With holiday preparations underway, Pottstown Memorial Medical Center  celebrates autumn with delicious, healthy recipes for Thanksgiving.

This month,  www.pottstownmemorial.com  features stuffing, side dishes and desserts with less fat, lower cholesterol and lower sodium than traditional dishes. We also debut launch the first of many how-to articles and videos, presenting quick healthy cooking tips from expert chefs.

Turkey recipes are as many and varied as the people who make them. Rather than offer just one turkey recipe, we had New York food editor Loretta Dinacci give pointers on how to make your bird healthier. She describes how to find the freshest turkey and avoid unhealthy additives and salt. She also advises which oils and seasonings to use to achieve that rich flavor everyone loves.

In the coming months,  www.pottstownmemorial.com  will introduce a new category of how-to-cook videos to complement our popular recipe videos. Professional chefs will demonstrate useful, everyday tips for healthy cooking, like how to chop an onion, how to sweat vegetables or how to grill salmon. It’s just another way we’re adding useful and entertaining information to our website.

Wheat allergies are one of the fastest growing health issues in the country. A recent study in the journal Gastroenterology found that four times as many people have celiac disease – a condition in which the body cannot absorb strands of protein called gluten – than they did 50 years ago. Studies from the University of Michigan Health System estimate that 1 in 100 people have celiac disease.   PMMC’s Web site,  www.pottstownmemorial.com,  helps people with wheat allergies find delicious gluten-free meals this holiday season. Our Corn Bread Stuffing web video shows how to make a Thanksgiving staple using all gluten-free products. In fact, all of our featured side dishes (Healthy Mashed Potatoes, Healthy Butternut Squash, Italian Green Beans and Quinoa Gravy) are naturally gluten-free. These recipes are easy to make and something everyone can enjoy.

 

Corn Bread Stuffing With Chestnuts and Figs

PMMC’s new web cooking video features Health eCooking chef Mitch Prensky as he demonstrates how to make a gluten-free stuffing in just minutes. He starts with a stale, crumbled, gluten-free corn bread. (We prefer either a store-bought mix like Bob’s Red Mill or corn bread made from scratch using masa harina.) Roasted chestnuts and soaked figs bring out an aroma that will have your family gushing. Since you don’t need to cook this stuffing in the bird, you can just toss it in the oven and go enjoy your holiday.

Recipe   Yield: 8 Servings

• 1 cup diced dried figs

• 1/4 cup 100% corn bourbon or orange juice

• 3 cups stale gluten-free cornbread, crumbled

• 3/4 cup onion, diced

• 1 cup celery, chopped

• 4 cloves garlic, chopped

• 1 cup cooked chestnuts, chopped

• 1/2 tsp fresh sage, chopped

• 1/2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp pepper

• 2 cups fat free, reduced sodium chicken broth

• 3 egg whites

Preheat oven to 350˚.

Soak figs in bourbon or orange juice until soft. Drain.

Combine cornbread, onion, celery, garlic, chestnuts, seasonings and soaked figs in a bowl. Add chicken broth and mix well. Let stand 5 minutes. Lightly whisk egg whites and fold into mixture.

Evenly spread mixture into a nonstick baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake for 45 minutes or until light brown.

Nutrition facts (per serving): Calories: 283; Fat: 5g; Saturated Fat: 2g; Cholesterol: 35mg; Sodium: 562mg; Carbohydrates: 51g; Fiber: 5g; Protein: 9g.