Christmas and New Years are just a few days away. With all the holiday parties, it is often hard to find healthy food options. Below are some healthy ingredient substitutions and great recipes for a meal at your home or to bring to a family or friends house. They are ideas that everyone will enjoy.
- Instead of cream in a recipe
- Use fat free half-and-half, evaporated milk
- Instead of one egg
- Use 2 egg whites or 1/4 cup egg substitute
- Instead of regular mayonnaise
- Use low-fat mayonnaise
- Instead of whole milk
- Use 1% fat or skim milk
- Instead of sugar
- Reduce the sugar in the recipe in 1/2
- or use 1/2 sugar and 1/2 Splenda
- Instead of sour cream
- Use reduced fat sour cream or low-fat plain yogurt
- Instead of cream cheese
- Use reduced fat cream cheese or nonfat riccota cheese
- Instead of vegetable oil in dessert recipes
- use less oil than what the recipe calls for
- or use unsweetened applesauce
- or use half unsweetened applesauce and half plain low-fat yogurt
- Instead of butter, margarine, shortening or oil to prevent sticking in a pan
- Use cooking spray or use a non-stick cooking pan.
Recipes
Winter Salad
Ingredients for Salad
1 Head of Romaine Lettuce
1 Cucumber (chopped)
1 Large Pear (chopped)
¼ cup Dried Cranberries
¼ cup Walnuts (toasted and chopped)
Salad dressing
3 Tbsp of Balsamic Vinegar
1Tbsp Olive Oil
1Tbsp Mustard
1 Tsp Sugar
Preparation
Mix all salad ingredients together. In a separate bowl mix salad dressing ingredients.
Mix salad with dressing and serve.
Cider Gravy
(From EatingWell: November/December 2007)
Make this low-fat gravy in the roasting pan while the turkey rests. Apple cider adds rich fall flavor.
Ingredients
• 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups apple cider
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Preparation
1. When you remove the turkey from the roasting pan, leave the roasted shallots behind. Skim off any visible fat from the pan juices.
2. Whisk 1/2 cup chicken broth and flour in a small bowl until smooth; set aside.
3. Set the roasting pan over two burners on medium-high heat. Add cider and vinegar; bring to a boil and cook, scraping up the browned bits from the pan, until the liquid is reduced by about half, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the remaining 3 1/2 cups broth. Increase heat to high; return to a boil, whisking often. Boil until the liquid is reduced by about half, 8 to 12 minutes.
4. Whisk the reserved flour mixture into the pan. Boil, whisking constantly, until the gravy is thickened, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour the gravy through a fine sieve into a large measuring cup. (Discard the solids.) Season with salt and pepper.
Nutrition Information
Per 3-tablespoon serving : 28 Calories; 0 g Fat; 0 g Sat; 0 g Mono; 7 mg Cholesterol; 5 g Carbohydrates; 1 g Protein; 0 g Fiber; 56 mg Sodium; 28 mg Potassium
Low-Fat Baked Apples
Ingredients
1 medium-large Rome Apple
Brown sugar
1 Tbsp mixed dried fruit
Sprinkle of cinnamon
Preparation
1. Remove the core from the apple, leaving a hole through the middle of the apple. An apple corer is the easiest way to do this. Leave the skin on the apple.
2. Place apple in a baking pan and add a small amount of brown sugar into the hole
3. Fill the apple with the mixed dried fruit. Sprinkle cinnamon to taste.
4. Pour a small amount of water in bottom of dish and place in a 350-degree oven until the apples are cooked through and the sugar has melted.
