by Jeni Tackett - Wellness Coordinator and Registered Dietitian, Trinity Medical Center
Portable Holiday Recipes
Trying to eat healthy during the holiday can be a challenge. I recommend bringing a healthy dish to parties and meals. Fill half your plate with fruits and veggies and a low fat dip. Then enjoy smaller portions of high-fat, high-sugar treats.
Here are my favorite (and super easy) fruit and veggie dips:
- 16 ounces low-fat or fat-free vanilla yogurt
- 1 cup lite cool whip
- Sprinkle of cinnamon (optional)
Whip with whisk and store in refrigerator. Enjoy with fresh fruit. Serve with a variety of colorful fruits such as strawberries, blueberries, apples, bananas, oranges, kiwi, and grapes.
- 1 cup plain nonfat yogurt
- 1 cup light sour cream
- 2 Tablespoons honey
- 2 Tablespoons spicy brown mustard
To prepare dipping sauce, combine yogurt, sour cream, honey, and mustard in a small bowl. Serve with a colorful fresh veggie tray: red, yellow, and green peppers are a hit. Include cucumbers, broccoli, carrots, snap peas, celery, tomatoes, and mushrooms. If your party includes children, have them make a face on their plate with veggies and enjoy!
You can replace some or all of the fat in baked good with fruit purees such as applesauce or prune puree. Here is my favorite holiday cookie.
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup plus 2 Tablespoons of pureed prunes (you can use baby food prunes)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 egg whites
- ¼ cup molasses
- 2 ¼ cup flour
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. ginger
- ½ tsp. cloves
Directions:
Mix prune puree, sugar, egg whites, and molasses thoroughly. Sift together flour and rest of ingredients. Stir into prune and egg mixture. Chill dough for 1-2 hours.
Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Roll dough into 1 ¼” balls. Place on baking sheet sprayed with nonstick spray. Back 10-12 minutes. Makes two dozen cookies.
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Jeni Tackett is a registered dietitian at Trinity Medical Center and the Two Rivers YMCA. Jeni majored in Nutrition and Dietetics at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Caroline. She lives East Moline with her husband, Nathan and their two children, Noah and Lily and two dogs. Jack and Lola.For a listing of all of Jeni’s blog posts on MVHNews, click here. |
