5 Delicious, Healthy Holiday Recipes!

Want to eat your holiday favorites without derailing your goals?

Time for healthy holiday recipes already? Yep! The Christmas holiday just a few short weeks away. This time of year can be challenging to stick to a supportive nutrition plan. Trust me though; you CAN still enjoy the upcoming holidays while eating good food that’s good for you.

I hope that you will indulge in some of these “spiffed up” holiday favorites! They will help you stay on course to reach those 2023 goals (There’s still time!) while enjoying some of those seasonal dishes you love!

In proper holiday fashion… Let’s start with dessert!

It’s always nice to have a “can do” treat when you are trying to eat healthfully during holiday parties and get togethers. Check out these winners!

Pumpkin Pie Tarts With Coconut Whipped Cream

1/4 cup Coconut Oil (melted and divided)
1/3 cup Maple Syrup (divided)
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
2 1/4 cups Pureed Pumpkin
1/3 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
2 1/2 tbsps Arrowroot Powder
2 tsps Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 1/2 cups Organic Coconut Milk (full fat, refrigerated overnight

DIRECTIONS:

Pulse the almonds and cashews in a food processor. Add egg, 3/4 of the coconut oil, 1/5 of the maple syrup, vanilla extract, cinnamon and 1/2 the sea salt until a crumbly dough forms.

Preheat oven to 350 and line a muffin tray with parchment cups.
Lay a piece of parchment paper on the counter. Place your dough onto the parchment and pat into a ball.
Place another sheet of parchment on top of the dough (this prevents the dough from sticking to the rolling pin). Gently roll the dough to 2-3 mm thickness and cut using a (3.5-inch) cookie cutter. Repeat until all the dough is used up.
Gently press each cut-out into a parchment cup to form the crust. Set aside.
Make your pumpkin filling by combining pureed pumpkin, the remaining 4/5 of maple syrup, almond milk, the remaining 1/4 of melted coconut oil, arrowroot powder, pumpkin pie spice and the remaining 1/2 of the sea salt. Spoon pumpkin filling into each tart.
Bake for 45 minutes. Remove tarts from muffin tray and let cool. Serve warm or refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight for a firmer filling.
In the meantime, make the coconut whipped cream. Scrape the coconut cream from the top of the can into a large mixing bowl. The cream should have separated from the coconut juice after being refrigerated.
Whip the coconut cream with a hand mixer until fluffy, about 5-10 minutes. Place in fridge until ready to use. (Note: it will not be as stiff as dairy whipped cream.)
When ready to serve, add a dollop of coconut whipped cream to each pumpkin pie tart. Enjoy

These little tart dishes will be perfect for these treats!

Gingerbread Brownies

How cute will these gorgous brownies (and some of the other healthy holiday recipes found here ) look on these adorable trays!

1/2 cup Pitted Dates

3 Eggs

2 2/3 tbsps Fancy Molasses

1/2 cup Coconut Oil

2 tsps Vanilla Extract

1 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk

1/2 cup Coconut Flour

1/4 cup Cocoa Powder

2 tsps Ground Ginger

1/4 tsp Ground Cloves

1 tsp Baking Soda

3/4 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Sea Salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350.
Place dates in a food processor and pulse until pureed, or chop the dates finely.
In a large bowl, blend the dates, eggs, molasses, melted coconut oil, vanilla extract and almond milk until thoroughly combined.
Combine the remaining dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and combine thoroughly, scraping down the sides until you have a smooth batter.
Line a 9×9 baking pan with parchment paper, pour in the batter and spread evenly. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Sprinkle with a little cocoa powder and let cool for at least 10 minutes. Slice, serve and enjoy!

Paleo Stuffing

1 head cauliflower (chopped into flowerettes

1 tbsp Coconut Oil

Remove cauliflower from oven and set aside. Reduce oven heat to 375.
While your cauliflower roasts, place a frying pan over medium heat. Add half of your olive oil and saute mushrooms, leek and celery for about 10 minutes or until the mushrooms are soft.
In a food processor, add the walnuts, lemon juice, garlic, thyme, parsley and sea salt. Add the remaining olive oil and roasted cauliflower and pulse (do not blend) until the mixture reaches a coarse, stuffing-like consistency. Do not over process as you do not want the mixture to turn into a paste. Note: If you don’t mind some manual labour, you can skip the food processor and use a fork and knife to finely chop the stuffing. Once it reaches a good consistency, spoon the mixture into a baking dish. Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour. Stir every 15 minutes or so to prevent burning.

Remove from oven and transfer into a serving dish. Enjoy!

Cleaned Up Green Bean Casserole

You’ll want a cute spoon rest to set the drippy casserole spoon on!

2 T Coconut oil divided

1 1/2 cups French Shallot (thinly sliced)

1/2 head Cauliflower (chopped into florets)

5 cups Green Beans (trimmed and halved)

2 cups Mushrooms (sliced)

3 Garlic (cloves, minced)

1 1/2 cups Water

1 tsp Sea Salt

2 tbsp Nutritional Yeast

1/4 cup Slivered Almonds (toasted)

Directions:

Add half of the coconut oil in a large skillet and place over medium-low heat. Add your sliced shallots. Stir often to prevent burning for 30 to 40 minutes, or until caramelized. Once the onions are golden, remove from the heat, transfer into a bowl and set aside.
While the onions cook, steam your cauliflower florets in a steaming basket until softened to the point where they can be easily pierced with a fork. Transfer to your blender or food processor and set aside.
Steam your green beans for 6 to 8 minutes or until bright green. Transfer the beans into a casserole dish.
Heat the remaining coconut oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Saute mushrooms for 5 minutes or until softened then add in the garlic. Saute for another minute and remove from heat. Spread half of this mushroom mixture over your green beans in the casserole dish. Add the remaining half to your blender with your steamed cauliflower.
Also add to the blender water, sea salt and nutritional yeast. Blend until very smooth. Be patient – it takes some time to reach a creamy consistency!
Pour desired amount of creamy cauliflower sauce into your casserole dish over the green beans and mushrooms. You might not need it all. Smooth it out with a spoon or spatula. Top with the caramelized onions.
Preheat oven to 350.

Turkey Cranberry Rolls

Serves 4

1 1/2 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

cups Baby Spinach

2 lbs Turkey Breast

1/2 cup Goat Cheese (crumbled)

Sea Salt & Black Pepper (to taste)

1/2 cup Organic Vegetable Broth

2 cups Frozen Cranberries (diced)

1 Navel Orange (juiced)

1 tbsp Raw Honey

Twine

Every year I wish I had purchases some pretty serving toolsls like these! THIS is my year!

Directions

Preheat oven to 425.
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add baby spinach and saute until wilted. Once wilted, remove from heat.
Use a meat mallet or a heavy frying pan to pound the turkey breasts into a thin layer. This will make them easier to roll.
Place a large piece of parchment paper across your counter. Cut 8 long strings of twine and lay them in pairs across the parchment paper, about 1 inch apart. Place each turkey breast across two pieces of twine. Season the turkey with sea salt and black pepper.
Spread your goat cheese across each turkey breast leaving a 1/2 inch border all the way around. Top the goat cheese with your wilted spinach. Starting with the edge closest to you, begin tightly rolling up each turkey breast. Once it is rolled, tie the twine around it into a tight knot. Trim the excess twine and discard. Season the turkey with sea salt and pepper again.
Add organic vegetable broth to a baking dish so it covers the bottom. Set the rolled turkey breasts inside. Place in the oven and bake for 35 – 45 minutes or until cooked through. (If you have a meat thermometer, it is cooked when it has an internal temperature of 160 degrees F.)
Meanwhile, start your cranberry sauce by combining cranberries, the juice of your navel orange and honey in a sauce pan. Place over medium heat and stir occasionally for about 15 minutes or until berries burst and sauce thickens. Reduce heat to low and cover until ready to serve. (Note: You may need to add a few splashes of water if the sauce becomes too thick.)
When you remove the turkey from oven, let rest for 10 minutes before removing twine and slicing into 2 inch thick medallions. Drizzle with cranberry sauce and serve!

Healthy Holiday Beverages

Healthy holiday recipes re aaallways great to have on haand but when going to holiday parties and the libations are flowing it can be really hard to keep to your clean eating plan if alcohol is dampening your inhibitions. Try these festive holiday “cocktails” so you can enjoy the party but not let things get out of hand!