Happy Monday everyone! Thanksgiving week is here! What a wonderful time of the year filled with family, friends and…YUMMY FOOD! The holidays can be a difficult time to stay on track with a healthy diet, but there are little things you can do to still stay on course. I LOVE healthy food swaps! They are a great way to replace the “traditional” dishes with healthier alternatives without taking away from the TASTE! I want to share two of my favorite side dish swaps: Mashed Cauliflower and Healthy Green Bean Casserole. Check out the recipes below!
Mashed Cauliflower – 20 Minutes Total Cooking Time
Servings: 4
What you’ll need:
- 1 medium sized cauliflower head
- 1⁄2 tablespoon of olive oil
- 11⁄2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
- 3/4 teaspoon of salt
- sprinkle of black pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon of crushed garlic
- 1⁄4 cup of Parmesan cheese (grated) [optional]
- fresh chives, herbs, or green onions [optional]
Directions:
- Cut cauliflower into small pieces.
- Grab a microwave safe bowl and place a splash of water in it
- Add cauliflower pieces
- Microwave for 8 minutes or until soft (microwave times will vary)
- Remove plate and smash and stir
- Add in the other ingredients
- Mix
- Add garnish of fresh chives, herbs, or green onions [optional]
- Serve and enjoy!
Healthy Green Bean Casserole – 1 Hour Total Cooking Time
Servings: 4
What you’ll need:
- 11⁄4 cup of Greek yogurt (plain)
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- sprinkle of black pepper
- 1⁄8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
- 1⁄2 chopped yellow onion
- 1 pound of green beans (fresh)
- 11⁄2 tablespoon of garlic (crushed)
- 1⁄2 cup of almond flour
- 1⁄2 cup of Parmesan
- 1⁄4 of chopped fresh mushrooms [optional]
- 11⁄2 teaspoon of olive oil
- 3⁄4 cup of cheddar cheese (sharp or regular)
- 1⁄2 tablespoon of fresh parsley
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Mix almond flour with Parmesan, parsley and a sprinkle of black pepper
- Separately, mix yogurt with salt, garlic and cayenne pepper
- Heat olive oil in skillet
- Add onion and salt
- Cook until onions are brown
- Make sure green beans are cut in half with ends cut off
- Add green beans
- Cook until soft
- Add garlic and a little butter
- Continue to stir
- Add cheese
- Stir cheese in until melted
- Add yogurt mix
- Grab a baking dish coat the dish with a little bit of olive oil
- Add green beans mixture
- Sprinkle topping
- Place in oven for 35 minutes or until top is brown
- Serve and enjoy!
Have a favorite Thanksgiving recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Share it in the comments.
Love always Your Personal Trainer,
Denise