Healthy Thanksgiving recipes: Fresh apple side dishes

Ocean SprayApples and cranberries come together with acorn squash around the turkey in a nutritious Thanksgiving side dish.

Apples: An in-season Thanksgiving option

Sweet potatoes, cranberries and winter squashes are perennial favorites when it comes to Thanksgiving side dishes.

Throw in apples to expand the variety of sweet or sweetened flavors that can complement the turkey and other savory table mates at Thanksgiving dinner. Here are two recipes that combine some of Thanksgiving's most popular side-dish ingredients in a traditional and a not-so-traditional way.

In the Ocean Spray recipe, apples are blended with cranberries and acorn squash.

Chef Alexandra I. Lopez gives hash a makeover with apples, sweet potatoes, mild-mannered poblano peppers and chayote, a subtle green squash often used in Mexican cooking.

Fall apple recipes

Roasted chayote, sweet potato and apple hash
4 servings

1-1/2 tablespoon olive oil, divided

1 chayote, peeled, pit removed and diced

3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

6 slices of bacon, cut into small pieces

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1 poblano pepper, seeded and finely chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped

3 large apples, cored and diced (try Fuji, Gala or Golden Delicious)

Optional garnish: chopped chives, cilantro or parsley

U.S. Apple AssociationHash gets a makeover with apples, roasted sweet potatoes and chayote.

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease a large roasting pan with 1/2 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add the chayote and sweet potato into the pan and drizzle remaining olive oil over the vegetables. Stir well to coat with oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast uncovered for 30 minutes.

2. In a medium sauté pan, cook bacon at medium high heat until crispy and browned. Using a slotted spoon, remove cooked bacon to paper towels and carefully transfer grease into a heat-proof bowl. Keep approximately one teaspoon of the bacon fat in the sauté pan and return to medium heat. Add onions and peppers and cook 5-7 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat to cool slightly.

3. Remove roasting pan from oven. Add in the apples, bacon and pepper-onion mixture. Stir well. Return to oven and roast for an additional 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are tender and golden brown. Garnish with chopped herbs if desired.source