can do that.

Roasted Autumn Stuffing

Everyone has a favorite Thanksgiving side dish, but one of mine is stuffing. Today, I am here to show you this amazing stuffing recipe that is so versatile, you can change it up to include your favorites. This stuffing is also packed with protein and fiber content.

Calories 231, Fiber 16g, Protein fiber 43g

In Conclusion..

Round out your meal by taking healthy side dishes, such as a side salad, baked potato or even fruit. Sticking with a vegetable as your side can boost the nutritional value with a baked potato by topping it with vegetables, light sour cream, salsa or salt, pepper or margarine. Adding in more vegetables in your entrees can help you stay on track for your weight management and in your calorie deficit as well. Stick with a protein, a carb and 1 side veggie and you will be good to go. Adding in a vegetable can even give you room for a light cocktail or a low calorie dessert or appetizer as well. Vegetables help you reach your calorie deficit by decreasing the calories you’re eating but increasing the volume of food you’re eating. Additionally, following these easy tips and ideas and recipes will help you too not only to increase your fiber intake but also maintain your weight goals for thanksgiving.

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