Yes, it's that time again! For some that means YAY, get the ornaments out and let's go shopping. For others that means, "bah humbug, I can't wait until January!" Either way you look at it,it's time to start cooking.
And well, let's be honest, the holiday meals are FAR from healthy! Am I right? Every year See's Candy makes our family's must-have list and let's not forget about icing the sugar cookies or getting tipsy off the Rum Balls.
But, it doesn't have to be that way. The holidays are about TRADITION! That's right. Well, who starts these traditions and can we says we can't reinvent them? At our house we have definitely got our unique traditions that we ALL look forward too! Each Thanksgiving includes a raw "meatloaf", a raw cheesecake and some AWESOME mashed sweet potatoes (vegan, not raw). I also do a salad that includes pears, tangerines, arugula and an awesome vinaigrette.
Christmas includes flavored coffees (organic) - YES, coffee - and some really great wines! (OK, so maybe in the past few years while pregnant, these traditions were on hold). For the kids it's all new so anything goes. I typically do a wonderful Christmas tree with lots of awesome presents underneath.
Us parents also get super excited about giving AND receiving presents as well. This might sound cliche but honestly, one of my favorite things to do during the holiday season is to GIVE!!! I get super excited to buy the BEST presents. I usually go broke doing it, but I enjoy outdoing myself each year. My one big drawback is that I can't keep secrets and I also can't keep presents in the house without handing them out early! ha. I get way too excited! So it's in my best interest to buy the gifts about a week prior to Christmas.
Another one of my favorite holiday pastimes is Recipe Makeovers! I get to take all the typical dishes and start making healthier versions and see if I can get those "traditional eaters" to like it! It's one of my favorite things to do.
So, the point of this blog post is/was to share some recipe ideas that have been a hit with all types of eaters. However, this post is way too long for now.
For now, here is a simple yet amazingly yummy sweet potato (yam) recipe:
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Serves 2-3 people
INGREDIENTS
5 peeled sweet potatoes
3 Tbls Olive Oil
1 clove garlic
soy creamer or cashew cream
sea salt (to taste)
pepper (to taste)
DIRECTIONS
Boil potatoes until soft. Put all the above ingredients into the Cuisinart and blend until smooth.
note: This recipe is also good with a tiny bit of rosemary or other fun T-giving type of herbs.
Recipe is literally fool proof - try it on anybody at the table - they will absolutely LOVE it, unless they don't really like yams/sweet potatoes.
Here's a little info on sweet potatoes while we're at it:
High in Vit C, potassium and manganese. As well as Vit B6. For more info, see this article.
Leave a Reply