Heart Healthy Thanksgiving and Christmas Gravy

Heart healthy gravy for either Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner is quite easy to prepare. It may take a little longer than the usual gravy but well worth the health benefits.

Thanksgiving and Christmas are times for family gatherings and food. If there are family members who have a tendency to have heart conditions or are overweight this recipe may be helpful.

Cook the turkey as usual and in accordance with the directions of the package. Do not purchase a turkey that has been injected with butter or juices, as this will just add to the amount of fat being fed to the guests.

When the turkey is cooked take the juice from the pan and place it into a separate pot. Now take a tray of ice cubes and place them into the hot juices. The grease will gather around the ice cubes. Remove these with a spoon. Continue to place ice cubes into the juice until they are no longer gathering the grease from the liquid.

Add one can of Chicken Broth (salt free) and be sure to take approximately ½ cup of the juice and broth mixture out into a microwavable container. Place this in the microwave and warm it up. Do not make this fluid hot just warm. In this cup of fluid place approximately 4 tablespoons of flour and mix it well. While the cup of juice is warming place the gravy juice mixture on the burner and bring it to a boil. Now slowly pour in the flour mixture and stir continuously until it is mixed well. More flour may need to be added into the mix in order to get it to thicken. Do not salt this mixture allow each of your guests to salt the gravy to their own liking. Do not add any of the turkey giblets to this mix as this is too be heart healthy gravy and organ meats are not good for a person who is watching their weight and cholesterol.

Any number of thickening agents can be used to thicken the gravy if you do not like flouring, trying cornstarch. I however prefer flour in my gravy. This recipe for the holidays takes a little longer to prepare because you are gleaning the grease and oil from the juices but it is well worth the time to prepare heart healthy holiday meal.