Thanksgiving ushers in the season of eating - badly. We glut ourselves on rich main courses and party foods, finishing off with richer desserts. Yet , eating badly can make us sick and even vulnerable , especially during this holiday season. We have to eat better. We have to eat with our health in mind and not our taste buds.
After a spectacularly lousy year we feel that we want to treat ourselves with all sorts of goodies. Who wouldn't? However Covid-19 is roaring back with the speed of a bullet and the ferocity of a wild beast. It's time to fortify ourselves with the right foods and beverages. First of all we should limit the amount of salt in our diets. Cut back on those chips and dips. You can still have a fun plate of crunchies and dip for movie night or your Zoom holiday parties. Just make them unsalted or homemade tortilla chips and a fresh made salsa. Chop up some tomatoes and onions and add equal dashes of cumin and chili powder for a more authentic flavor and bite. Guacamole also can be made healthier (although it is to begin with ). Mash avocados with minced red onions and jalapeno for a zingy and delicious dip. Another salt free party snack is herb popcorn. This is mixing the classic with rosemary, and thyme. Using it will make the herbs stick better to the kernels. Also cut down on such salty sauces as soy and packaged and jarred gravies. As yourself if your dish really needs them. You could switch to a low sodium version or just skip it completely. Adding water or olive oil can moisten a dish.
Sugar is another bad ingredient, yet it's really the star of the season. How do you not serve pie this Thursday or bake a ton of cookies for Christmas? Surprisingly enough you can bake a healthy pumpkin pie. It's just replacing sugar with maple syrup ,a natural sweetener. Also use coconut sugar instead of brown and almond milk instead of whole dairy. Is there a healthy pie crust? Yes, if you use whole wheat flour instead of refined white and coconut oil instead of lard. You may want to skip the sugary sweet pecan and opt for a healthier apple one. There are some good apple pie recipes that require spelt flour for the crust and way less sugar. That all important cookie season is just around the corner. How do you make a sugar cookie without the chief ingredient? Add fruit which has natural sugars. You could sub in bananas for sweetening along with natural apple sauce.There are other sugar free versions of classic holiday cookies such as gingerbread and rolled cookie cutter cookies. If you're wondering about icing the cookies, then think of all natural Swerve, made from stevia. You can also use it for cake and cupcake icing too. If you're making the last , go easy on the sweet decorations. Use shaved dark chocolate instead for a fancy look.
We need to eat healthy this holiday season. We just have to cut down or cut out the bad stuff and sub it in for good.It'll be your best protection in being just a bit more healthier and resilient during this holiday season
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