The Perfect Plant Forward Thanksgiving

The word “healthy” is generally not the first thing to jump in your mind when you think about Thanksgiving. Right? But what if I told you a Plant Forward Thanksgiving could still deliver a beautiful plate with the most amazing flavor combinations? And what if I promised it would leave you and your friends and family feeling better than the traditional meal? Oh, and let me also remind you of the longer term, disease fighting benefits associated with plant forward eating! Would you be interested? If so, this post is for you!

Here I have a few Plant Forward simple swaps you can make to your traditional holiday meals. I’m also giving you access to my favorite Plant Forward Holiday Recipes in a brand new guide! Get excited, this is good stuff!

What is a Plant Forward Thanksgiving?

Here’s the good news. A “Plant Forward Thanksgiving” does not mean you need to totally bypass the bird. You just want punch-up the unprocessed plants on your plate! And it’s does not have to be as complicated, expensive or as scary as you may think.

The term “Plant Forward” is definitely trending, but not a lot of people really know on what it means. In fact, some experts can’t even agree. I go into some detail in this post here if you want my take. But in essence one thing we can all agree on is that it involves a heavy focus on predominantly, un-processed, plant-based foods. This includes things like vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, grains, legumes, soy, and algae products. The key term here is “unprocessed.” High quality and responsibly sourced animal proteins are still involved in a Plant Forward diet, they simply aren’t the focus.

Sure, mashed potatoes out of a box topped with margarine may be “vegan.” But does that mean it’s really the best food you can be eating? No. And that’s what makes the Plant Forward style eating my most favorite of all!

What makes it different from a traditional Thanksgiving?

While everybody’s family traditions are different, there are some common dishes on the table that can so easily be made more delicious and better for your body! A standard Thanksgiving meal is generally notorious for dark meat, crispy turkey skin, giblet gravy, bacon laden green beans, creamed corn, yams topped with marshmallows, butter topped mashed potatoes, chicken stock soaked stuffing, cranberries out of a can and of course a collection of super sweet pies.

A Plant Forward Thanksgiving could still feature all those dishes. We’d just prepare them little differently. They are going to come out more colorful, just as delicious and be much easier for your body to digest. Without getting into specific recipes, here are some of my favorite Plant Forward Thanksgiving swaps…

Simple Plant Forward Thanksgiving Swaps

The Bird: Like I said, there is still room for the bird on the table. It just does’t have to be the largest focus of the meal. Investing in a smaller, higher quality bird will still deliver a traditional experience, but also something better for your body (and the planet). Traditional recommendations are 1-1.5 lbs of bird per guest. Try cutting that in half. If your budget allows, look for something local, organic, free range. Feel confident that with all your delicious veggies-heavy sides, no one will notice the smaller portion of meat. You can also baste the bird in fresh juice or vegetable stock instead of butter to save some saturated fat.

Gravy: I would refuse to sit at Thanksgiving if there was no gravy! And this is one of those things that if you’re cooking a high quality bird, I say leverage those juices and make the most amazing gravy ever. A simple flour and turkey fat mixture thinned out with more veggie stock and seasoned with salt and pepper can be delicious. However, I also have a recipe in my Plant Forward Holiday Recipe Guide for an indulgent avocado based gravy. I promise it tastes amazing, but you do have to get over it being green. I’ll admit, it’s a little weird.

Green Beans: There is no need to drown your green beans in cream of mushroom soup and top them crispy fried onions and/or bacon. Fresh, or even frozen, green beans are delicious lightly steamed or blanched. All you have to do is toss them with lemon juice, garlic salt and top with toasted almonds. It’s that simple! If you’re looking for more plant based protein, you could swap for roasted Brussels Sprouts. They do have a bit more protein per calorie.

Corn: Creamed corn is just gross. I’m sorry if it’s a traditional favorite of yours. The thing is that fresh or roasted corn is delicious! It’s just not the most nutritionally dense vegetables (debatably not even a vegetable, it’s nutritionally a starch) and also one of the most common GMO foods out there. Then if you coat it in butter, cream and I don’t know, cheese? That’s an unnecessary side dish, and I’d rather eat extra pie! Fresh roasted corn is great as a side or topped on a salad. Better yet, skip it and go with a roasted butternut squash and kale salad. The nutrient density/calorie cutting shift there is outstanding!

Yams: I definitely remember being excited to eat the yams when I was a kid. But I think that’s because they were coated in syrup and then topped with marshmallows. I don’t think I need to go into detail about why that’s probably not the best side dish this year. Instead, try a roasted potato medley with different colored potatoes. You can use yams, red, and/or purple potatoes with red onions to really boost the super-food plant (phytochemical) power of your meal.

Mashed Potatoes: I would have a hard time with a Thanksgiving with no mashed potatoes. It’s like the good gravy, I just love it. But I do blend my mashed potatoes with Greek yogurt and almond milk instead of cream and butter. They are still rich, creamy and flavorful, but with less saturated fat and more protein.

Stuffing: I do also love a good stuffing. Look for really awesome, locally made bread. Toast it and cut it up for your base and load up on veggies like onions, celery, and fresh herbs. You can also amp up the veggie factor with mushrooms, shredded carrots and even diced apples. If you are avoiding bread, my Plant Forward Holiday Recipe Guide has a gluten free, high protein quinoa based stuffing.

Cranberries: Fresh cranberries are so easy to turn into cranberry sauce, you’d be shocked! Just a bag of fresh or frozen berries, some maple syrup, orange juice and a little orange zest. It’s really not much harder than opening the can. And can be done a few days in advance of your big meal.

Pie: I would never recommend ditching dessert! But I would suggest swapping something like a pecan pie for a peach/blueberry streusel. Fruit is good for you, naturally sweet, and delicious. Frozen fruit is available year round and very easy to work with. A simple fresh fruit medley topped with a streusel topping made of brown sugar, oats, oat flour, walnuts, flax seeds and coconut oil is still a delicious ending to a clean(er) meal.

Plant Forward Thanksgiving in Summary

That’s no so bad, right? It’s still an awesome meal, but loaded with the power of plants! You don’t even have to tell your friends and family it’s “healthy.” They will just be thrilled to be eating it. They will be especially grateful AFTER the meal when they don’t feel like passing out in front of the TV in a turkey induced, processed food coma.

Plant Forward Holiday Recipe Guide

If you want my specific recipes, be sure to order my Plant Forward Holiday Recipe Guide! These are all recipes I’ve cooked for my friends and family over the years. And also some recipes we prepare them for our San Diego Meal Prep clients at the Clean & Colorful Kitchen.

I have probably a dozen blog posts and kitchen recipes scattered all over the place. As I prepare for our mini-Thanksgiving this year, I thought it the perfect time to finally consolidated everything into one, simple, digital guide. And you can download it for free, or pay what you want just like my Community Challenges!

It will work well for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, and any hearty Fall/Winer meal you plan to prepare. I also included my annual “Healthy Holiday Checklist” as well! This makes it your one stop-shop buffet of healthy holiday options!