Cari Fit

Fitness Advice, Workout Tips, and Inspiration

kale

Lighter Thanksgiving Recipes

Usually for Thanksgiving, most of us like to make traditional family recipes – but those usually end up being not so healthy and are considered “comfort foods” – aka fatty. There is nothing wrong with having these in moderation (yes that’s me above making stuffing a few years ago…before I left for the Turkey Trot!) but if you can….swap a few items out for healthier versions. You can find a few recipes and ideas on how to make your T-Day healthier in my other post HERE and below you’ll find some of my favorite lighter recipes that you may want to try this year. Happy Thanksgiving!

herbturkey

Herb Roasted Turkey Breast

kalesalad

Easy Kale Salad

harvest-roasted-butternut-squash-quinoa-salad_1

Harvest Quinoa Salad

cornsalad

Corn and Feta Salad

green-bean-casserole-ck-x

Green Bean Casserole With Madeira Mushrooms

gh0105_poached-pears-jpg-rend-sni12col-landscape

Poached Pears

Refreshing Kale Smoothie

If you haven’t gotten on the kale bandwagon yet – you may want to give this kale smoothie a try. Adding kale to your smoothies, juices and shakes is a great way to get all the benefits of eating kale without the bitter taste and rough texture. I use my NutriBullet blender – but you can use just about any blender. I call this a smoothie – but sometimes I make it less thick and more like a green juice. If you prefer your drinks thicker – you can add more ice or even a half of banana. I love adding ginger to this because it gives it a little kick. Ginger also has many health benefits and it settles your stomach.

Ingredients (estimated):

  • 1.5 cups kale
  • 1/2 large apple or 1 small apple (any kind)
  • 1 small carrot or a handful of baby carrots
  • 3/4 cup cup orange juice
  • small peeled piece of ginger (more if you like it spicy)
  • 1/2 cup ice (add more if you want your drink colder and thicker)
  • *optional honey or agave if you want it sweeter
  • *optional 1/2 to 1 banana if you want more of a “smoothie” texture

Blend well until all of the ice is gone and the kale is very fine. 

(serves 1-2)