How to Plan Your Low-Carb Menu for Thanksgiving

Nov. 1, 2012 - PRLog -- For many, the Thanksgiving menu is all about carbs, but you can adjust the carbohydrate content to fit your low-carb diet and lifestyle. A smart thing to do is to choose the right products. Turkey is a great choice for a meal, and you can combine it with relishes or vegetables that are low in sugar and starches.

You can modify some recipes, especially when it comes to traditional side dishes. Or you can prepare a side dish such grilled zucchini, bacon-wrapped asparagus spears, or cottage cheese soufflé. To make soufflé, you will need eggs, cottage cheese, bacon, shredded Cheddar cheese, baking powder, and condiments. Preheat the oven to 165 C or 325 F and grease a medium baking dish. Mix 4 eggs with 6 tablespoons of wheat flour, garlic, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg. Then add bacon, Cheddar cheese, and cottage cheese. Pour into the baking dish. Bake for about an hour or until the top is crispy and browned. Other side dishes to prepare include ranch style oyster crackers, roasted garlic cauliflower, and yellow squash casserole. Apart from side dishes, you can make some low-carb nibbles. You can have nuts or peanuts, cucumber rounds, and other vegetables with dip.

Of course, you will want to prepare low-carb stuffing. The best way to make it is to use plenty of vegetables. You can bake it, cook it on the stovetop, inside the chicken or turkey, or in a casserole dish. You can use bread with less starch and vegetables such as parsley, green peppers, and onion. Add pepper, poultry seasoning, turkey soup base, and low-carb bread. If you want to bake the stuffing, add 1 to 3 eggs. You can even prepare gluten-free bread for the stuffing, using almond meal instead of white flour. Finally, if you want to make gravy, you will need three ingredients – thickener, broth, and pan drippings. Those who are concerned about low carbohydrate diet (http://www.lowcarbfoods.org/) may make it with no thickener or use sour cream, reduced cream, cornstarch, or vegetable gums. Guar gum and xanthan gum are examples of thickeners that contain no carbohydrates.

http://www.lowcarbfoods.org/low+carb+diets/