The Turnip

If you are a New Englander, yellow turnip, which is actually a rutabaga, is part of your holiday meal with turkey. This rock hard, wax coated, big yellow vegetable can be challenging just to cut up! But there is a way to do it easily. Peel it with a knife, then stab it several times. Put it on a plate and microwave it for 3 minutes, several times, turning it after each 3 minute segment. Do a total of 15 minutes, then let it sit for a while. It will now be soft enough to cut easily, finish it off by boiling as usual.

When you mash it, just add a bit of milk. It doesn't need butter, honest. Why take a nutritional powerhouse and turn it into a fatty side dish? Put some fat free gravy on it and enjoy without guilt. Remember, each tablespoon of butter is 100 unnecessary calories.

Make a nice leafy green salad with lots of other vegetables in it for color, and your dinner is complete. I used to make lots of other dishes and have lots of leftovers. Now, just some turkey will be leftover.

And go ahead and have a yummy dessert. Make something so good it worth the calories. Give the leftover dessert away so it can't tempt you on the 26th and thereafter!