Thanksgiving menu – The No Salt, No Fat, No Sugar Journal

I knew this would be a difficult year to find a low-sodium fresh turkey for Thanksgiving because of the
Pandemic and supply chain issues it had caused. But I was not prepared for how difficult it would be to find what I wanted.

Keep in mind a fresh turkey, one not injected with sodium solutions for self-basting should have about 70 mgs of sodium per serving. Turkeys with liquids injected can range as high as 300 mgs of sodium per serving. And, really who eats just one serving of turkey on Thanksgiving.

*My medium-sodium pandemic turkey from Costco, $2.99 a pound.*

I’d written you might have to buy a bigger bird than you wanted this year. But what I found was the opposite, larger turkeys, those over 14 pounds, were extremely difficult o find, regardless of salt content.

I started at a local Jewel, an Albertson chain in the Chicago area, where I found Butterball premium turkeys that were loaded with salt. I next tried Whole Foods, one had no turkeys whatsoever, the other had only frozen turkeys. A butcher there told me fresh turkeys would be in a few days later. But when I returned on that day, they had yet to appear.

I then swung by a local Mariano’s outlet (a Kroger chain in the Chicago area). Its website listed a low-sodium Jenny O turkey option but there were none in the store I went to.

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Traditional Thanksgiving fare is loaded with salt and fat, so double your vigilance when planning your Thanksgiving menu this year.

We have lots of tips on our site, check our recipe page for low-salt sides. We have a recipe for a low-sodium stuffing, as well as an entire low-sodium Thanksgiving menu.

And start by getting a fresh turkey that hasn’t been injected with a salt bath you check salt content on some of the frozen, self-basting turkeys, you’ll see salt content around 200 mgs or more per serving. That’s about three times what is in a serving of fresh turkey.

You can cut the salt and still enjoy Thanksgiving!

Former Biggest Loser trainer Jillian Michaels often posts recipes, some I like, some I modify to make them lower in salt and fat. Here are two she posted recently for Thanksgiving that I would tweak a bit to cut the salt and fat in them even further.

Put the trimmed broccoli in the steamer basket, cover and set the timer to the recommended cooking time. — My take on broccoli for Thanksgiving — steam it

The first is for sweet potatoes. I have never particularly liked these, but they are a traditional Thanksgiving dish, so if you like them, try this recipe. Just leave out the salt, which is here at 118 mgs a serving (and who eats just one serving?).

I’d also leave out the butter, perhaps substituting a lower-fat butter alternative, and go easy on the syrup to cut the sugar, which is not listed in the nutrition info.

Continue reading “Low-salt thanksgiving sides — modify these recipes” →

Thanksgiving menus can be challenging when you’re on a no-salt, no-fat, no-sugar diet. I’ve been writing and will continue to write this week about low-salt options.

But I also went searching online and found a variety of sites and recipes you can try. These are no-salt focused, so some items have too much fat and/or sugar to make. You can adjust some with lower-fat ingredients, I would think.

The Low Sodium Gourmet has a stuffing recipe I may try, using no-salt bread instead of just wheat bread. It also has what sounds like a tasty way to make string beans more than plain string beans. Its cheese cake is out of the question because of fat content, however.

Here's a fresh turkey with 50-70 mgs of sodium per serving. Stick to fresh is you can to avoid more salt. — Here’s a fresh turkey with 50-70 mgs of sodium per serving. Stick to fresh is you can to avoid more salt.

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Tag: Thanksgiving menu

My 2021 Pandemic Low-Salt Turkey Quest

A low-sodium Thanksgiving’s cooking guide

Low-salt thanksgiving sides — modify these recipes

Thanskgiving Menu: search the Web for low-salt options

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