What to Serve the Health Conscious Elves

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It is the Monday before Christmas and you do not know what you are going to cook for all your brothers, sister, in-laws, children, and grandparents coming over for dinner. Not to mention, your extremely health conscious sister in-law who never eats Christmas dinner because it has “too much fat”, or “too many carbs”, or “too much sugar”. Well, this is the year you are going to make a delicious Christmas dinner that even the most health conscious elf will love!

With the help of healthcorps, I have come up with a few examples of main dishes, sides and desserts that will satisfy everyone, and avoid the “food baby” everyone seems to feel after eating Christmas dinner.

Main Dishes:

  • Low fat and low sodium ham, with a light honey glaze to naturally sweeten it.
  • Serve lamb on a bed of lentils and apples. This will decrease the serving of lamb per person, add a protein kick from the lentils and a sweet finish from the apples.
  • Salmon or Tilapia with sautéed mushrooms and a red pepper sauce is an omega-3 packed main dish and great for non-meat eaters. You could also try this on a bed of lentils to add a protein punch!

Sides:

  • Cauliflower Couscous would go great with any main dish! This cauliflower couscous takes the heavy, carb and fat loaded potato side dish away and adds a lighter but just as delicious option. Throw some nuts in the mix to add flavor, texture and protein!
  • Want a little sweeter side? Try Acorn squash with cranberry apple stuffing! This side dish has a little bit of everything and a lot of nutrients. Plus, the acorn squash and cranberries are at their peak in the winter!

Desserts:  

  • A great idea for a lighter dessert would be a yogurt bar! Have different flavors of non-fat Greek yogurt lined up with various toppings to add in. Some of these toppings could include mini dark chocolate chips, fresh or dried fruit, unsweetened granola, coconut shavings, you could even have sprinkles for the kids.
  • Try a hot fruit bake! This recipe can be found on countryliving.com and is a great healthy dessert alternative that sneaks in a fruit serving! You could even add a little bit of light whip cream or no added sugar vanilla ice-cream to sweeten it up!
  • ANY baked goods like cookies, cake, or brownies can be made healthier with a few substitutions!
    • Substitute oil with apple sauce (1:1)
    • Substitute sugar with honey (1 cup: ¾ cup)
    • Substitute butter with yogurt (1 cup: ¾ cup)

Hope these satisfy your health conscious elves. Have a happy and healthy holiday!

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