Trading Up Downtown

Amelia Winslow is a busy young professional who wants to eat good food, enjoy good company, look and feel her best, live a long time, and make the world a better place. All at the same time. Sound overwhelming? It can be! That’s why she started Eating Made Easy: a one-stop shop for food, nutrition, and healthy cooking ideas that will make your life easier. On eating-made-easy.com she shares her (and your) practical ideas for how to navigate the world of food and nutrition sans mental breakdown.

Amelia holds two Master’s Degrees, in Nutrition and Public Health, from Tufts University in Boston, MA. She currently works as a nutritionist and personal chef in Los Angeles.

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Thanksgiving is about feasting and indulgence. But if there are ways you can serve healthier food without sacrificing even an ounce of taste, why not try them?  Below are my favorite swaps.  I promise, no one will know you have their health in mind!

1. Make your pumpkin pie with fat-free evaporated milk instead of regular evaporated milk.  The flavor, texture, and satisfaction are the same no matter which you use, so save an 180 calories and 24g fat by making this easy switch.

2. Use buttermilk + chicken broth to make your mashed potatoes creamy, instead of cream, half & half, and butter.  Add a handful of chopped fresh herbs like parsley or basil to achieve even more flavor.

3. Skip the marshmallows on your yams to save almost 1000 calories!  Here are some fantastic yam recipes sans marshmallows, including this one:

4. Serve veggie crudite with dip or a roasted vegetable platter as appetizers, instead of cheese, meats, nuts, or other heavy foods.  Easy dip recipes and roasted veggie ideas.

5. Offer guests cucumber-mint water to quench their thirst and provide needed breaks between glasses of wine or beer.

6. Instead of pecan pie, which has over 500 calorie per slice (!!), make one of these delicious desserts. Apple cake or cranberry chocolate tart, anyone?

7. Use a whole grain rustic bread in your stuffing, instead of regular white bread. Its sour, yeasty flavor is so delightful that you’ll forget you’re getting a dose of heart-healthy fiber with every bite.

Thank goodness it’s a short work week and my husband and I are visiting family for Thanksgiving later this week. After last week’s monster grocery shopping, my wallet needs a break! This week’s shopping cart was a lot smaller and much less expensive!

In this week’s cart:

• New England Coffee
• Progresso Italian Style Bread Crumbs (NuVal score: 6)
• Green bell pepper (NuVal score: 94)
• Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin (NuVal score: 94)
• Tomato (NuVal score: 93)
• Shrimp (NuVal score: 75)
• Onion (NuVal score: 93)
• Broccoli (NuVal score: 100)

• Arnold Bread Grains & More Whole Wheat (NuVal score: 42)
• Eggland’s Best eggs (NuVal score: 44)
• Fresh Express Iceberg Garden Lettuce
• Near East Whole Grains Brown Rice Pilaf (NuVal score: 23)
• Buitoni Refrigerated Three Cheese Tortellini (NuVal score: 9)
• Collards (NuVal score: 100)
• Peanut M&M’s (NuVal score: 3)

Trade

I traded Kettle Brand Chips Cheddar Beer Chips (NuVal score: 18) for SunChips Multigrain Harvest Cheddar (NuVal score: 25).

Save

New England Coffee was on sale 3 for $11! Now that’s a deal that I couldn’t turn down. There were so many delicious-sounding “limited edition” flavors to choose from– I had a blast picking out which ones to buy!

Coffee is always something that will get used in our house, so I didn’t hesitate to stock up. I know that I saved money in the long run.

Were there any great sales at your grocery store this week?

Hashbrowns are a nutritious and delicious addition to breakfast, but there are numerous ways to incorporate them into other meals in your day. Here are a few ideas:

• Fortify soups
• Stretch your stews
• Take a shortcut to latkes
• Encrust a fish fillet
• Add to an egg sandwich at lunch
• Incorporate into casseroles
• Amp up pasta dishes

Some ready-to-bake hashbrowns, like Sno Pac’s Organic Southern Style Hash Browns (NuVal score: 93), have no added salt or oil, so they are a healthy pick. Other brands are not as nutritious, so be sure to check the NuVal score!

I usually keep a bag of hashbrowns in my freezer for breakfast, but nowadays, I’m try to think outside of the box (and breakfast) with how to incorporate them into my meals.

Do you like hashbrowns? How do you eat them?