Thanksgiving Feast
as featured at Miss Silli's House
http://www.come-over.to/PWSAA/house

What's for dinner? Just 500 Calories!
(How to get the most food for the fewest calories)

Food ItemLow-Cal ServingRegular Serving
Turkey80 calories225 calories
Gravy50 calories120 calories
Bread Stuffing100 calories250 calories
Green Bean Casserole40 calories120 calories
Salad with Dressing40 calories150 calories
Dinner Roll40 calories200 calories
Cranberry Sauce50 calories200 calories
Pumpkin Pie100 calories300 calories
Total500 calories1,565 calories


Tasty Turkey
Use a scale to weigh the turkey slice before serving. A 3-oz. slice is about as big as a fast food hamburger patty. If you slice it thin, it will look bigger on the plate. Only serve white meat from the breast. Dark meat has twice as many calories. Skin has more calories than the meat, so throw the skin away. Do not serve meat that has been sitting in pan drippings, as it may absorb too much fat from the juices, even while on the platter.

Good Gravy
1/4 cup defatted turkey drippings
2 cups chicken broth
 1/4 cup flour
Salt and pepper to taste
While turkey sits to cool, pour turkey drippings into a container. Put into the freezer until the fat solidifies on the top. Discard the fat. Place defatted turkey drippings into a pan, mix in flour, add broth, cook over medium heat until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.
One serving = 2 tablespoons, 50 calories per serving Regular gravy with the fat left in is more than twice the calories.

Low-Calorie Stuffing
12 slices of bread, cubed
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped celery
 1 cup chicken broth
½ cup chopped water chestnuts
1 teaspoon ground sage
Heat oven to 350 F. Lightly spray small frying pan with no-stick vegetable spray. Saute onion and celery for one minute. Add broth and sage, stir. Toss in bread cubes. Bake in its own casserole dish in a 350 oven for 30 minutes. Eight Servings, 120 calories per serving If diet bread is used, this will make six servings, 100 calories per serving. Boxed stuffing prepared by itself is 180 calories per serving. Homemade stuffing cooked inside the turkey may absorb fat that will add extra calories, possible 250 calories for a one-half cup serving.

Low-Calorie Green Bean Casserole
1 pkg. (16 oz) frozen green beans, thawed
2 T. chopped onion
 1 packet Alfredo sauce mix
1 cup boiling water
Spray a 9x9 baking dish with no-stick vegetable spray. Place thawed green beans in the dish. Sprinkle the chopped onion on top. Stir the sauce mix and the boiling water together. Spoon mixture onto the green beans. Bake in 350 oven for 30 minutes. Eight Servings, 40 calories per serving Don't add butter or milk or the calories could add up to 100 per serving. Real Alfredo Sauce is 350 calories for one half cup. Traditional Green Bean Casserole made with the mushroom soup and canned onion rings is about 120 calories per serving.

Salad So Big
1 cup chopped lettuce
¼ C. chopped cucumber or zucchini
¼ C. chopped broccoli or spinach
1 teaspoon flavored vinegar
 Sprinkle of parmessan cheese
Dash of garlic salt
Pinch of basil
1 thin slice of tomato
This salad is so big it will need it's own plate! Toss all ingredients except the tomato slice, which is placed on top of the salad. 40 Calories. It takes more calories to eat this than there are in the ingredients, so be generous and make enough to offer seconds. After all, what is Thanksgiving Dinner without second helpings. (No seconds on anything else though!)

Dinner Roll
If you are serving Brown-N-Serve rolls (85 calories), cut one in half sideways, throw the bottom half away and place the top half on the plate. This way it looks like all the other rolls but is only half the calories. If you are serving bigger dinner rolls (120 calories), then offer a half slice of regular bread or a whole slice of diet bread instead. This will look like the same amount as everyone else. No butter or margarine! One tablespoon of butter has over 100 calories, and it's all the bad kind of fat. Maybe a little squirt of fake butter that comes in the squeeze bottle is okay, but that's all.

Low-Calorie Cranberry Sauce
1 lb. raw cranberries
1 cup apple juice
 1 can (8.5 oz) crushed pineapple
1 packet of gelatin, unsweetened

Cook cranberries in apple juice until skins pop. Add crushed pineapple and bring to boiling. Add gelatin, mix well. Pour into dessert cups. Chill. Eight Servings, 50 calories per serving Canned cranberry sauce is over 200 calories for a 1/2 cup serving.


Low-Fat Low-Sugar Low-Calorie Pumpkin Pie
1 can (16 oz) solid-pack pumpkin
1 can (13 oz) evaporated nonfat milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 egg whites (throw away those fatty yolks
½ cup low-fat Bisquick mix
 2 Tablespoons sugar
4 packets Sweet-N-Low
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves

Heat oven to 350 F. Lightly spray 9 inch pie pan with no-stick vegetable spray. Put all ingredients in the blender for one minute. Pour into a 9-inch pie pan. Bake for 50 minutes or until center is puffed up. Eight Servings, 100 calories per serving.Add 15 calories for 2 T. low-cal topping. (One piece of regular pumpkin pie is 300 calories.) It makes it's own crust!

Prepared by Teresa Kellerman for Miss Silli’s House November 1999