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Healthy Kitchen Hacks #53

Healthy Kitchen Hacks #53

* Bundt Pan Stuffing * Lower Sugar Cranberry Sauce * Kefir or Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes *

The Creamiest Mashed Potatoes * Easy Way to Lower Sugar in Canned Cranberry Sauce * Never-Dry Stuffing | @TspCurry - For more Healthy Kitchen Holiday Hacks: TeaspoonOfSpice.com

[Disclosure: The farmers and producers of frozen red raspberries are former clients of mine, but I have had a ‘crush’ on red raspberries since I picked them off my dad’s bushes as a kid. I was not paid for this post.]

Happy everyone-jammed-into-grandma’s-small-kitchen holiday! Happy Thanksgiving. (:

Whether you are cooking in your own home, or in a relative’s, or a friend’s, here are a few ideas for getting your assigned kitchen duty done quicker and/or healthier…so you can get out of the kitchen to enjoy a cocktail, or a game of Turkey Bowl with the kids.

1. A Better Way to Bake Stuffing
via Melissa @Melissa’s Southern Style Kitchen

A better way to bake stuffing | @TspCurry For more - Healthy Kitchen Hacks: TeaspoonOfSpice.com

Never serve dry stuffing again. Baking stuffing in a bundt pan keeps it super moist. Then, just slice and serve – making it neater and more manageable for guests to serve themselves from the buffet table. A plated ring of stuffing is also easier to pass at the table (especially for kids) than a heavy stoneware casserole dish.

Here’s how I lightened/adapted Melissa’s brilliant Bundt Pan Herbed Cornbread Dressing recipe:

  • Cut the butter from 1/2 cup to 1 tablespoon
  • Sauteed 2 stalks of celery and a chopped apple along with the onion
  • Used 8 cups of whole grain bread instead of 8 cups of cornbread
  • Subbed 1 cup plain Greek yogurt for the can of condensed creamed celery soup

2.Lower the Sugar on Canned Cranberry Sauce
via @Red Razz

Easy way to lower the sugar in cranberry sauce: Cran-Raspberry Sauce | @TspCurry For more - Healthy Kitchen Hacks: TeaspoonOfSpice.com

Jazz up jellied or whole-berry canned cranberry sauce with a bag of Frozen Red Raspberry Crush. A bag of frozen raspberries is just that: Red raspberries. No sugar. So adding a partially thawed, crushed (with a rolling pin) bag of raspberries cuts (dilutes) the total amount of added sugar in a can of cranberry sauce in half.

1 (12 oz) bag of red raspberries + 1 can whole-berry cranberry sauce = Cran-raspberry sauce with HALF the added sugar

I used more Raspberry Crush to top whole grain frozen waffles and ice cream. For the kids, of course. Breakfast for dessert. Or dessert for breakfast.

Easy way to lower the sugar in cranberry sauce: Cran-Raspberry Sauce | @TspCurry For more - Healthy Kitchen Hacks: TeaspoonOfSpice.com

3. Surprise Ingredient Makes Mashed Potatoes Extra Creamy
via Dianna @Chard in Charge

Deanna and I often stir buttermilk into our mashed potatoes and mashed sweet potatoes; the thick creaminess comes from buttermilk cultures, not fat. So we loved Dianna’s idea for using milk kefir in sweet potatoes. Similar to buttermilk in taste and creaminess, kefir also has millions more beneficial bacteria cultures than buttermilk.

Surprise ingredient to make mashed potatoes creamy | @TspCurry For more - Healthy Kitchen Hacks: TeaspoonOfSpice.com

I always have kefir on hand as I still make my own to help bolster my kids’ immunity. Here are my easy 2-step kefir instructions. (No it’s really not as crazy as it sounds; it’s really so easy.)

And for even more quick tricks, check out these Thanksgiving Healthy Kitchen Hacks – including my fave kitchen cleaning trick.  The surprise ingredient to make Mashed Potatoes extra creamy + 4 more #HealthyKitchenHacks via @TspCurry Click To Tweet

Would you try any of these hacks? Do you have any healthy kitchen or healthy living shortcuts to share? Shoot us an email (or share in comments below and we’ll try them out.)

Carlo

Wednesday 5th of April 2017

This looks delicious, and the fact that it's healthy makes it even more appealing. I'll ATTEMPT to make it lol

Cavakia Therlonge

Tuesday 22nd of November 2016

Happy Thanksgiving! Glad I decided to read your blog because I'm tired of the traditional un-healthy meal served on Thanksgiving. With these healthier I can enjoy the meal and not feel tired afterwards. Will definitely share these recipes with my personal training clients.

Serena Ball

Wednesday 23rd of November 2016

Thanks so much for visiting Cavakia! We appreciate it. And Happy healthy Thanksgivign!

Jessica @ Nutritioulicious

Wednesday 16th of November 2016

Great hacks! I just updated my Orange-Ginger Cranberry Sauce and cut the sugar even further than I did previously - now it has only 1/2 cup per 24 ounces of cranberries! But I love the idea of mixing in raspberries. And that stuffing in a bundt pan?! Genius!

Elizabeth Shaw

Wednesday 16th of November 2016

I really like that stuffing trick!! Going to try it with a cornbread stuffing I'm debuting next week!

EA Stewart The Spicy RD

Wednesday 16th of November 2016

That stuffing baked in a pan? Genius! Love all your hacks! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families!! xoxo

Serena Ball

Wednesday 16th of November 2016

Another tip: To warm up the stuffing, remove the stuffing from pan then heat the bundt pan in the oven. Pop the stuffing ring back in and warm in the oven. This give the stuffing outside a nice crusty crust!

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