HEALTHY HOLIDAY RECIPES Breakfast or Brunch Ideas Fruit, low fat yogurt and granola parfaits. Whole grain French toast topped with fresh fruit and a dusting of powdered sugar. Breakfast Burritos: whole grain tortilla, egg-plus-egg-whites-scramble, fresh peppers, spinach, onions, mozzarella cheese and salsa. Healthy homemade muffins, see included recipe. Hummus In a blender or food processor, combine two cans rinsed garbanzo beans, 1-2 tsp sesame oil, 1-2 tsp minced garlic, juice from one lemon, and ¼ cup cilantro or parsley (optional). Salt and pepper to taste. Add small amounts of water to achieve desired consistency. Black Bean Dip In a blender or food processor, combine two cans rinsed black beans and approximately 1 cup salsa. Salt and pepper to taste. Optional: fresh peppers, onions and/or garlic. Ranch Dip Combine plain, non fat Greek yogurt with powdered ranch dressing mix to taste. Start with small amounts of the dressing mix, it doesn t take much. This can be thinned with skim milk to make a great salad dressing. Turkey When baking your turkey, do so in a roasting pan that allows the fat and drippings to gather at the bottom without the turkey resting in them. Basting with butter or oil is not necessary; you can use wine or apple juice or broth instead if you like to baste your bird. Don t purchase a self basting bird, they are higher in fat and calories due to the addition of butter or coconut or corn oil. Holiday Gravy Pour the drippings from your turkey into a large glass measuring cup. Skim off fat that rises to the top reserving the broth. Mix one tablespoon of corn starch with one tablespoon of the room temperature broth (making a slurry), then stir this mixture into the rest of the broth and simmer in a small pan until thickened. Add more cornstarch (in slurry form with cool water if needed) for thickening. Season as desired.
Cornbread Dressing ¼ cup chicken broth 1 Tbs canola oil 1 ½ cup chopped celery 1 cup chopped onion (about 1 medium) 2 Tbs Italian Seasoning mix ( more if desired) 1 tsp poultry seasoning 3 cups cornbread crumbs 4 slices dry whole grain bread, cubed 1 ½ - 2 cups fat chicken broth Optional: any diced veggies, shredded zucchini or carrots, ribboned spinach Sauté celery and onion in chicken broth and oil. Add all seasonings. In a 2 quart casserole dish, toss the sauté mixture with the bread crumbs and cubes, any optional veggies and add the rest of the chicken broth to achieve the correct consistency. Bake at 350, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove cover to allow to crisp if desired. Makes 7 servings. Creamy Mashed Potatoes Instead of using cream and butter to moisten and flavor your mashed potatoes, try evaporated skim milk. Take these to the next level by roasting heads of garlic in foil for approx 45 minutes at 325 until soft, then squeezing the meat of the garlic into your potatoes. Roasted Veggies Roasting vegetables is a great way to cook them easily and healthily. Even frozen vegetables work great. Toss favorite frozen veggies in a single layer in a baking pan and sprinkle with garlic powder, salt and pepper or any favorite seasonings. Bake at 400 for approximately 15 minutes until caramelized and delicious. To roast fresh vegetables, such as broccoli, cabbage chunks, cauliflower or brussel sprouts, toss with a small amount of olive oil, favorite seasonings and bake at 375 for approximately 30 minutes depending upon size and density of vegetable. Sweet Potato Bites Peel sweet potatoes. Cut into uniform size pieces whatever size suits your meal. Toss these pieces with olive oil to coat, and sprinkle with your favorite seasonings (for sweet flavors, use pumpkin pie spice or brown sugar; for savory flavors try Cajun seasoning, garlic powder or salt and pepper). Bake at 350 until cooked through, approximately 45 minutes depending on size of pieces.
Craisin Almond Spinach Salad In a large salad bowl, toss together 6 cups shredded spinach ( cut with kitchen scissors for quick way to shred), 1 cup craisins, 1 cup slivered almonds and 3 cups cooked and cooled minute brown rice/quinoa/any favorite whole grain. Season with salt and pepper and Honey Lemon Vinaigrette, see below. Honey Lemon Vinaigrette In medium size bowl, whisk together ¾ cup olive oil, ½ cup honey, ¼ cup apple cider vinegar, juice of one lemon, and 1 Tbs finely minced scallion. Salt and pepper to taste. Hot Spiced Cider Heat in crock pot or enamel pan: 8 cups apple cider ½ cup orange, lemon, or lime slices 9or any combination) with peel 2 cinnamon sticks (approx 2 inches long each) ¼ tsp nutmeg 4-6 whole cloves Strain, and serve with fruit slices in mugs. Serves 8. Nutella Quesadilla Spread 2 Tbs Nutella over a small whole grain tortilla. Cover with a small handful of favorite chopped, toasted nuts and thin slices of crisp apple. Cover with another whole grain tortilla. Heat in small frying pan on stove top just as you would a regular quesadilla, making tortillas toasty and heating ingredients. Grilled Pineapple with Chocolate Drizzle Grill either fresh or canned pineapple slices until they are heated through and have nice grill marks. Melt a small handful of dark chocolate chips in the microwave, and drizzle the melted chocolate lightly over the pineapple slice. Top with slivered almonds.
Easy, Healthy, Awesome Cupcakes/Muffins/Cookies Low-fat, high fiber and full of powerful antioxidants. Preheat oven to 350 1 standard box cake mix 1 can plain pumpkin, approx 15 ounces 1-3 cups oats (it can vary widely depending on the moisture in the pumpkin, use enough to make the batter the consistency of cupcakes/muffins or a bit thicker for cookies) 3 egg whites Favorite add-ins (great way to get in power foods!) chopped nuts, dark chocolate chips, shredded or diced apple, shredded carrot, coconut, raisins, craisins, etc.) Blend first three ingredients together until smooth and creamy. Mix in add-ins*. Scoop evenly into muffin cups. Makes approx 48 mini muffins or 24 large ones. Or, thicken batter a bit with extra oatmeal and drop by spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet to make moist, delicious cookies. Bake approx 15 minutes for mini muffins/cupcakes as well as small cookies. 20-25 minutes for larger ones. Times vary due to ingredients so simply keep your eye on them. Cupcakes are done when toothpick poked in center comes out clean. Cool on baking rack. Favorite combos: Spice cake mix with shredded apple and carrots, dark chocolate chips and toasted walnuts. Chocolate cake mix with peanut butter chips and peanut pieces. Red velvet cake mix with white chocolate chips and slivered almonds. Carrot cake mix with toasted walnuts, shredded apple and carrots. *chopping the add ins ( such as chocolate chips or nuts) into smaller pieces allows you to use less of them and still get their flavor spread throughout the cupcakes/muffins/cookies. Quickly toasting nuts in a small pan on the stove before adding them greatly enhances their flavor.
To make popcorn on the stove: Use a medium sized pot with a lid. The thicker the bottom of the pan, the better. Cover the bottom of the pan with oil (2-3 tablespoons), put in three kernels of corn and start heating on medium high heat with the lid on. Cooking time and temperature will depend on your pan and your stove, so you are just going to have to make a few batches while you figure out the perfect temperature for popping. Once all three kernels pop, the oil is hot enough. Be careful! Add the rest of the kernels right away before the oil heats higher. Put popcorn kernels in a single layer covering the bottom of the pan (1/4 to 1/2 cup). (Do not add more than a single layer of kernels on the bottom of the pan, they won't cook right.) Put on lid. Once it starts popping, shake it only once or twice throughout process to make sure all the kernels are getting popped. It should make enough to rise to the lid of pan but not overflow, you'll learn how much you need to get it right. Takes about 3 minutes, depends on pan and stove. It's done when popping slows down to 5 seconds between pops (or if you smell scorching!). Learn what heat setting works best. Pour into bowl, salt and enjoy! Don't add extra butter, keep it lean. For a sweet topping: powdered sugar mixed with cinnamon shaken over the popcorn. Yum! Doesn't take much and only adds a few calories for tons of flavor. For salty flavors: season salt, garlic powder, a bit of parmesan cheese, chili powder, a pinch of cayenne, lemon zest, etc... Experiment!