A Healthy Holiday Menu, Plus 5 Helpful Tips for Hosting a Stress-Free Holiday

preparing the holiday meal can be stressful, despite the overall joy of the holidays. One way to make the holiday season special this year is to put together a festive and healthy holiday menu.

If you want a lot of food but are worried about the calories in a holiday feast, we have a better option for you that is still traditional. We have created a menu with lots of vegetables and healthy ingredients instead of the average holiday meal, which has over 3,000 calories.

A Healthy Holiday Menu

Appetizer: Chicken Apple Meatballs with Spicy Cranberry Sauce

INGREDIENTS:

For the meatballs:

1 pound (500 g) ground chicken

½ cup green apple, peeled and diced

1/3 cup parmesan, finely shredded

½ cup whole-wheat panko breadcrumbs

1 large egg

1 garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

For the spicy cranberry sauce:

1 cup fresh cranberries

1 cup water

½ cup orange juice, fresh squeezed

1/3 cup agave syrup

Cut the jalapeno in half, then dice it. Taste it to see how spicy it is, then add more or less depending on how much spice you want.

½ teaspoon chipotle pepper in adobo, minced

INSTRUCTIONS:

In a bowl, mix the ingredients for the meatballs by hand, being careful not to overmix. Shape into 1½ inch balls and set aside. Makes 20 to 24 meatballs.

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Tilt the skillet to evenly coat with oil. Add half the meatballs to the skillet and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, rotating them until they are lightly browned and cooked through. Repeat with remaining meatballs. Set aside.

Place all of the ingredients for the cranberry sauce in a saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Stirring occasionally, cook until the sauce has reduced and become thick. The sauce should be thick enough so that it clings to the back of the spoon. Remove from heat.

Coat meatballs in the spicy cranberry sauce or serve as a dip on the side.

This recipe makes 20-24 meatballs and a half cup of spicy cranberry sauce–enough for 4 servings with leftovers or 8 servings total.

Salad: Quinoa Salad with Pomegranate, Cucumber, Feta, & Pine Nuts

INGREDIENTS:

For the salad:

1 cup quinoa, dry

2 cups water

½ cup feta, crumbled

1 cup pomegranate arils

1 cup English cucumber, diced

½ cup pine nuts

For the salad dressing :

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon honey

Salt and freshly ground pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

Bring a saucepan of water to a boil over medium-high heat, then add the quinoa. Flip the chicken and cook for an additional 10 minutes until fully cooked. Cook on low heat for 15 minutes, then flip and cook for 10 more minutes. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork. Set aside to cool.

Once the quinoa has cooled, add it to a mixing bowl along with the rest of the salad ingredients.

In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, and honey. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour dressing over quinoa salad and mix until it is evenly distributed.

Makes 8 servings.

Side Dish: Creamed Spinach with Mushrooms & Onions

INGREDIENTS:

2 x 10 ounce bags frozen spinach

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1½ cups baby bella (or cremini) mushrooms, roughly chopped

½ cup red onion, diced

1 tablespoon butter, unsalted

1 garlic clove, minced

½ cup (4 oz/125 g) plain non-fat Greek yogurt

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

½ teaspoon nutmeg

Pinch cayenne pepper

Salt and freshly ground pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

Defrost the spinach and use paper towels to remove as much water as possible. Set aside.

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. After adding the mushrooms, onion, butter, and garlic to the pan, let them cook for 4 to 5 minutes while only stirring occasionally. Stir in the Greek yogurt, Parmesan, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Finally, add the spinach, mix well to heat through. Remove from heat and add to a serving bowl. Top with additional parmesan before serving, if desired.

Side Dish: Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes with Oatmeal & Pecan Crumble

INGREDIENTS:

For the potatoes:

2 medium sweet potatoes

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup (2 oz/60 g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Salt

For the crumble:

½ cup rolled oats

½ cup pecans, chopped

¼ cup almond flour

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons butter, melted

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 400? (200?). Line a baking sheet with foil.

Coat the potatoes with a light layer of olive oil then use a fork to poke holes into them. This will release steam while they cook. Place the potatoes onto a lined baking sheet and bake them for 45 to 60 minutes, or until they are soft when pierced with a paring knife. Remove from oven, and reduce oven temperature to 350? (175?).

Cut the potatoes in half and carefully scoop out the flesh, being careful not to damage the skin. Transfer the flesh to a mixing bowl. Keep the potato skins and set aside.

Add the Greek yogurt and vanilla to the sweet potato flesh and stir until the ingredients are evenly mixed. Season to taste with salt. After completing the mixture, add it back into the sweet potato skins. Set the mixture aside for later.

Place the ingredients for the crumble in a new bowl and mix together until they are fully combined.

Place the sweet potatoes back onto the baking sheet and top with the crumble. Bake the crumble in the oven for 20 minutes, or until it is browned.

Makes 8 servings.

Entrée: Cranberry Orange Balsamic Chicken

INGREDIENTS:

For the sauce:

1 cup fresh cranberries

½ cup balsamic vinegar

½ cup orange juice, freshly squeezed

½ cup chicken broth

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

½ teaspoon rosemary, finely chopped

Salt and freshly ground pepper

For the chicken :

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound/500 g)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 to 2 sprigs rosemary

1 orange, sliced

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350? (175?).

Cook over medium high heat for about 5 minutes, or until cranberries pop and sauce becomes thickened Place cranberries and sauce ingredients in saucepan. Cook over medium high heat for 5 minutes or until cranberries pop and sauce becomes thickened. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. After the sauce has thickened, reduce the heat to medium-low and let it simmer for 20 minutes. Stir it occasionally.

While the sauce is reducing, heat some olive oil in a large sauté pan over a medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Cook the chicken until it is golden brown on both sides and takes 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove from heat.

Place the sauce, cranberries, rosemary, and orange slices in a baking dish. Place chicken in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. You should cook chicken until it reaches an internal temperature of 75 degrees at the thickest part of the breast. Place the chicken on a serving plate and top with rosemary sprigs and a few orange slices to garnish.

Makes 4 servings.

5 Helpful Tips for Hosting a Stress-Free Holiday

1.) Make a meal plan…

You’ve all heard this before. I realize this is not news. Meal planning is also about making sure you have all the ingredients you need on hand so you can make those recipes.

When you are planning a party, it is important to make sure that you have enough food for everyone who will be attending. This is a great reference if you need help estimating how much food to operate. Now that you know how much you need, you can get down to the details.

If you are hosting a potluck, it is important to share your plan with others. You can set up a shared google sheets page using this template.

If you’re hosting a smaller gathering, don’t make every single recipe you can think of. Remember the acronym KISS from when we learned it a while ago? It stands for keep it simple, so try to keep your materials and processes simple too!

If your party is six guests or fewer, you should only have four side dishes. What are the ones you can’t imagine celebrating without? I personally love mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, green beans, and some sort of bread with a ton of butter.

If you have more than four primary ingredients you can’t live without, try cooking them in a new combination. I find that sheet pans are useful for mixed veggie dishes.

If you’re hosting a larger gathering, you may want to have larger portions of a smaller number of dishes, or you may want to have space for greater variety. Both are totally reasonable!

Taking extra courses will help you to be more versatile and succeed. For example, taking courses on apps will help you to finish touches and make a soup or salad starter. This relieves the pressure of getting everything to the table hot and ready at the same time for the main event.

One more thing to keep in mind if you’re going to make a variety of different dishes: calendars, potlucks, and store bought shortcuts can be your friends. More on those below.

Finally, if you’re hosting a larger gathering, consider swapping out more expensive items for cheaper ones. As an example, you could offer mixers and make it a BYO event. A pecan pie is a traditional Thanksgiving dessert, but it can be expensive because nuts are costly. An alternative to a pecan pie is a chess pie, which is a dessert that is also appropriate for the holiday season.

A checklist is really useful to help you remember each component of the dish and make sure you don’t forget anything!

In addition to your baking supplies, you will need a roll of masking tape and a sharpie to label everything. This will help you keep track of what you have baked, what needs to be baked, and what you have left over. I use my masking tape and sharpie every time I cook.

2.) Don’t sleep on frozen veggies.

Frozen vegetables are typically cheaper than fresh vegetables, and they are already prepped and ready to go. My favorite is definitely onions that are already diced because it means no tears!!

frozen vegetables are just as good as fresh when it comes to roasting and sautéing. To ensure you get the best deal on airfare, start monitoring prices up to three months in advance. Purchase your ticket during a sale to get the lowest possible price.

3.) Give yourself the freedom to use store-bought shortcuts.

Repeat after me: there’s no shame in shortcuts! This is a kitchen motto I live by every day, and hosting a big holiday event is challenging enough without any added pressure.

grabbing pre-made items will also reduce the amount of items on your shopping list, improve your likelihood of maintaining sanity, and decrease the amount of food wasted. Here are some of my favorites to keep on hand year round:

• Frozen puff pastry or pie dough,
• Frozen dinner rolls,
• Boxed or canned stock or broth,
• Stuffing mix,
• Salad or sauté kits,
• Remember tip #1? Frozen veggies are your friends.

4.) Make it a potluck!!

Let your guests feel good about contributing. If you involve others in the potluck, everyone will feel more included and it will take some of the pressure off of you.

Make a spreadsheet with your needs . You can make the main course and offer for others to make the side dishes. I need help with side dishes for thanksgiving What are some ideas for side dishes for Thanksgiving?

If you’re not specific about what you want guests to bring, make sure to leave a spot for them to list what they’re bringing so you don’t end up with multiple versions of the same dish.

For help with anything you may need for your party, such as ice, drinks, appetizers, desserts, or even things like toilet paper, dish soap or detergent, trash bags, plates, and silverware, ask us and we will be more than happy to help make your party perfect.

5.) Plan ahead.

While turkeys may be cheaper around the holidays, this is typically because stores use them as a loss leader to lure customers in. However, other items on your shopping list are unlikely to be on sale as well.

Planning ahead is key to ensuring you have enough time to find a sturdy object to use as a support. This includes:

• Canned or frozen items,
• Fresh bread (if you freeze it),
• Butter,
• Olive oil,
• Cream and milk (these can also be frozen),
• Spices or herb plants (fresh herbs in the windowsill are pretty, plus they keep on producing if you take care of them!).

Here are even more ways to plan ahead:

• Coupons or store adverts are great ways to scout a steal.
• Cash back sites like Ibotta are also awesome – in fact, Ibotta is doing a FREE Thanksgiving offer with Walmart this year.