Healthy Holiday Food - and How to Avoid a Family Rebellion

<p>We always have steak on Christmas because it is also my MIL’s bday and that is her preference. Steak, baked potatoes (with only a little butter on them!) a STEAMED plain vegetable, salad, and rolls. Angel food cake for dessert (also a tradition in H’s family, not mine). Doesn’t sound too unhealthy. I grew up in a salt-free household so I never add salt in cooking.</p>

<p>Wow, people really eat cranberry sauce out of a can? I thought that was one of those things like fruitcake that you only joke about.</p>

<p>Hah! Cranberry sauce out of a can! My husband buys that year round to put on his turkey sandwhiches. He loves the stuff. :eek:</p>

<p>I blush to admit that I prefer jellied cranberry sauce out of the can. My grandmother had a long oval crystal dish she always served it in, and I loved being given the job of opening the can and slicing it so that it filled the dish with a nice neat oblong fan.</p>

<p>The last couple of years, I’ve bought a can and forgotten to serve it. So now we have several in the cupboard. </p>

<p>And I adore fruitcake. Also mince pie, and Christmas pudding, which I used to make at least a month in advance and ripen, moistening it periodically with rum or brandy.</p>

<p>Well to be fair to my Mom, we were probably eating canned jelly because we were in countries where there were no cranberries and then we kids refused to eat the good stuff.</p>

<p>Its okay. I like oscar meyer hard salami with yellow hot dog mustard a few times a year. It puts me right back in my childhood. ;)</p>

<p>I couldn’t resist making the brussel sprouts with bacon for dinner tonight. Highly recommend!</p>

<p>I get cravings for Brussels sprouts, so then I stop at Whole Foods and buy theirs, already tossed w a bit of oil. Yum.</p>

<p>I had never had Brussels sprouts until a couple of years ago. EVeryone said they were horrible and joked about them, so I didn’t even want to try them. But then one night we went out to dinner and the restaurant had a BrSprout salad: raw, sliced really thin, walnuts, cranberries, shredded parm cheese, apples, an amazing thick balsalmic vinegar dressing. I decided to be brave, and OMG! I became an instant convert, and raw BrSprouts now often make an appearance in our salads. (I’m still trying to recreate that salad dressing tho.) So then I tried stirfrying the shredded sprouts (use apple cider), adding some dried cranberries, and maybe some nuts, and OMG again. I haven’t done any recipes with the whole ones, but that’s next on our list. So I say to those of you who have not yet been brave (or who think the things are smelly): be brave! No smell if raw, barely any smell cooked like this, and very, very delicious! Enjoy.</p>

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I would never have thought of this combination…can you give the recipe? I am never quite sure how to deal with beans.</p>

<p>I started subbing roasted sweet potatoes for the marshmallow things…just a little olive oil and salt and pepper. Still sweet and yummy! You could always toss some marshmallows on on end of the pan toward the end to satisfy those who would miss the marshmallows. </p>

<p>One things with having new things, or having a large variety, like on a buffet. I think it’s nice to list the ingredients so that everyone who has diet needs/preferences will know what they are getting. I have skipped many a yummt looking item at pot lucks and buffets because I didn’t know what was in it.</p>

<p>Re the post immediately above (#168):<br>
Probably not for T Day, but for a healthy lunch/dinner, maybe with T Day leftovers without the marshmallows: baked whole sweet potato, instead of butter use plain Greek yogurt to mash it up a little bit, top with stirfried sliced onions and peppers and black beans, top with some shredded Mexican mix cheese, salsa, and a dab of more Greek yogurt. Filling and satisfying.</p>

<p>We were planning to have roasted brussels sprouts anyway, so I used the recipe for roasted sprouts with bacon and garlic from this thread, since I had some bacon from a local farmer in the freezer. Delicious! One caveat: you need to crank the heat up to 475 at least at the end if you want them to brown nicely.</p>

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<p>I thought this is a must for T-day :slight_smile: We have that and also home made whole cranberry sauce with much less sugar.</p>

<p>My favorite brussels sprout recipe is sauteeing sprouts cut in half in olive oil with onions and dill at high temp. At xmas, we do whole b-sprouts with caramelized maple syrup and almond.</p>

<p>For the first time ever, my turkey was FABULOUS. Very moist and juicy.</p>

<p>I don’t know what the heck I did differently.</p>

<p>We had a traditional New England Thanksgiving of lobster. Have 2 left.</p>

<p>I should add that I don’t consider sprouts cooked in bacon fat particularly healthy! :slight_smile: That honor goes to my usual olive oil.</p>

<p>My turkey is always good. I cook it upside-down for the first 2 hours. Works like a charm.</p>

<p>i prefer veggies !!!</p>

<p>Good for you. Are you going to share some recipes, then? :)</p>