Food for the Festive Season - Part 1
Christmas is drawing near & one of life's biggest pleasures
is sitting around enjoying delicious food & quality time in the
company of loved ones.
In the health & fitness industry, we find that the end of the
year is the most common time where people tend to fall off the
wagon… but it doesn't have to be!
Just like Santa takes the time to get organised when carefully
selecting gifts, when it comes to planning your Christmas feast, it
is all about being prepared, tweaking recipes with a few better
alternatives & making wholesome foods that you enjoy eating so
you don't feel like you are missing out .
So, to help you stay aligned with your newfound healthy lifestyle,
we have put together a few quick, simple, yummy & easy-to-make
recipes for entertaining that everyone can enjoy over the silly
season without the guilt.
The recipes below can still keep you enjoying those social type
foods, such as dips & chips/crackers & nuts. but these are
normally eaten from store-bought packets, jars or tubs with loads
of added fat, salt & preservatives with an alcoholic drink in
hand. The empty calories quickly add up!
These recipes however, are homemade & full of flavour, using
wholefood ingredients that will not only nourish you but also
appeal to the palate as well!
Dips
Mediterranean Creamy Capsicum Dip
50gms (1/3 cup) roughly chopped red capsicum
100gms (1/2 cup) Cottage Cheese
30gms Cashews
15gms (1/2) Red Onion
Place all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender &
pulse until combined & smooth.
For a bit of spice you could add some chilli flakes or a fresh red
chilli.
Store in an airtight container.
Smoked Salmon Dip
100g smoked salmon
220g extra light Philadelphia cream cheese
Half red onion, chopped
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup walnuts
3 shallots roughly chopped
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 garlic clove roughly chopped
Place all ingredients into food processor & blend until smooth
but slightly chunky.
Place in a bowl in the fridge for 30 minutes before serving.
Healthy Spinach Dip
70gms (1/2) an Avocado
40gms or 1/3 cup Cottage Cheese
80gms or 1/2cup Chobani Plain Greek Yoghurt
30gms Cashews
20gms or 1 cup Spinach leaves
A small squeeze of lemon to taste
Place all ingredients in a food processor & blend until smooth.
Store in an airtight container.
Beetroot Hummus
350gms (3 medium) beetroots (note: you can buy these from Woollies
already cooked & vacuum packed).
150g drained & rinsed chickpeas
1 clove of garlic
2 tsp ground cumin
45mls or ¼ cup olive oil
20gms or 2 tbsp tahini
1/2 lemon, juiced
Salt and pepper to taste
Place all ingredients in a food processor & blend until smooth. Store in an airtight container.
Chips & Crackers
Mountain Bread Chips
You could serve any of the above with Mountain Bread Chips (instead
of packet corn chips), by spraying sheets of mountain bread with a
little extra virgin olive oil, then a sprinkling of your favourite
dried herbs & placing them in the oven for 3-4 minutes or until
golden brown. So simple!
Crunchy Sourdough Dippers
Toast a few slices of Sourdough bread until golden & crunchy,
then cut into strips & use a pastry brush with a little Sweet
Chilli Sauce & Olive Oil & brush over while warm.
Curry Seeded Crackers (Dairy & Gluten
Free)
1 ½ cups sunflower seeds
½ cup Linseeds
½ cup Sesame Seeds
3 tablespoons Chia Seeds
3 teaspoons Sea Salt flakes
3 teaspoons Curry Powder
Place all ingredients & 1 ½ cups of warm water in a heat proof
bowl & stir until well combined. Leave to stand at room
temperature, stirring occasionally for 20 mins or until the mixture
thickens & looks gel-like.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 160C & line two large baking trays with baking paper.
Spread the seed mixture thinly & evenly over the prepared
trays. Bake for 1 hour, swapping the tray & half way through
the cooking time, until crisp & golden. Cool completely on the
trays & snap into rough pieces to serve.
Vege Sticks
Carrot, Celery & Capsicum cut into thin vege sticks also go
nicely with any of the above.
Mixed & Flavoured Nuts
When buying roasted nuts from the supermarket, these are
usually roasted at a very high temperature which strips the nuts of
their nutritional properties & natural oils. It is far better
to roast & flavour your own nuts yourself.
Chocolate Chilli Nuts (Dairy & Gluten
Free)
1 x Egg white
3 x teaspoons Maple Syrup
1 x teaspoon raw Cacao Powder
¼ x teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon chilli powder
1 Cup Blanched Almonds
½ Cup raw Cashews
2 Medjool Dates, pitted & finely chopped
Preheat oven to 200C & line a large baking tray with baking
paper.
Place the egg white n a large bowl & whisk until frothy. Add
the maple syrup, cacao, cinnamon & chilli & whisk until
combined. Then add the almonds & cashews & toss
together.
Spread mixture in a single layer on the tray & bake for 15 mins
or until nuts are golden & crisp. Cool on the tray.
Add the dates to nut mixture, toss to combine & serve.
Sweet Sticky Nuts
500g mixed nuts
1/2 cup rice syrup
1 dessertspoon maple syrup
Pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 180 degrees, line baking dish with baking paper.
Take 150g of the nuts & place them on some baking paper
& put them into the oven for 10 minutes or until roasted. In
food processor place the remaining nuts & blitz until near
butter consistency.
In a saucepan on medium heat, place rice syrup, maple syrup & a
pinch of salt. Stir until syrup takes on water consistency. Stir in
the nut butter from the food processor & mix well.
Take the roasted nuts & combine into the saucepan. Pour into prepared baking dish and place in fridge to set, then cut into squares.
Chilli Lime Peanuts
6 tablespoons lime juice
6 tablespoons chili powder
4 teaspoons Sea Salt
1/2-1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
6 cups unsalted peanuts
Preheat oven to 120C & line 2 baking trays with baking
paper.
Whisk lime juice, chili powder, salt & cayenne in a large bowl.
Add peanuts; toss to coat.
Divide between 2 large rimmed baking sheets; spread in an even
layer. Bake, stirring every 15 minutes, until dry, about 45
minutes. Let cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up
to 3 weeks.
Christmas comes with many traditions from decorating Christmas
trees to cooking special holiday foods. These recipes don't have to
be used as special "sometimes foods", they can be used all year
round because when food is made with love you can taste it!
We spend weeks in the lead up to Christmas agonising over the
perfect gifts to give, when a good wholesome meal with family can
be just as (if not more) joyous & memorable for years to come
without causing too much damage to our waistlines.
Hoards of calories are consumed every Christmas season. And those same calories are the reason for the millions of New Year's resolutions to lose weight. You don't have to eat yourself "silly" to enjoy the silly season.
Alicia Jovcevski
Studio Owner