Have a healthy Thanksgiving dinner with trimmings

Last update: November 14, 2009 - 8:47 PM

Serving a healthy Thanksgiving dinner doesn't have to mean giving up that pumpkin pie or those buttery sweet potatoes. But it does involve making some trade-offs. Here are some suggestions:

Serve plenty of vegetables. But don't drench them in butter. Toasted nuts, which have healthier fats, can add flavor.

Try fat-free chicken broth or nonfat buttermilk. It can give mashed potatoes a luxurious quality without adding fat.

Remove the turkey skin. The actual meat, especially the white, is lean.

Make a lighter gravy. Skim and discard the grease from the drippings in the roasting pan, add chicken or turkey stock, then thicken with cornstarch.

Don't use butter in the stuffing. Add moisture with other ingredients, such as diced vegetables and fruit.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Swine-flu threat lingers

People might be able to spread swine flu even after their symptoms have subsided, according to new research reported in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

A study of Air Force cadets who came down with the flu this summer found that a significant proportion of them were still "shedding" virus more than 24 hours after their fever and other symptoms had disappeared.

Public health authorities have been asking people to stay home from work and school for at least a day after their temperatures return to normal. Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says she believes the current recommendations are sound.

She says other studies indicate that the presence of fever is a good way to know if someone is infectious.

WASHINGTON POST

Fish list is good to go

Looking to reduce your risk of heart disease, boost your immune system and do something good for the environment all at the same time? There's a fish for that.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium has released its Super Green List, a lineup of seafood that is not only rich in Omega-3 fatty acids and low in contaminants like mercury, but also fares well in the environment. Farmed mussels and rainbow trout, wild-caught Alaskan salmon, and troll- or pole-caught albacore tuna from the United States or British Columbia made the list.

Check out the rest at www.seafoodwatch.org/health.

WASHINGTON POST

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