Make Healthier Side Dishes This Holiday

Uh-oh. Here it is again: the "two-ton two."

From Halloween to New Year's Eve, we all have two months to try -- desperately -- not to gain weight, despite party after party, cookie upon cookie, and every cocktail in-between. Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day we will all face down the demons that make New Year's resolutions and January gym memberships skyrocket. It doesn't have to be the end of the world, though.�All it takes is a little bit of focus and a game plan.�

The focus will be on two things and two things only: do not alter your usual pattern of food and drink consumption, and on those three days adjust your mindset to protect your waistline. Take note of your demons -- bread, sugar, dairy and starchy carbs, not to mention second helpings and heaping portions.�When it comes to these things, just say no.

Glazed Carrots
This customary Thanksgiving dish can be substituted for a recipe that uses no refined sugar. Peel and slice up four to five carrots. (Don't use baby carrots -- it is a well-circulated rumor among chefs that processing plants clean them with bleach.) Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the carrots, cooking for two minutes. Remove the carrots and place them in ice water. Drain the carrots on a sheet pan to remove excess water. Add four tablespoons of olive oil to a hot skillet and, once warm, add three cloves of garlic, sliced thin. Saut� the garlic until brown and add the carrots. Season with kosher salt and pepper, add a cup of dry white wine and cook over high heat until the liquid is reduced by three-fourths. Just before taking them off the stove, add a drizzle of honey to glaze the carrots. The sweet of the honey mixes well with the salt and the garlic. If you like an extra kick, switch the black pepper for red pepper flakes. This is the adult version of a dish we loved as kids.

Green Bean Casserole with French-Fried Onion Rings
The casserole of our youth is made with a can of sodium-packed cream of mushroom soup and store-bought processed fried onions.�Instead, blanche a generous amount of fresh green beans in boiling water for 90 seconds to two minutes. Remove the beans and place them in ice water, then set them aside on a sheet pan and paper towel to drain excess water. Peel and slice several large shallots, and then use your fingers to separate the shallot wheels so you have a bowl of shallot vermicelli. Slice several fresh garlic cloves and toss them in with the shallots. Add olive oil to a skillet over a medium flame. When the oil is hot, throw in the bowl of shallots and garlic, dust with kosher salt and let them cook until crispy. (You will need to turn them every few minutes so that both sides brown and you don't end up with charcoal on one side, raw on the other.) Drain caramelized onions on a sheet pan lined with paper towels and, using the same skillet, add more olive oil to whatever oil and spices are left in the pan after the onions cook down. When the oil is hot, toss in your fresh green beans and add red pepper flakes, coating the vegetables with the oil and seasonings. Serve the green beans hot with the shallot crunches scattered on top. This dish is delicious, elegant and has a ton fewer calories than that casserole you were going to eat.

Candied Yams
Candied yams are root vegetables covered in butter and sugar, and kids love them.�Grown-ups will love this recipe instead. First, preheat your oven to 425�F. Peel and dice two yams and two rutabagas. Peel a butternut squash, and then slice and dice it into healthy-size chunks that aren't so big, they won't cook through. Place each of these three vegetables in individual baking pans brushed with olive oil. Drizzle more olive oil on the vegetables and dust with kosher salt and cracked black pepper.�Add a handful of dried apricots and four garlic cloves, halved, to each baking sheet. Cover the pans with aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes, until tender. Once tender, remove the foil and place the pans back in the oven for 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove and let cool. If at any time the vegetables look like they are drying out, add a drizzle of olive oil to keep them moist. If they look like they are starting to stick to the bottom of the pan, toss them around a little. These "candied yams" have that sweet and salty combo everyone loves and will explode your taste buds. Welcome to the grown-ups' table for Thanksgiving!

Mashed Potatoes
If you must have mashed, cut down on the number of potatoes you are going to use. Try using two Idaho potatoes and two celery roots, both cleaned, peeled and quartered. Boil the vegetables in a pan until fork-tender. Drain them and put them in a bowl with half a pound of real butter (not nondairy butter spread, which is worse for your body than the butter) and mash. Add a cup of heavy cream and mix it to the consistency of your choice (you may not need a full cup of cream). Add kosher salt and pepper to the mixture to taste. You now have mashed potatoes with fewer calories, and people will either not notice or think you've put a new spin on an old dish.

The most important things this time of year have nothing to do with the food -- it's about friends, family and love. And you will definitely love yourself the morning after if you treat yourself right with healthier food that won't leave you sick in the body and sorry in the head. Be good to yourself. After all, that's where gratitude starts.