Healthy Holiday Recipes & Allergy Friendly Tips

This is the time of year that we often crave comforting, warm or traditional foods.  This switch away from raw foods (like salad) is part of our natural need for warming, easily digested, energy providing nutrients in the winter months.  You may not realize that there are ways to use whole food (unprocessed) ingredients to make your favourite holiday meals.  There's no reason that you can't enjoy these foods, and also have good nutrition at the same time.

As you transition into a healthy whole foods lifestyle, you begin to realize just how much sugar or added chemical ingredients really are in your diet.  Most of all, I love how much appreciation you can have for the real flavours of food by using a few simple ingredients.

These recipes will help you not just with your holiday meals, but also with entertaining and potlucks, and generally staying true to your wellness goals.  Absolutely, enjoy your favourite things over the holidays, but make changes where you can to support your healthy lifestyle or allergy needs.

General eating guide:

1. Fill half your plate with vegetables
2. Have protein and some fat with every meal to balance your blood sugar
3. Chew your food well and slowly to fully enjoy and experience the flavours (and prevent overeating)
4. Continue drinking water, or if you find it difficult in the winter, herbal teas are a great option
   
   

Breakfast
Berry Baked Oatmeal
One Pan Breakfast Hash

Dinner
Crispy Prosciutto Leek Soup
Roasted Veggies with Cranberries & Orange
Celery Root and Parsnip Mash
Savoury Sweet Potato & Sage Mash
Roasted Broccoli Salad with Lemon Dressing
Maple Cranberry Sauce
Arugula, Fig and Prosciutto Salad
Savoury Squash
Paleo Stuffing

Desserts
Chocolate Peppermint Truffles
Dark Chocolate Turtles
Pistachio Pomegranate Bark

Snacks
Pomegranate Yogurt Bark
Coconut Candied Pecans

Beverages
Sparkling Pomegranate Limeade
 I hope that you have found some intriguing recipes.  You may need to adjust the quantity of ingredients to match the number of servings that you need for each recipe.

I also have a few allergy/sensitivity friendly tips:

• Stuffing: can be made with gluten free bread, toast bread on a baking sheet 8-10 slices at a time to avoid it going mushy
  - Glutino, Little Northern Bakehouse, and UDI's bread works well
  - or use the Paleo stuffing recipe above
  
  
• Gravy:  there are gluten free packaged gravies at every grocery store (Clubhouse or Simply Organic are options), you can also use gluten free Cornstarch (Bob's Red Mill) or Arrowroot Flour as a thickener instead of flour
  
  
• Mashed Potatoes: can be made dairy free by adding chicken broth instead of milk, and duck fat, Melt, Earth Balance spread or olive oil instead of butter

Enjoy the season!

Warmly,
Dr. Christa