For the past eight years, Parkview Noble Hospital has offered a Healthy Holiday Recipes program with inspiring suggestions for reinventing the typical seasonal fare. This year, the theme was “Thanksgiving Makeover.” Parkview Chef Stan Horne and Parkview Noble Hospital Dietitian Julia Just, RD, created and prepared a complete menu of recipes to share with participants, including new twists on classics such as biscuits, sweet potatoes and pecan pie. Guests of the event enjoyed their sampling so much, we just couldn’t resist passing along a few of our favorites to you. Try adding one or two of them to your holiday offerings this holiday season.

Apple Pecan Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

4 medium-size sweet potatoes (3 ½ pounds)
¾ cup coarsely chopped pecans
¼ cup butter
1 large Rome Beauty apple, chopped
¼ cup golden raisins
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg.

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place potatoes on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.  Bake at 425 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until tender. Lower oven to 350 degrees.
2. Heat nuts in a nonstick skillet over medium-low heat, stirring often, for 5 to7 minutes or until toasted. Remove from skillet.
3. Combine butter, apple, raisins, browns sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.
4. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise; scoop pulp into a large bowl, leaving shells intact.  Add apple mixture to pulp in bowl and stir until blended. Spoon mixture back into shells.  Place on baking sheet.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, or until heated through. Top with nuts. 

Serves 8

(Nutrition information: Calories 360, Fat 13 grams, Carbohydrates 58 grams, Protein 4 grams, Fiber 8 grams, Sodium 160 mg)

Pork Loin

½ cup dried cranberries
1 ½ cups cranberry juice, divided
1 (3-pound) boneless center-cut, pork loin
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
Sea salt, to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 cup port
1 teaspoon cornstarch

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place cranberries in a small bowl; pour ½ cup cranberry juice over berries, and let soak for 10 minutes or until fruit is slightly plumped. Drain, if necessary.
2. Trim pork loin of excess fat; rinse and pat dry. Slit one end of pork loin with tip of a small knife to make a ½-inch incision. Use a sharpening steel or handle of a wooden spoon to make a tunnel inside center of pork loin.
3. Combine cranberries and 1 tablespoon rosemary. Stuff mixture down the tunnel, using a spoon handle to push the cranberries all the way through the center. (If you can’t get the mixture all the way through, stuff from both ends.) Rub pork loin with 1 tablespoon olive oil, remaining 1 tablespoon rosemary, thyme, sea salt and pepper.   
4. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil with butter in a heavy duty roasting pan or large oven proof skillet over medium heat. Sauté pork loin evenly on all sides for 7 to 8 minutes or until golden brown. Add port and remaining 1 cup cranberry juice; bring to a low boil, scraping any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
5. Bake at 350 degrees, basting several times, for 40 to 45 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into center of pork registers 150 degrees.  Remove pork from oven and place on serving platter. Let rest, loosely covered, 10 to 15 minutes.
6. Whisk together cornstarch and 1 teaspoon pan drippings. Heat remaining pan drippings over medium heat in heavy duty roasting pan or large skillet. Whisk in cornstarch mixture. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly, for 1 minutes.  Spoon over pork just before serving. 

Serves 6-8

(Nutritional information: Calories 206, Fat 12 grams, Carbohydrate 5 grams, Protein 23 grams, Sodium 53 mg)

Sautéed Green Beans and Onions with Bacon

1 pound green beans, trimmed and halved crosswise
4 slices bacon
1 16-ounce bottle cocktail onions, drained
2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 ½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

1. Cook beans in boiling water for 4 minutes, or until crisp. Rinse with cold water; drain and pat dry.
2. Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium–high heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan; reserve 2 tablespoons drippings. Crumble bacon and set aside. Add the onions to the drippings in the pan and cook for 3 minutes, or until onions are golden brown, stirring occasionally. Add sugar and thyme and cook for 3 minutes, or until heated through. Add the beans; cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
3. Add vinegar, salt and pepper; toss to coat. Stir in crumbled bacon just before serving

Serves 6 

(Nutritional information: Calories 59, Fat 3 grams, Carbohydrate 6.5 grams, Fiber 1.2 grams, Sodium 621 mg)