Along with the traditional Thanksgiving turkey, American’s love their sides. Stuffing ranks the number one spot behind mashed potatoes as the most popular Thanksgiving side. The term “stuffing” comes from the practice of filling the cavity of a bird with a mixture of ingredients before cooking that may include bread or other grains, vegetables, or fruits. Over the past few decades, stuffing the actual turkey for Thanksgiving has been discouraged relating to food safety. “Dressing” refers to the dish that is cooked outside the bird. However, today the terms “stuffing” and “dressing” are used interchangeably because they typically include the same ingredients: an assortment of vegetables, some sort of starch, herbs and spices.
Typically high in fat, carbs and salt, stuffing can be made fresh or purchased chilled, frozen or dehydrated. Traditionally, stuffing would use the giblets of the bird with the addition of sausage meat, a source of starch, such as bread, with some aromatics such as onion, herbs, and spices. Using giblets has become less commonplace these days. Stuffing recipes are often vegetarian based and include dried fruit, nuts and other ingredients to add texture, flavor, and interest.
Tips for Healthier Stuffing:
- Add Fiber: Use whole wheat or rye bread instead of white bread. Cornbread is popular for stuffing, especially if looking for a southern flair. Or avoid bread altogether and use oats, cooked quinoa, brown rice, couscous, bulgur, or barley. Remember, bread contributes to sodium content. By opting for alternative grains, sodium levels can decrease while fiber content can increase.
- Consider Fat Sources: Select unsaturated varieties such as olive and canola oils. Foods rich in beneficial fats like unsalted nuts including walnuts, almonds or pecans enhance the texture of stuffing. Toasting the nuts helps to bring out the flavor.
- Add Fruit and Vegetables: By increasing fruits and vegetables in stuffing, fiber levels and nutritional values increase. Other than the traditional celery and onions, consider leeks, scallions, shallots, fennel, and mushrooms. Tart apples and cranberries not only give texture, but they also add color and seasonality. Don’t forget dried fruits, like cranberries, cherries, dates, and apricots.
- Keep it Seasonal: Chestnuts are a classic Christmas ingredient and are lower in fat than other nuts; they’re high in starch, making them a filling option. When ground to a ‘flour’ they make a useful binding ingredient, allowing you to reduce the amount of bread or grains used.
- Season without Salt: To minimize salt levels, add flavor with dried or fresh herbs and spices. Traditionally thyme, sage, and parsley are found in stuffing dishes. Fresh or dried thyme delivers a distinct and balanced blend of herbal flavors. Sage brings a vibrancy to classic Thanksgiving dishes. Fresh parsley adds a bright pop of color and a fresh note to balance other herbs.
- Bake Stuffing rather that Roasting in the Bird: This will eliminate the stuffing from absorbing the fat of the turkey and help with food safety.
Here are some scrumptious stuffing recipes:
- This healthy Thanksgiving Stuffing gets its sweetness from the apples and its unique flavor from the onion and walnut combination.
- This low-calorie Turkey Stuffing is a quick and easy recipe for Thanksgiving or any time you want to dress up a poultry dish. The woodsy flavor of sage gives the stuffing a delicious flavor.
- Make this gluten-free Cornbread Stuffing ahead and free up time for the rest of your Thanksgiving recipes.
In the time-crunch leading up to the big dinner, some may feel that preparing made-from-scratch stuffing is one task too many. It is possible to dress up a packaged stuffing mix to make it a bit more special and a tad healthier. Although lower in fat, the predominantly cereal-based, shop-bought products tend to be high in salt. Use water rather than stock to rehydrate and stick with unsalted butter or vegetable oil when baking. Adding plenty of chopped vegetables, like onions, carrots and celery, or even fruits like apples and pears, will improve the nutrition profile per serving.
Speaking of serving sizes, regardless of the recipe, a serving should be about ½ cup or about the size of an ice cream scoop. If stuffing is your thing, it is ok to increase the amount consumed, but perhaps cut back on some of the other starches. A single ½ serving of stuffing provides about 175 calories.
