Holidays bring joy — and often food anxiety: What recipes should you use, how should you serve them, and how much should you make? And how can you keep from derailing a healthy diet?

Here are a few ideas to help you create a healthier, festive meal you can be proud to serve on Thanksgiving Day.

The Basics

If you are hosting a smaller group and don’t need to present the whole turkey for carving at the table, cook a turkey breast instead. It’s quicker, easier and helps reduce leftovers and waste.

If you start with a fresh turkey breast, you don’t have to worry about thawing it in time to cook for dinner. Most fresh turkey breasts are sold with directions and a pop-up timer, but here are the basics: A 5- or 6-pound turkey breast roasted at 325 F will cook in about two hours. Basting it with butter or oil isn’t necessary. Remove the skin before slicing and serving, because that's where most of the fat is.

The breast will supply about 3 pounds of solid white meat. A 3-ounce serving — about the size of a deck of cards — contains 115 calories, 26 grams protein, less than a gram of fat, 71 mg cholesterol, no carbohydrates or fiber and 44 mg sodium.

Here are ideas for other holiday favorites:

• Gravy. A turkey breast won’t provide a lot of juice, so add some nonfat chicken broth. To thicken, start with a tablespoon of flour or cornstarch dissolved in a half cup of cold water. Stir it with a whisk. Add chopped mushrooms for a giblet texture.
• Vegetables. Instead of adding things to your vegetables, let them be themselves. Steam the beans and use fresh-cut veggies as an appetizer tray, maybe with a little low-fat dip. Plain sweet potatoes — hold the marshmallows — add color to your plate.
• Dessert. Skip the big pies and serve a tray of mini-tarts or petit fours from a bakery or the freezer.

More Tips

For a healthier and low-fuss meal:

• Consider using 8-inch plates and leaving larger plates in the cupboard. Smaller plates help people choose smaller portions without having to think about it.
• Use throwaway foil roasting pans for the turkey breast and for outside-the-bird stuffing. Cover each pan to keep the turkey from over-browning and the stuffing from drying out.
• Aim for quality, not quantity. You don’t need more food than your family and guests will eat or more leftovers than you can enjoy. As you plan the menu, ask what guests would miss if it weren’t on the menu; skip everything else.
• Call for help. You can call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline toll-free at 888-MPHotline (888-674-6854) from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays except federal holidays. On Thanksgiving Day, it’s open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The USDA will answer email questions sent to MPHotline@usda.gov.