This Thanksgiving, be sure to make healthy choices for your healthy appetite.

At the Table: Yukon Golds or Sweet Potatoes?

Mashed potatoes with gravy and sweet potato casserole usually both appear on Thanksgiving tables. Should you opt for both?

Go with…mashed potatoes with gravy. True, unadulterated sweet potatoes are healthier than their plain white counterparts, but after they've been creamed, candied, and covered in marshmallows, you're better off sticking with ordinary white potatoes with a dab of gravy. Sweet potato casseroles can clock in at 250 calories and 8 grams of fat, while mashed potatoes, prepared without butter and with low-fat milk (rather than cream) add only 140 calories and 7 grams of fat to your meal. The spuds on your plate may not be that low in fat, but unless the alternative is a plain sweet potato, they're probably the better choice.

The Cranberry Sauce Controversy: Homemade or canned?

The debate over the best kind of cranberry sauce likely depends on family tradition, but you may want to rethink tradition when you look at the sugar counts involved.

Go with…homemade. Two half-inch slices of that jellied cranberry sauce pack 43 grams of sugar and 172 calories, and the can is lined with a hormone-disrupting chemical called bishpenol A. A simple homemade cranberry sauce made with real cranberries, some fruit, and fruit juice has 98 calories and 21 grams of sugar in a one third cup serving—and no added chemicals. And it tastes great.