Biscuits and Lightened Up Gravy

Do you have any Father’s Day traditions? One of ours is that I make biscuits and gravy for my husband. It’s one of his favorite breakfasts. If you’ve never had it before, it’s a pretty indulgent way to start your day. The recipe starts with flakey, buttery biscuits, and then you smother them in a white gravy mixed with spicy breakfast sausage. It’s total man food. But since it’s not the healthiest of breakfasts, it’s one we keep special by only eating once a year, and Father’s Day seems like the perfect day for it. After all, the day is all about pleasing the special men in your life, and we all know the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach!

But it’s not just for men! In the past, I used to be convinced that I didn’t like biscuits and gravy. The truth was I had never tried it, and I had heard someone describe it as “fatty” and “unhealthy” once, so I stayed clear of it. Once I had my first bite, I couldn’t deny how much I actually enjoyed it, so I enjoy it with my husband on Father’s Day, too.

This year, since we both started macro counting, we decided we would try to lighten up the gravy by using turkey sausage instead. Compared to regular sausage, it contains quite a bit less fat and more protein. We also lightened up the recipe by using low-fat milk instead of whole. We both were pleasantly surprised how delicious it tasted with the turkey sausage! We both said we couldn’t really tell a difference between the traditional sausage gravy in taste and texture. The only thing I had a harder time with was getting the gravy to thicken up. The original recipe calls for medium-low heat to allow the gravy to thicken, but I had to boil mine before it started getting to the right texture.

The biscuits I didn’t dare lighten up! There’s only one way to get those flaky layers, and that’s by using real butter. I did, however, exercise portion control by just enjoying a couple when I really felt like I could have eaten the whole pan. HA! Another little tip for making this fit your macros a little easier is to pair it with a low-fat protein like egg whites, deli meat, turkey bacon, or even some Greek yogurt!