♪♪♪ I’ll be home for Christmas ♪♪
♪♪ You can count on me ♪♪♪
An October 2015 online survey of 1000 U. S. adults by SC Johnson & Son, Inc., posed this choice: would you rather spend the holidays with loved ones and skip presents or instead get gifts but spend the holidays alone? Based on the overwhelming 87% of respondents who chose companionship over presents, it’s a pretty good bet that most of us will be hanging out with friends and relatives sometime between now and the end of the year. Along with good companionship, you can probably expect such encounters to bring along a bounty of luxurious holiday food too. In the presence of calorie-dense temptations there arises the touchy question of how to dodge the nutrition booby trap. You’ve been watching your diet all year; so, now how can you avoid the “holiday 15-pound weight gain”? Have you ever considered a preemptive strike? In the case of bountiful holiday feasting, this principle can be skillfully applied to your menu by serving a light soup course at the beginning of the meal and then reinforced by offering colorful, crisp salad choices with low-fat dressing as a later course or as choices on your buffet display. Read on for specific suggestions and “healthy” recipe modifications to help your holiday feasting stay nutritious as well as delicious.
♪♪♪ SOUPS ♪♪♪
When the weather turns cooler, soup is especially satisfying as a tasty first course. Even better, soup can actually help you control your total food intake; studies show that soup makes you feel fuller and more satiated than most other types of food. Researchers think that such satiety may have to do with the high water content. Also, when it is piping hot, we eat soup more slowly, which gives us enough time to notice the point at which we actually start to feel full. The four soup recipes below all log in at less than 100 calories per one-cup serving, and they all would fit very well into almost any winter holiday menu. Click on each of the following links to get the full recipe along with an explanation of specific health benefits and suggestions for variations that will offer even more options for your cold-weather enjoyment.
A versatile soup, easy to change in whatever way best suits the appetites of those folks gathered together at your table. Also a great way to use up leftover veggies stored in your refrigerator, and don’t hesitate to re-heat this soup the next day because its flavor actually improves as ingredients blend together.
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Everybody’s childhood favorite, fresh tomato soup with quality ingredients — the perfect low-calorie comforter, kicked up a notch here to appeal to adult taste buds as well.
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Outstanding Onion, Carrot and Ginger Soup
A simple and tasty fat-free vegetable blend with only four ingredients — ideal soup on any cold winter’s night to warm you up from the inside out! Get all the benefits of onions with abundant antioxidants and flavonoids that may help promote heart health, improve mood, reduce inflammation, support the immune system and possibly decrease the risk of cancer; carrots, which are rich in beta-carotene (converted into vitamin A in the liver) and offer strong support for vision, youthful skin, blood sugar stability and the cardiovascular system as well as flush out toxins to cleanse the body; ginger — aromatic, pungent and spicy, it adds a special flavorful zest and is well known to support good digestion, reduce nausea, relieve muscle pain or other soreness (including osteoarthritis and menstrual pain) and may also lower blood sugar and cholesterol. In herbal medicine ginger is highly regarded for its warming effect and stimulation of circulation as well as for relaxing and soothing the GI tract and eliminating intestinal gas. At your table this soup will be highly regarded as a flavorful way to do battle with Old Man Winter on the coldest nights of the year.
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Traditional (Healthier) Egg Drop Soup
Get the pleasure of your favorite Chinese restaurant take-out soup in this preservative-free, lower-sodium version that is sure to bring smiles to everybody at your table. A low-calorie, low-fat and low-carb soup that is high in deliciousness!
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♪♪♪ SALADS ♪♪♪
Salads have almost unlimited potential to contribute a generous supply of vitamins and minerals, as well as abundant fiber, to your celebration menu. Topped with fresh vegetables, lean proteins, healthy fats and reduced-calorie homemade dressing, they can make a perfect, nutrient-packed addition as a separate course or as an oasis of good eating on your buffet table. None of the following recipes will add more than 150 calories to your meal (many of them contain under 100 calories), but all of them are nutritious, tasty and festive enough to appear at any holiday occasion.
Holiday Broccoli-Pomegranate Salad
Sparkling with holiday red and green colors, this crisp, crunchy salad will add flavor and a powerhouse of nutrients to your celebration menu.
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A tasty salad to prepare well in advance so that you can relax and enjoy your holiday dinner guests — plenty of protein, fiber, antioxidants and vitamins to get you through the whole holiday season in the best of health too.
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— BONUS RECIPE: Simple Slaw from Brussels Sprouts —
Bonus suggestions for more nutritious — but easy and tasty — variations on conventional cabbage slaw! Remember: they might be small, but Brussels sprouts are incredible powerhouses of nutrition … naturally low in sodium and fat with a ton of vitamins A, K, C (even more than an orange), B6, folate, potassium, fiber, iron, selenium and calcium plus the highest amount of glucosinolates and other antioxidant, cancer-fighting compounds.
Blanch and shred Brussels sprouts; toss with apple cider vinegar, olive oil, celery seeds and a small amount of honey. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper to taste.
— OR —
Shave Brussels sprouts leaves and top with dressing of fresh lemon juice, olive oil and Pecorino-Romano cheese.
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Strawberry-Spinach Celebration Salad with Champagne Dressing
Bring on the bubbly! A refreshing celebration salad that is both nutritious and festive — perfect for New Year’s Eve or any other holiday occasion when you want to offer a toast to a low-calorie choice that is unusually high in flavor.
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If you are a fan of Tex-Mex flavors, this is the perfect salad for you. Low in carbs and calories, this combination offers intense spices, colorful ingredients and plenty of crunch to please even your most adventurous dinner guests.
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The quickest, easiest salad you will ever assemble with less than three minutes of prep time required. Plenty of options to include additional ingredients to amp up the flavor and texture too!
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An exotic salad made with a combination of familiar and specialty ingredients that will tantalize the palate of even your most jaded holiday guests.
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This refreshing fruit combination is a great way to spice up an otherwise routine salad bowl and good to serve almost any time of day — from midmorning brunch to evening snack. It can cleanse the palate and aid in digestion when heavy holiday foods might otherwise weigh down your menu.
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Avocado-Orange Toss with Spinach and Cucumber
Low-cost, colorful creation that offers flexibility to assemble a salad guaranteed to appeal to a wide range of dinner guests. It is a high-fiber source of multiple vitamins and minerals … and it tastes yummy too!
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Now that we have skirted the nutrition minefield that lurks there in the early part of a celebration feast, upcoming texts will explore the “main event” as well as the “finale.” Look forward to information specifically about entrees, side dishes, desserts and beverages that are both delicious and nutritious right here in HOW TO MANAGE A HEALTHY HOLIDAY MENU.