Holiday Meals: Bring the Good Option

Watching waistlines during the holidays is always a challenge. Plan for success this year by bringing the good option to holiday gatherings. Whatever your favorite dish / greatest weakness is, offer to make that dish and then bring a dish that you feel good about eating yourself and about serving to family and friends.

Here are a few suggestions for good options to bring:

Salad
Use a luxury ingredient like pecans or avocados for some heart-healthy fats that will curb your holiday appetite and help prevent over-indulging later in the meal. And take a stab at making your our salad dressing!

Hot Vegetable Side
Bring green beans simply sauteed in a dribble of olive oil with some sea salt (rather than drowned in 'cream of something soup'). Or, depending on the crowd (whether people love garlic or not), make Angry Broccoli: lightly saute several cloves of minced garlic with some red pepper flakes in a tablespoon of olive oil, toss in steamed broccoli and top with a few shavings of parmesan or pecorino cheese.


Dessert:
A fresh fruit plate with plain greek-style yogurt or a fresh farmers cheese (low in fat and calories) drizzled with honey, or a simple baked fruit dessert (without a pastry crust) garnished with a few nuts.

Happy Holidays!

Healthy Autumn Popovers

Inspired by an old-fashioned side for English roast dinner, popovers are a great side for a holiday meal, but our version is light and simple enough to make any night of the week. The batter comes together in seconds (using a blender) and they bake up in no time. These are sure to become a fall family favorite!

• 1 cup milk (skim, low-fat, whole)
• 3 egg whites
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• pan spray
• 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 425 F.

In order listed, place the milk, eggs, melted butter, salt, thyme and flour in a blender. Pulse the blender for about 10 seconds, creating a batter. A few small lumps are fine. Set the batter aside to rest.

Meanwhile, place an empty popover pan or muffin tin (large or small) in the hot oven for 5 minutes.

Remove the hot pan from the oven and spray the pan with oil. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese on the bottom of each muffin cup and pour enough batter into each cup to come halfway up the sides. Return the pan to the oven.

Bake the popovers at 425 F for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375 F and continue to bake until they are nicely browned and the centers spring back when tapped by a finger, 10 to 20 minutes longer, depending on the size of the cups. Serve promptly.

* For a sweet version: omit the parmesan cheese and substitute 1/3 cup of pureed pumpkin for the thyme.