Filed under: How To, Light Food, Health & Medical

According to some estimates, the average Thanksgiving dinner can have up to 4,500 calories - and that's per person, not for the whole meal. No wonder more than a few of us need to loosen our belts afterwards! But the holiday comes only once a year and it would be a shame to miss out on some of our favorites, from mashed potatoes and gravy to pecan pie. One solution is to keep all the same dishes, but lighten up the recipes slightly. The website Eat Better America - which is primarily geared towards providing simple, straightforward nutrition and fitness information to keep you living and eating healthy - has one particular feature that might come in handy for Thanksgiving prep. Called Healthify My Recipe, users of the site can submit favorite recipes and have them lightened up by the EBA food experts, cutting back the calories and fat without skimping on flavor. They already have recipes for gravy, pumpkin pie and mashed potatoes up, with both the "healthified" and "unhealthified" versions, all of which are perfect for Thanksgiving. In addition to the altered recipes, the site also has a basic recipe section, with tasty, but good for you, recipes geared towards those with specific eating concerns.

[Thanks, Nichole!]