Gathering around the dining room table is a holiday tradition. But many of our traditional recipes are not so healthy for us. Let’s see if we can create some healthy holiday dishes this year.
I am going to break down the nutrition labels of five popular holiday dishes and beverages. And then share some healthier options and ideas.
🍽️ Green Bean Casserole
The traditional recipe was invented in 1955 by a Campbell Soup Company employee, Dorcas Reilly. Her inspiration came from two things Americans almost always had in their kitchens during the ’50s — green beans and mushroom soup. The recipe includes Campbell’s® Cream of Mushroom Soup, green beans, milk, soy sauce, and french fried onions — baked in a casserole.
The mushroom soup and canned green beans can make the dish a little mushy and higher in calories and salt.
Opting for fresh green beans is an easy swap. You could even make your own mushroom soup by sauteing mushrooms and creating a base with chicken broth and milk. Here’s a recipe option.
🧉 Eggnog
The literal meaning of eggnog is “egg inside a small cup.” The rich beverage comes in a variety of ways (low-fat, soy, non-alcoholic). The traditional recipes contain eggs, sugar, heavy cream, whole milk, spices, and some sort of alcohol. Given the ingredients, eggnog is high in calories, fat, and added sugar, coming in at around 350 calories and 19 g of fat per cup.
The drink is traditionally rich and sweet. It is said even George Washington had his own eggnog recipe. You can lighten it up by substituting lower-fat milk for the heavy cream or maple syrup for the sugar… or just drink a smaller cup!
🕎 Latkes
A traditional part of Hanukkah celebrations, latkes are small potato pancakes fried in oil.
Aside from frying the pancake in oil, it is essentially just potatoes, onions, eggs, flour, and spices. It does not have a high vitamin or mineral count but is fairly healthy overall.
You could opt for coconut oil instead of vegetable oil, use oat flour and rolled oats instead of regular flour, and even throw in some flaxseed for an additional healthy punch!
🥧 Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin itself is high in vitamins A, C, and E, iron, and folate – and is low in calories.
The first pumpkin pies – which were more like pumpkin custards baked in hot ashes on a fire – likely date back to the Native Americans and American settlers at Plymouth.
In addition to pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie contains eggs, sugar, spices, and evaporated milk. Some recipes will swap maple syrup or coconut sugar or use almond milk instead of the canned evaporated milk.
☕ Hot Chocolate
Instead of buying the pre-made mixes loaded with sugar, opt to make your own with cacao powder, coconut sugar, sea salt, and your favorite milk.
Pre-make the powder mix and put it in mason jars for an inexpensive and creative holiday gift.
If you would like my healthy, quick hot cocoa mix recipe, let me know!
Which of the healthy holiday dishes will you try this year?
Check out our Healthy Thanksgiving side dishes.