thanksgiving

It’s never too late to slip in this healthy alternative at your Thanksgiving feast. Desserts can be the reason for so many extra calories this season, so do you want you can to indulge without going overboard.

Weight Watchers Pumpkin Pie with Graham Cracker Crust

3 POINTS per serving

Ingredients

• 3 oz. reduced-fat cinnamon graham crackers, about 5 1/2 sheets
• 1 Tbsp. packed light brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. table salt
• 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice, or less to taste
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup fat-free evaporated milk
• 4 Tbsp. light whipped topping
  

On Thanksgiving, I will be surrounded by 40-50 family members. After we share our feast from appetizers to desserts, several of us will find a spot in front of the television to watch football and doze through commercials. Although I would like to see the Lions hand the Titans another loss (I am a true blue Colts fan!), surrendering to “turkey-daze” is part of the holiday, right? It is commonly believed that the tryptophan in turkey induces sleepiness; however, there is more to our holiday drowsiness than this one chemical.

Tryptophan is one of ten amino acids that the body cannot manufacture on its own and must be supplemented through diet. Tryptophan aids in the production of the B-vitamin niacin which then assists the body’s production of serotonin. Serotonin helps us regulate mood, aggression, anxiety, impulsiveness, body temperature, appetite, and sleep. However serotonin cannot cross the blood brain barrier, meaning we cannot create more serotonin in our bodies.

OK all you non-vegetarians, many of you hear the word Tofurky and roll your eyes at this vegetarian attempt to recreate Tom the Turkey without, well, killing him. As a former vegetarian and as someone who has dined on many a Tofurky for Thanksgiving, I’m hear to tell you that Tofurky is, well – good. In fact, it’s pretty darn good.

So exactly what is this stuff? Tofurky is made from non-genetically modified tofu (soybeans protein) and wheat gluten. The stuffing (yes, there is stuffing) is made from whole grains, wild rice and mushrooms, and the stuffing rocks. In fact, Turtle Foods, the maker of the Tofurky and all other Tofurky products have created lone stuffing servings because the demand for their stuffing is so great. Meatless gravy tops out the meal making it look and taste eerily similar to a traditional turkey dinner.

Last night’s episode of Biggest Loser will probably be one of the more memorable this season, for both the viewers and the contestants. From the contestant’s standpoint- spending a week with NFL stars Jerry Rice and Steve Young, as well as preparing Thanksgiving dinner with Chef Rocco- it doesn’t get much better than that!

Vicky was obviously the most excited, being a die-hard football fan, and Amy C. was obviously the least interested, something about not having ever watched a game. During the challenge I think everyone knew the blue team would work diligently to take out the black team, and that left Michelle steaming. They blue team then appeared to work diligently to hand the win to Vicky. She was, to say the least, ecstatic about winning her trip for four to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl. Ed was the only one to walk away with $500 for catching the football. “Heba had already spent that money as soon as it touched my hands,” he remarked.

Everyone has that family member who assumes the role of chef on Thanksgiving. Imagine that person being Chef Rocco DiSpirito. He surprised the Biggest Loser contestants during week 10 with a Thanksgiving spread that had Heba nearly in tears. “This is one temptation I don’t think we’ll be able to avoid,” she groaned, as she looked at the table covered with a turkey and all the trimmings.

Rocco assured them their 10 weeks of hard work would not be in vain, and that they wouldn’t have to put one bite of those traditionally calorie- and fat-laden recipes in their mouths. Instead, he was going to teach them how to make the “healthy alter egos” of these recipes. We have each one of those five recipes to share with you.