There are many things to love about Thanksgiving, and overeating is not one of them. It’s safe to say that most people eat enough carbs during the big meal to last them an entire month. Between the stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, gravy, pie, and other carbs, the Thanksgiving meal accounts for more than 3,000 calories and nearly 160 grams of fat. Those numbers are based on a full-on binge, and even though it only happens once a year, other factors like sodium and sugar can take a toll on your health. 

You don’t have to overindulge just because it’s Thanksgiving. It’s just so easy to add delicious options to your plate! We get that, but is it worth it to feel bloated and sick? Nutritionists suggest that it is better to choose smaller portions first and then go back for seconds of the foods you enjoyed the most. How exactly do you eyeball the right-size portions, though? Well, we have a little cheat sheet for serving sizes of the most common holiday dishes. Hopefully, this information helps you better navigate how much food you put on your plate. 

Mashed Potatoes

Is the Thanksgiving meal complete without mashed potatoes? Potatoes offer some health benefits, but all the salt, butter, and cream that goes into mashed potatoes renders them unhealthy. Not to mention the fact that people drown them in fattening gravy. Ideally, you will only serve yourself a half-cup of mashed potatoes, which registers 119 calories and 18 grams of carbs. Sticking to a scoop that is roughly the size of a 25-foot tape measure is best for your help. 

Gravy

You can’t have the aforementioned mashed potatoes without gravy, right? Some consider that a sin! People get carried away with gravy, ladling it over the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and even the occasional slice of pie. Nutritionists recommend the serving size for gravy to be no more than one-quarter cup, which is about one-and-one-half shot glasses. Gravy can be very high in sodium, so take it easy with the ladle, especially if you need to keep an eye on your blood pressure. 

Green Bean Casserole

Some people cannot let Thanksgiving happen without green bean casserole, while others don’t care for it at all. Vegetables are not usually the issue at Thanksgiving, but they are when you smother them in mushroom cream sauce and packaged fried onions. An eight-ounce can of cream of mushroom soup is very high in sodium and fat. The average green bean casserole yields about 735 milligrams of sodium and five grams of fat per cup. If you serve this dish at your Thanksgiving, try to keep the portion size to one cup. You can also go a little healthier, foregoing the cream of mushroom soup and fried onions and simply sauté green beans in olive oil with garlic, onions, and lemon juice.

Pie

There is never a shortage of pie at the Thanksgiving table. One could say that there are too many pies available to everyone. Desserts sneak a lot of extra calories, sugars, and carbs. A standard slice of pumpkin pie clocks more than 300 calories, not including whipped cream or cream cheese frosting. A slice of apple pie is very comparable, calorically speaking, but pecan pie is the densest and contains nearly double the calories. For a slice of pumpkin or apple pie, one slice is sufficient (about the size of a kitchen sponge). Cut that serving size in half if you go for pecan pie. 

Stuffing

Stuffing is like the mystery meat of starches, in that recipes vary so much (nutritionally speaking) depending on how you prepare the dish. Some people just use the classic box of stuffing mix and add in some onions, carrots, and celery. Others make their own croutons from whole-wheat bread and incorporate more vegetables, herbs, seasonings, nuts, and homemade vegetable stock. So many stuffings, however, contain tons of butter, bacon, sausage, duck fat, or even lard. This is not a dish that contains a lot of fiber or healthy nutrients. For that reason, nutritionists recommend the serving size be a half-cup.

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The fall and winter months invite colder temperatures, but you cannot enjoy a bowl of hot soup while cleansing. That is where this cold soup enters the equation. This isn’t your average bowl of gazpacho, though. This creamy raw vegan curry soup may only take five to 10 minutes to make, but it has the flavor of a soup that has been simmering for hours. It is quite filling and aromatic, making for a nice change from a standard salad or smoothie.

Besides having an addictively creamy texture and robust flavor, this raw soup is not green for a change. Made with freshly made carrot juice, tahini, homemade almond milk, tomato, lemon juice, avocado, and zucchini, this soup can be a light meal or side dish. What makes this soup creamy is the avocado, tahini, and homemade almond milk. Click here to make the almond milk, but consider omitting the dates, maple syrup, or vanilla extract that the recipe calls for. You don’t want those maple and vanilla flavors mixing with the other spices and ingredients in this soup.

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We are in the thick of cold and flu season, people! For this reason it is integral to enhance immune function, which is why we are providing you with some nutrient-dense recipes in this article. The unfortunate reality is that there is no magic pill or silver bullet that magically transforms the immune system into a forcefield that protects the body from everything. And the sad reality is that most immune-boosting recommendations seem boring. Hopefully, the recipes in this article are anything but boring to your taste buds!

Why Is The Immune System So Important?

In brief, the immune system protects the body from harmful substances, including germs, bacteria, fungi, and pathogens. As long as it is running smoothly, you don’t even notice the immune system’s existence. If it stops working properly, either because of aggressive germs or general weakness, you will get sick. Some germs may only make you ill the first time you encounter them, while others may cause sickness time and again. When the immune system is working properly, it:

• Activates and mobilizes to neutralize germs that can harm the body
• Ends the attack once the threat has been taken care of
• Distinguishes between cells that are yours and those that do not belong in the body
• Learns about germs after you have come in contact with them, and develops antibodies against them
• Sends out those antibodies to destroy germs that attempt to enter the body in the future

You can improve sleep hygiene, exercise regularly, spend time outside, and eat healthy foods to maintain healthy immune function. Rather than just giving you a list of foods to eat, we are providing you with tasty recipes that may contribute to more efficient immune function. 

Green Juice Shots

Feeling a little sluggish lately? Boost your energy, enhance immune function, and improve digestion with these green juice shots.

Click here to make the recipe. 

Carrot Ginger Soup

One of the best ways to keep your immune system strong is by focusing on immune-boosting foods, and this soup has a lot of them!

Click here to make the recipe. 

Vitamin C Immune Booster Smoothie

The best way to load up on vitamin C is by consuming foods that are rich in this nutrient. This smoothie is full of vitamin C, so drink up!

Click here to make the recipe. 

Fall-Spiced Persimmon Smoothie

Persimmons, ginger, mandarin oranges, homemade almond milk, and more come together for a tasty, autumnal smoothie.

Click here to make the recipe. 

Garlic Miso Soup

Roasted garlic is simmered with miso and kale to create a wonderfully fragrant soup that helps boost gut health and immune strength.

Click here to make the recipe. 

Kale Ginger Smoothie

A refreshing and filling kale, ginger, and mango smoothie that’s brimming with immune-boosting vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

Click here to make the recipe. 

Lemon Ginger Sorbet

Obey the sorbet! Boost your immune system with a bowl of this sweet and tangy dessert. Ginger lemon sorbet is exactly what you need in life.

Click here to make the recipe.

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When the days are slightly cooler, you want a meal that is warm, filling, and comforting. This kale soup is exactly the recipe you’ve been craving, whether you know it or not. It is a light broth that contains nutritionally dense ingredients and aromatic spices, such as thyme and rosemary. The squeeze of lemon gives this hearty soup a delicately bright finish that makes each spoonful better than the last. So if you are looking for a dish that is equal parts healthy, delicious, and cozy, this soup is it!

When it comes to making a great vegetable soup, it’s all about layering flavors. First and foremost, you have to sauté the aromatics. Cooking the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic with the rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper helps to give somewhat of a caramelized flavor. You don’t want to cook them fully; rather, you just want to par-cook them until they are nice and fragrant. You’ll add the beans and broth to the same pot and then bring to a boil before reducing to a low simmer. Only add the kale in the last few minutes of cooking, or else it will get too soft. You want the kale to retain some texture when you spoon the soup into bowls. The same goes for the lemon juice, because you want the soup to retain that tang when you slurp it up.

When it comes to kale, you can choose the variety you enjoy best. You can opt for green curly kale, Tuscan kale, lacinato kale, or even dinosaur kale. Don’t have kale on hand or can’t find it in the grocery store? You can swap it for another sturdy green, such as Swiss chard or collard greens. Just make sure to taste and season the soup as you go. Some of you may prefer more lemon juice, while others want to add more black pepper or rosemary. Feel free to experiment with flavors, even though this recipe is solid as a rock!

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We couldn’t quite come up with the perfect name for this recipe. We were back and forth between “Garden Symphony Soup” and “Raw Vegan Italian Blender Soup,” and you can see which one won. For this reason, we went with the very “on the nose” name, as it best describes the recipe. It is a vibrant medley of the a great combination of raw vegan ingredients that swirl together in a symphony of flavor and nutrition!

Unlike a traditional gazpacho, this recipe contains zucchini, not cucumber. The zucchini effortlessly struts into the mix, blending beautifully with the sweetly tart and juicy tomato, which gives the soup its color. The red bell pepper also brings a subtle sweetness and refreshing element to this soup. One of the secret stars of this raw blender soup is the avocado, which helps to make it extra creamy and elegant. One could say that it elevates this simple dish to a decadent creation!

What makes this raw vegan soup Italian is the fresh basil and flat-leaf parsley twirl. They do a little herbaceous dance and complement the richness of the sun-dried tomatoes. Just make sure that the sun-dried tomatoes are purely dried, not soaking in oil and other seasonings. Finally, you have a single clove of garlic that enhances the overall melody of this soup with its bold and savory flavor. You also have the lemon juice, which brightens everything up like a surprise encore! Basically, this recipe is like a giant orchestra that crescendos as you eat it to give you as much flavor as possible. It is plant perfection!

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Clean eating is one of the best ways to aid the body’s natural detoxification processes. When you eat unprocessed, plant-based foods, the body has an easier time processing the food, which aids healthy elimination. As the weather starts to cool down, though, you may be a little timid about eating raw, plant-based meals. The mornings are brisk so smoothies may not appeal to you. Nobody wants to think about juicing with winter on the distant horizon. Fortunately, you can enjoy this carrot ginger soup raw and it’ll help warm up your insides.

Naturally, the carrots color this raw soup a beautiful orange, but carrots don’t warm you up. The provide a lovely sweetness that complements the spicy ginger and raw jalapeño. Those are the two ingredients that will keep you warm, alert, and feeling fresh and clean. Eating dinner can help reduce fermentation, constipation, and other causes of intestinal gas and bloating. Whether you consume fresh, ground, or pickled ginger, it has a warming effect on the body. It can brighten dishes and provides lots of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties that benefit myriad bodily processes.

Similarly, raw jalapeño helps to warm you up from the inside. Unlike ginger, jalapeño tastes spicy. The reason for this is because it contains capsaicin. This plant compound tricks your brain into thinking that you are eating something hot. As you swallow the spicy food, the capsaicin spreads throughout the body, creating a warming effect. That means that every sip of this raw carrot ginger is going to warm you up until you finish the bowl!

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If you follow a balanced diet, then you most likely include both animal and plant-based foods. You make sure to include fruits, vegetables, complex carbohydrates, protein, and fiber. In fact, you probably make it a point to hit your daily protein goals, which should not be a challenge. Some people on plant-based diets, however, have a harder time meeting their daily protein needs. That may be because they do not understand which plant-based foods have the most protein. 

The body requires an adequate supply of protein to build muscle and produce hormones and neurotransmitters. If you happen to follow a plant-based diet and are looking for foods to help increase your protein intake, the foods in this article should help you achieve that goal. 

Kidney Beans

Not only are kidney beans rich in protein, but they also contain a lot of folate, which is an integral nutrient during pregnancy. Folate has several roles in the body and is necessary for healthy fetal development. One cup of kidney beans satisfies 54% of the recommended daily intake (RDI) of folate. One cup of cooked kidney beans also provides 15.3 grams of protein. Kidney beans also contain leucine, phenylalanine, lysine, and valine, all of which are essential amino acids. 

Black Beans

Don’t worry, this list of plant-based foods rich in protein will contain other foods besides beans. We could not leave black beans off the list, as they offer 15.2 grams of protein per cooked cup. They are also rich in magnesium, a mineral that can help regulate stress. Similar to kidney beans, black beans contain lysine, valine, leucine, and phenylalanine, but they also contain isoleucine. 

Peanuts

Peanuts are technically legumes, but most people consider them to be nuts. Both peanuts and peanut butter are rich in protein and pair well with both sweet and savory flavors. Peanuts contain leucine, phenylalanine, and valine, and offer 7.43 grams of protein per ounce. They are also great sources of magnesium, folate, and vitamin E, which exhibits powerful antioxidant activity. 

Asparagus

This is a spring vegetable, but you can typically find it in grocery stores year round. It is particularly high in protective flavonoid compounds and offers lots of vitamins A, C, and K. Similar to kidney beans, asparagus contains folate, but offers less protein at 4.32 grams per cooked cup. 

Green Peas

Didn’t your mom always tell you to eat your peas and broccoli? Well, she was onto something! Green peas are highly underrated, but they deserve lots of love because one cup satisfies over 20% of the RDI of vitamins A, C, and K. Green peas are also rich in folate, thiamine, leucine, lysine, and phenylalanine. They offer 8.58 grams of protein per cooked cup and make great additions to rice pilaf, pasta, or soups and stews. 

Lentils

Dietitians encourage more people to eat lentils because these little guys are rich in protein, magnesium, potassium, iron, and folate. One cup of lentils provides a whopping 17.9 grams of protein, which is 30% more protein than what you find in two eggs. Lentils are also rich in leucine, isoleucine, valine, phenylalanine, and other amino acids. They are versatile ingredients that go great in grain bowls, salads, soups, and stews. 

Edamame

A single cup of edamame contains more protein than two cups of milk! The same cup of edamame covers over 100% of your RDI of folate and 52% of your RDI of vitamin K, which is necessary for optimal bone health and blood clotting. One cup of cooked edamame also provides 18.4 grams of protein, and it also offers lots of amino acids, including lysine, phenylalanine, and leucine. 

Fava Beans

Yet another bean that made it to the list! Fava beans are great sources of magnesium, copper, potassium, and zinc, in addition to protein. One cup of cooked fava beans offers 12.9 grams of protein and provides lots of lysine, leucine, phenylalanine, and valine. Fava beans go great in salads, soups, or you can even mash or blend them into a dip.

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This isn’t your ordinary vegetable soup because this soup is made with roasted vegetables, which offer deeper, richer flavors and a subtle smokiness. Once you roast your vegetables, blend them together to make a creamy, addictive soup. Although there are many adjectives that can accurately describe this soup, it is simply delicious. Blending all of the ingredients together helps create a rich, creamy consistency. And the great thing about this soup is that is is great for all culinary skill levels. It is very beginner-friendly!

Why should you roast vegetables instead of steaming or sautéing them? While steaming is a great way to cook vegetables, you miss out on the caramelized flavor and delightful smokiness that comes from roasting them. But not all vegetables roast equally, as some take longer to cook than others. For example, it takes longer to roast tomatoes and bell peppers than it does to roast beets and parsnips. Because this recipe contains bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, carrots, and sweet potatoes, make sure to cut them appropriately to ensure even roasting. It is more important to cut the sweet potatoes and carrots thinly and the rest of the ingredients can be roughly the same size.

This recipe includes various vegetables, but you can make this soup with a few adaptations. You can use whatever vegetables you have on hand and incorporate different spices. Do you like a little spice? Throw some cayenne or chili powder into the mix. Consider adding beans for more protein. Opt out of the oat milk if you want a soup made strictly of vegetables. Don’t be afraid to put your own creative spin on this!

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The sun is shining bright and there is a general sense of warmth, laziness, and relaxation in the air. Summer is here, and what better way to celebrate the start of the season than refreshing the palate with a delightfully light bowl of heirloom tomato gazpacho?

Some argue that heirloom tomatoes are the crown jewel of the summer harvest. We aren’t arguing against them, either! Think of heirloom tomatoes as nature’s candy, bursting with lovely sweetness and a touch of acidity in every bite. Don’t let their looks scare you away, either! They may appear strange and come in a variety of colors, but they are some of the best tasting tomatoes you’ll ever enjoy. When you blend together the different colors to make this gazpacho, you get to fully appreciate their inherent flavor. Let’s take a look at some of their benefits below.

• Powered by vitamins: These tomatoes are rich sources of vitamins A and C, potassium, and lycopene, an antioxidant that works to reduce inflammation and improve heart health. Plus, organically-grown heirloom tomatoes tend to be higher in lycopene, which may help protect against breast, colorectal, lung, prostate, bladder, and skin cancers.
• Precious seeds: Much like your grandmother’s china, heirloom seeds are viewed as precious treasures. For an heirloom tomato to meet heirloom status, it needs to have been around for at least 50 years. Newer genetic variations of heirloom tomatoes are simply hybrids.
• Vitamin K for the win: Studies suggest that heirloom tomatoes are great sources of vitamin K, which is necessary for healthy, strong bones. Researchers note that vitamin K consumption can help prevent osteoporosis.

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We’ll say it if nobody else will, “soup season is never over.” Sure, there are heartier soups and stews with ingredients that lend themselves to colder months, but you can enjoy soup year round. For example, you can enjoy a cold gazpacho in the summer or a creamy zucchini and potato soup in the winter. In the case of this recipe, it makes for a great appetizer or light entree. After cooking the ingredients, blend them together to make a velvety soup that seems to intensify in flavor with each spoonful you eat.

Unlike traditional mushroom soup recipes, this one calls for portobello mushrooms. Some would argue that they are the undisputed mushroom champs, but that is not a decision for us to make. Portobellos are mature cremini mushrooms that exhibit a more intense flavor profile and meatier texture. That’s why you commonly see them as burger patty replacements. They are naturally low in calories and offer 15 different vitamins, minerals, and antioxidant compounds. Some of these nutrients include selenium, copper, vitamin D, and B-vitamins.

Some of the phytonutrients in portobello mushrooms help to boost the immune system by charging up white blood cells. These mushrooms also contain antioxidants that may help reduce inflammation and and improve cardiovascular health. Now, is eating this soup going to make you the healthiest person alive? No, but it tastes great and can be a great addition to your healthy diet, especially if you are trying to watch your caloric intake.

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