HEALTHY HOLIDAYS
Food may be an important part of your holiday celebrations, but strive to keep it in perspective. I hope you will enjoy the company of friends and family as you try some of the fruit and vegetable ideas this month. Happy Holidays! Jan Temple HEALTHY HOLIDAYS
Holidays can be a tasteful reality with the integration of a few healthier solutions into traditional fares.
Substitute lower‐calorie, reduced‐fat and lower‐sodium products and leave your worries behind, along with those unwanted pounds.
SENSATIONAL STARTERS: For a great low‐calorie, highfiber beginning prepared in minutes, serve a vegetable relish tray. Good suggestions: celery sticks, baby carrots, broccoli and cauliflower florets and add a fatfree dip. To lower sodium further, add fat‐free sourcream to commercially prepared dips.
Like cheese? Make your own healthier solution in minutes by adding: 8 ounces fat‐free or light cream cheese, 1/2 cup fat‐free sour cream, 1 garlic clove, and 1 Tablespoon dried or 3 Tablespoons fresh herbs (try dill, oregano, basil, thyme, or chives). Blend in a food processor and refrigerate to blend flavors. Serve with an assortment of fresh vegetables and whole grain crackers or pita triangles. Shrimp cocktail is an elegant entrance that is low in calories and fat. Making your own low‐sodium cocktail sauce with no‐added‐salt ketchup, fresh lemon juice and horseradish saves 190 mg sodium per tablespoon.
MAIN MENU: Watch those birds! Find fresh turkeys or turkey breasts that have not been “pumped up” with high‐fat and sodium solutions. To hold in moisture, try wrapping fresh turkeys in cheese‐cloth or a cooking bag. If you prefer ham, buy 98 percent lean spiral hams and rinse before cooking to remove any added sodium. Although lower in fat, stick to a 3‐ounce portion (size of deck of cards) since it is still high in sodium.
SLIM TRIMMINGS: Need a cream soup for casseroles?
Check out the lower‐sodium selections in the soup aisle.
Or, check out the December 2008 issue of Food for
Fitness and Fun and use the Dry Cream Soup Mix.
Minimize wait times
To minimize wait time during birthdays and Christmas, we open the toys before and remove all the twist ties and fasteners. When the girls open the presents, they’re ready to be played with – no waiting! – Karen L.
Send holiday greetings
One of the best tips for staying in the holiday spirit is to send Christmas cards…the real ones, with stamps, family letters and kids pictures. If you don’t send them, you won’t get them! Going to the mailbox with the kids gives us a little Christmas spirit each day. It reminds us that the season is not about materialism, but about connecting with friends and family. Participating (and usually organizing) the Christmas Pageant at our church, performance early December, also reminds us the true meaning of Christmas. It also helps us to connect with the friends and family that we frequently see and do not send Christmas cards too! -Liz Moruzi
Make-ahead brunch
In my family we open our gifts on Christmas morning and this can take a while leaving us all starving by the time we are done. A few years ago I found a solution to this problem. It was a recipe for a breakfast casserole. I can make it the night before, I put it in the oven when everyone wakes up and it’s ready to eat by the time the last present is opened. A bonus, there’s little clean up to follow! -Donna Hatten
A mall alternative
Instead of fighting the crowds at the mall and waiting in lines for hours I now do most of my holiday shopping online. It does require a bit of advanced planning in order to make sure everything arrives on time for the holidays, but once you get your shopping done early then you can just relax and enjoy the holidays. Ahhh. -Anonymous
Charitable giving
Stumped for a gift idea? I love to give gifts from the World Vision catalogue for Christmas. You can do your shopping online, there are gifts for all price points and you know that you are really giving a gift twice. Last year I donated chickens to a village in Africa on behalf of my two of my best friends. They loved the idea and now they shop from the World Vision catalogue. -Sarah Rogers, CF online editor
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Food used to be the highlight of our Christmas celebration. Oh, and gifts. But now it’s quite different. Thanks for all the tips. They’re particularly helpful because they come from people who actually do those things.
-Denise