I've just come home after a long birthday weekend in New York and am amazed at how healthy we were.

Away from where everyone knows everyone and hidden in a city where no one knows anyone, it would have been easy to eat fast-food non-stop and supersize my meals and myself in the process.

What I wasn't expecting was to find such appealing healthy food on almost every corner.

Of course like every major city, New York is overrun with deep-fried options, but it's also stuffed with healthy delis and gourmet soup kitchens.

We even found an award-winning vegan restaurant and a gluten-free, dairy-free bakery — although after spending $60 on cupcakes, I have finally reached chocolate cake saturation point — if that's possible.

However, with almost every American gearing themselves up for Thanksgiving, there was a hardly a national emphasis on healthy eating.

Thanksgiving is traditionally a time for feasting — but this doesn't have to be a calorific disaster area!

Gigantic portions aside, as the centerpiece of a traditional Thanksgiving meal, turkey is actually very healthy.

Roast turkey breast is one of the most lean, nutrient-rich sources of protein available.

However, note that when I say roast turkey, I mean freshly roasted turkey.

Unfortunately deli, or pre-packed sliced turkey, often has a high sodium content and includes the darker meat, which raises the total saturated fat content significantly.

Also, processed turkey often contains organ meats too (heart, gizzards etc.), which again raises the saturated fat content and quite frankly, makes me want to vomit.

If you've just gone queasy at the thought of all the gizzards you may have accidentally eaten, let's refocus on the positives!

Freshly roasted turkey breast meat contains less than half the saturated fat of the majority of red meats.

It's rich in B3 and B6, which helps to provide energy and prevents damage to your DNA.

Turkey is also high in selenium, a mineral that helps to boost the immune system and provides metabolic support for the thyroid gland.

Lastly, turkey is rich in tryptophan which helps to promote sleep.

This is one reason why so many of us have a snooze on the sofa after dinner (that and because we ate so much, we can't actually move…)

Now as healthy as your freshly roasted turkey may be, poultry is the number one source of all cases of salmonella food poisoning.

Salmonella causes simultaneous diarrhoea and vomiting and it can take days to recover.

It's not fun at the best of times, but especially not over the holidays.

So as many of us cook much larger birds than we are used to, we need to be extra careful, especially when it comes to leftovers — check the box to make sure you use any spare turkey wisely!

Healthy options for leftovers include whole-grain sandwiches with turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce, turkey soup and casseroles.

However, one of my favourite solutions is this healthy turkey curry recipe.

It's got an intense flavour, but it's light enough to enjoy if you're still full from the day before.

It's also free of much of the saturated fat of traditional curries.

Healthy Thanksgiving Curry

4 cups cold roast turkey meat, chopped into bite sized pieces

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 inch of fresh ginger, pressed

1 large clove garlic, pressed

2 tbsps. light olive oil

1 tbsp. lemon juice

4 tsps. honey

1 tsp. garam masala

1 tin chopped tomatoes

2 cups chicken stock (I use the organic chicken "better than bouillon")

Homemade –curry powder

(all teaspoons heaped)

2 tsps. ground cumin,

1 tsp. ground coriander

1 tsp. turmeric

2 tsps. paprika

2 tsps. chili powder

2 tsps. fenugreek

2 tsps. brown rice or gram flour

In a large casserole dish, heat the light olive oil and onions. Sautee on medium for five minutes, till the onions are translucent.

Press the ginger and garlic through a garlic press, discarding the rough fibrous bits and add the pulp/juice to the onions. Turn the heat down to low and stir constantly for one minute.

Add the curry powder mix and continue to stir for another minute. Don't let the spices burn!

Turn the heat back up again to medium, and add ¼ cup chicken stock to the curry paste.

Stir in and allow the sauce to thicken. As the sauce thickens into a paste again, continue to add more of the stock, until it has all been stirred in.

Add the tin of tomatoes, stir in and set the sauce on to simmer for half an hour. It's important you allow the time to do this as the flavours take a while to draw out and merge. Add more hot water if the sauce becomes too thick.

Once the sauce has "cooked", add the lemon juice, honey and garam masala. Test for salt and add if necessary — although try not to.

Once the sauce is a good consistency (not too thick, not too runny — you can reduce the liquid by boiling off water), add the chopped turkey.

Stir the turkey in and heat through till piping hot all the way through to the middle of the largest piece.

Serve with brown or basmati rice and a salad!

Salmonella safety tips

If you are storing leftovers, strip the bird before doing so and never reheat the whole thing. Cooked, stripped turkey meat can be kept for three days in the fridge.

You can reheat cooked turkey, but once only and make sure it is piping hot.

Do not re-freeze turkey that has previously been frozen.

The advice given in this article is not intended to replace medical advice, but to complement it. Always consult your GP if you have any health concerns. Catherine Burns is a fully qualified Nutritional Therapist. She can be contacted at 291 4725 or clinicalnutrition[AT]gmail.com