Healthy Pick/Makes Me Sick: Thanksgiving Dinner

By Sarah Matheny on November 24th, 2009

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Every Tuesday, KidGlue presents “Healthy Pick/Makes Me Sick” where Sarah Matheny takes a popular restaurant’s menu and uncovers the most healthy and least healthy items on the menu. This week, in a special twist for the holidays:  Thanksgiving Dinner.

This week it’s not about going out to eat, it’s about going to Grandma’s for Thanksgiving dinner.  While Thanksgiving generally means indulging, the average Thanksgiving dinner has around 2,500 calories.  The key to making wise decisions at the dinner table ultimately comes down to deciding which foods are worth it to you to loosen your belt a bit.  Here is the nutritional information about two traditional favorites, to help make that decision a little easier.

Healthy Pick: Green Bean Casserole

This traditional dish, made with canned green beans, cream of mushroom soup and French fried onions is surprisingly not too bad for you.  If you use reduced fat condensed soup, and have a light hand on the fried onions, as serving can be as low as 103 calories.  Make your green beans even healthier by sautéing them lightly in olive oil, skipping the soup and sprinkling on heart healthy toasted almonds.

Makes Me Sick:  Pecan Pie

Depending on the recipe, one slice of pie can contain between 600 and 900 calories.  The nuts are naturally high in fat and calories, and after mixing eggs, corn syrup and butter with them and throwing it into a buttery crust, it’s easy to see how the numbers quickly add up.  Opt for a slice of fruit or even pumpkin pie instead, or if you really want to indulge in a slice, adjust your dinner choices accordingly.  No one ever said you couldn’t just have green beans and pecan pie for Thanksgiving dinner!