Three (Healthy) Sides for Your Christmas Dinner

While the term Thanksgiving dinner might be code for “turkey, stuffing and gravy”, Christmas Dinner is usually anything but the big bird on a platter.  Prime rib, pork roast and ham are a few of the offerings I’ve heard people say they are serving this holiday season.  But what about sides to go with those mains? Typically side dishes are what do the most damage to our healthy eating holiday plan.  Many are filled with cheese, cream, butter and other sources of unhealthy fats and calories.  If you’re looking to ‘healthy up’ your sides and not give up flavor or a festive look, then read on for a few of my suggestions (and links to the recipes).

Before we get to dinner, I have to make a quick stop for an appetizer. Appetizers with less guilt are a great way to start your evening.  Choose endive leaves as a base for transporting a yummy spread like honey drizzled goat cheese. Goat cheese is easier to digest than cow’s cheese and a little goes a long way. Raw honey keeps the nutrients in tact and walnuts offer healthy fat.  Try this recipe: 

Spread herbed goat cheese onto cleaned and separated endive leaves. Sprinkle raw walnut pieces on top and drizzle with raw honey.  Arrange on a platter and serve.

Now, on to dinner and three sides to try:

Pomegranates are in season and their beautiful color adds a festive flair to salads.  Try this one for a healthy ingredient, brightly flavored addition to your meal:  Avocado, Endive, Apple and Pomegranate Salad. (note: some medications react with grapefruit, so if this applies to you, substitute with orange.) 

Who doesn’t love bright green veggies as a side? Elevate your heavy, fat filled green bean casserole to a new level with this side dish: Green Beans with Walnuts and Lemon Vinaigrette. This is always a hit when I serve it!

And if you’re looking for a side dish that fills the comfort food need, this cauliflower dish uses roasted cauliflower to add depth of flavor to a great mash potato substitute.  

Whatever may end up on your table next week, I hope it is the love of family and friends that truly make for a treasured meal.  Thanks to each of you for reading and supporting the Grow in Wellness blog… you are all appreciated! 

Merry (Healthy) Christmas!

One More Thing for Your Thanksgiving Table...

A quick little post to share with you before Thanksgiving dinner is done being planned, but first I want to say a Big THANK YOU to all of my readers for following this blog and supporting Grow In Wellness!

Are you looking to upgrade parts of your Thanksgiving meal?  One way you can do so is to try one of these two delicious (and easy) recipes. Both center around a vegetable that is most often an afterthought, but please keep reading, because this vegetable has a lot to offer.  I’m talking about cauliflower.  A cruciferous vegetable that gives us a myriad of vitamins like B’s, C and K, it also contributes to cancer prevention, reduces inflammation, gives us fiber and adds cardiovascular support from it’s omega 3’s. 

While it typically shows up on a plate steamed and hiding between carrots and broccoli as a restaurant’s vegetable side dish, there are better ways to prepare this gem of a vegetable.  My favorite is to roast it until it is golden and delicious.  Below are links to two of my favorite (healthy!) recipes - one with garlic and lemon by Emeril Lagasse and the other by Giada Di Laurentiis.  If those don’t sound good to you, I’ve added a link to Bon Appetit’s grouping of cauliflower recipes, too.  (I can’t say BA's are all healthy, but they do look tasty and it’s still a better choice than mashed potatoes and gravy). 

Mix things up a bit at this year’s Thanksgiving dinner and bring a new “guest” to the table with one of these recipes.  Stop back by and let me know if any of these made it to your table this year.

Wishing you a Happy (and healthy) Thanksgiving!

Fall Favorites for Your Plate

I love Michael Pollan’s quote, “If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don't. ”  Eating seasonally and organically are two great ways to do that!  And seasonal, organic, plant-based eating will also improve your health and help our environment. Each season brings its own bounty of delicious veggies to eat and this time of year, the fields are full of hearty, warming choices. 

Sometimes it’s hard to know exactly what’s really in season when you go to the grocery store.  You can find apples in summer and strawberries in winter, but they will have been grown far away, picked before their peak and then take days to get to your market. Foods that have been picked too early and travel long distances won’t look as pretty as the seasonal ones that grew to their peak. To make them look more appealing, they’re often treated with chemical ripening agents, wax coatings, and other preservatives. Their flavor and nutrient value has been diminished under those circumstances.  Buying what’s in season and what’s grown locally will give you the healthiest, tastiest produce and will reduce your carbon footprint.

The freshest choices for produce, and probably at the best prices, are at your local farmer’s market. If you don’t have time to go to the farmer’s market each week or if there isn’t one close to you, look into CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) programs that deliver fresh produce to you.  I get a customizable box twice a month for a great price and with the peace of mind that my produce is organic and grown locally.. Plus I sometimes get something new to try, like delicata squash.   If you are in the Southern California area, check out the Farm Fresh to You service. What “something new” will you try this fall?

Here are five of my favorites for this fall (with a few recipe links):

Brussels Sprouts –  a great source of vitamin C, antioxidants and potassium. They aren’t too tasty steamed, but roast a pan full of these, tossed with olive oil and diced pancetta, until they are a deep, golden brown and your taste buds will be happy (meat free option – substitute pancetta with chopped shallots).

Delicata Squash – new to you? It was to me until a year ago.  This green striped squash is full of beta-carotene, delicate in flavor and easy to prepare.  And the skin is so thin, you don’t need to peel it.  Halve it and clean out the seeds. Then slice ¼ inch thick and roast with red onion, rosemary and a little sea salt.

Butternut Squash – A fall staple, this squash makes a wonderful soup for cold days.  One of my favorite versions is by Ina Garten.  You can find it here: Butternut Squash Soup

Cauliflower – This vegetable might not have a lot of color, but it does have a lot of nutrients: Vitamins B-6, C, K, folate, anti-oxidants and sulforaphane, a compound that has anticancer properties. Another veggie that tastes great roasted.  Try this recipe by Emeril Lagasse: Roasted Cauliflower with Garlic and Lemon Juice.

Pears – This fruit comes in several varieties and while it’s delicious all on its own, it is just as good on a salad of mixed greens, Gorgonzola cheese, pecans and champagne vinaigrette as it is baked in a roasted pear crumble. (I substitute the brown and white sugar with coconut sugar).

Enjoy!

 PS  In case you were wondering, it's the cauliflower that I can eat like it's candy ;)