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The holidays are almost here, and with them the temptation to indulge. But you can still enjoy many of your favorite holiday foods and avoid the bulge.

Chef Michael Tomaseski, Culinary Arts teacher at Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES and Rachel Harris, clinical nutrition manager for NewYork-Presbyterian/Hudson Valley Hospital’s outpatient nutrition program have developed a holiday menu that reduces fat and calories, but not the taste.

Rachel Harris, RD, CNSD, CDN, Clinical Nutrition Manager at NewYork-Presbyterian/Hudson Valley Hospital, said substituting lower calorie, lower fat ingredients is a good way to enjoy foods without sacrificing taste. For example, instead of serving mashed potatoes filled with high-fat butter and cream or candied yams with sugar, consider making roasted sweet potatoes or smashed potatoes without the butter or sour cream.

Harris and Tomaseski prepared a healthy holiday feast on the most recent edition of Health Smart, NewYork-Presbyterian/Hudson Valley Hospital’s public access cable show. The show will air in November on the following dates and times:

Yorktown Channel 74:
Monday, 11/22 at 6pm
Tuesday, 11/23 at 6pm

Ossining North & South Channel 15:

Monday, 11/22 at 7:30pm
Tuesday, 11/23 at 6:30pm
Wednesday, 11/24 at 6:30 p.m. Ossining North & South Channel 15
Monday, 11/22 at 7:30pmTuesday, 11/23 at 6:30pm
Wednesday, 11/24 at 6:30pm

Harris said that the Outpatient Nutrition Department at Hudson Valley Hospital can help anyone develop smarter eating habits any time of year.

NewYork-Presbyterian/Hudson Valley Hospital's Outpatient Nutrition Program offers:

• Individualized nutrition counseling
• Nutrition education for the management of chronic disease
• Analysis of current diet and food intake
• Learn to read food labels and understand portion sizes
• Guidelines for eating out
• Medical nutrition therapy for Medicare Part B beneficiaries with diabetes or non-dialysis renal disease (beginning in January 2011).

For more information or to schedule an appointment please contact the Nutrition Counseling Department at 914-734-3022 or email [email protected].

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Thanksgiving recipes:

Roasted Green Beans (recipe source:Cook's Illustrated)

Ingredients:
2 pounds Green beans, cleaned and trimmed
1 tablespoon Olive oil, good quality
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 450 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet withaluminum foil; spread beans on baking sheet. Drizzle with oil; using hands, toss to coat evenly. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt, toss to coat, and distribute in even layer. Roast 10 minutes.

Remove baking sheet from oven. Using tongs, redistribute beans. Continue roasting until beansare dark golden brown in spots and have started to shrivel, 10 to 12 minutes longer. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, transfer to serving bowl, and serve.

Makes 8 portions. Calories per serving: 70; Fat 3.5 g; Sat fat 0 g; Chol 0 mg; Carb 8 g; Protein 32g; Fiber 4 g; Sodium 30 mg.

Quinoa Stuffing (recipe source: Christopher Polidoro-executive chef at 95 School Street)

Ingredients:
3 bay leaves
2 cups quinoa
1/4 cup olive oil
2 zucchini, small, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 butternut squash, peeled and diced
2 bunches green onions
1 cup dried apricots
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup parsley, fresh chopped
1 cup mint, fresh, chopped
1 lemon

Directions:Boil 4 cups water; season with bay leaves and salt. Add quinoa and return to a boil.Reduce heat, cover and simmer about 20 minutes, until quinoa absorbs water. Remove from heat; remove bay leaves and let cool. Meanwhile, heat 3 tbsp oil in a frying pan. Sauté zucchini and squash — season with salt and pepper — until slightly browned. Combine vegetables and quinoa. Drizzle on remaining 1 tbsp oil. Stir in onions, apricots, cranberries, parsley, and mint. Grate in lemon peel and squeeze on lemon juice to taste. Season with salt and pepper.

Makes 10 portions.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes (recipe source:Cook's Illustrated with modifications)

Ingredients:
6 sweet potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil, good quality
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Directions:Wash sweet potatoes well, scrub lightly, trim ends, and do notpeel. Cut lengthwise in half, and then in half again, so that eachpotato is quartered lengthwise.
Toss potatoes in large bowl with oil, salt, and pepper to taste until evenly coated. Line 18- by 13-inch heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat with nonstick cooking spray. Arrange potatoes in single layer on baking sheet and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Adjust oven rack to middle position and place potatoes in cold oven. Turn oven to 425 degrees and cook potatoes 30 minutes.

Remove baking sheet from oven and carefully remove top layer of foil. Return potatoes to oven and cook until golden brown, 15 to 25 minutes. Be sure that the potatoes are done by piercing them with aknife; the knife should go through without resistance. Let potatoes cool 5 to 10 minutes; transfer to platter and serve.

Makes 8 to 12 portions.

Good Eats Roast Turkey (recipe source: Alton Brown)

Ingredients:
young turkey, thawed
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 1/2 teaspoon allspice berries
1 1/2 teaspoon chopped candied ginger
1 gallon heavily iced water
1 red apple, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 springs rosemary, fresh
6 leaves sage, fresh
canola oil as needed

Directions:
2 to 3 days before roasting:
Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F. Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candiedginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.

Early on the day or the night before you'd like to eat:
Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with coldwater. Discard the brine.

Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels. Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.

Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.

Makes 10-12 portions.

Winter Fruit and Nut Stuffing(recipe source: Rochelle Palermo Torres with modifications)

Ingredients:
12 tablespoons butter
2 anjou pears, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2 cubes
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 cups onions, chopped fine
1 1/2 cups celery, chopped fine
1 1/2 cups sauternes, or other sweet wine
1 1/2 cups pitted prunes, chopped small
1 1/2 cupsdried apricots, chopped small
1 cup dried cranberries
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons fresh sage
1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
12 cups cubed, crustless bread

Directions:
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pears; sprinkle with sugar. Sauté until pears are golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer to very large bowl; mix in cinnamon. Melt remaining 10 tablespoons butter in same skillet over medium heat. Add onions and celery; sauté until golden, about 15 minutes. Add wine and next 5 ingredients. Simmer until liquid is reduced almost to glaze and mixture is soft and moist, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Mix into pears. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Reheat to lukewarm before continuing.)

Mix bread and pecans into fruit mixture. Season stuffing with salt and pepper.

To bake stuffing in turkey: Loosely fill main cavity and neck cavity of turkey with stuffing. Generously butter baking dish. Spoon remaining stuffing into prepared dish. Cover dish with buttered foil, buttered side down. Bake stuffing in dish — alongside turkey or while turkey is resting — until heated through, about 25 minutes. Uncover stuffing in dish. Bake until top of stuffing is slightly crisp and golden, about 15 minutes longer. To bake stuffing in dish: Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Transfer stuffing to prepared dish. Bake uncovered until heated through, about 35 minutes.

Makes 12 portions.