Healthy Whole Grain Stuffing Recipe

I can’t believe that Thanksgiving is almost here! This is definitely one of my favorite holidays where my family and I can enjoy some of our favorite foods – ranging from sweet to savory delicacies. Not just an eating fest, I also think that Thanksgiving is an incredible time to slow down and really savor time with our families as we also express gratitude for what we have. This Thanksgiving rather than gorging I want to enjoy the colorful array of foods as well as make (try) to make it a semi-healthy experience. One of my favorite sides is stuffing so to make it semi-healthy, I used whole grains, cranberries, olive oil (sorry, no butter), walnuts, celery and some sage and parsley to enhance its flavors. As a delicious side, this stuffing can also easily be modified to use a variety of fruits like raisins or pears and flavors like mint. Enjoy and stay semi-healthy this Thanksgiving!

Healthy Whole-Grain Stuffing

Ingredients:

6 slices of whole grain bread, cut up
½ cup of cranberries
2 apples, cut up (I used gala apples.)
1 ear of corn
1 stalk of celery, cut up
1 yellow onion, chopped
3-4 sprigs of fresh parsley, chopped
3-4 sprigs of sage, chopped
1 cup of chicken (or vegetable) broth
1 tbsp nutmeg
2 eggs
drizzle olive oil
pinch of salt and pepper

Cooking Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the bread into small squares and set it aside.
Cut up the apples, corn, celery and onion. Place them in a pan along with the chicken broth. Sauté the ingredients together lightly and add the parsley and sage.
Turn off the flame and place the bread in a deep casserole dish. Beat the eggs and drizzle them on top of the bread along with the sautéed apple and veggie mixture.
Spread the cranberries throughout the mixture and add the nutmeg, salt and pepper. Cover the stuffing with aluminum foil and let the stuffing cook for 30 minutes.

{Updated; Originally posted on November 16, 2011}