Holiday Brunch, Lunch or Dinner: Fix It and Forget It!
Posted Dec 20 2008 5:38pm
How did you do this week on maintaining your weight? Writing down what I eat over the past week has been a challenge for me but I have still been eating smaller portions and being more aware of what I am putting in my mouth.
This week for many of us, the holiday intensity is kicked up a notch. The more that you have meals planned and made ahead will give you more time to enjoy and stick with a healthy eating plan. Here are a few ideas to consider. For lunch or supper, a festive soup served with bread and salad makes a complete meal and can be made ahead for the most part. Consider a few of these menu and recipe suggestions. The soup and casserole can be made ahead of time even this week and frozen:
White Bean Soup
Sweet Potato Biscuit
Green Salad with Orange, Fennel and Asparagus
Poached Pear (see December 9th blog entry for recipe)
Tortellini and Zuchinni Soup
Cornbread (try some of the healthy substitution ideas for this from November 17th blog entry)
Spinach Salad with Warm Maple Dressing
Fruit Crisp (see December 9th blog entry for recipe)
You can also check out a menu from Cooking Light’s Website: Gather Around the Chili Menu
How did you do this week on maintaining your weight? Writing down what I eat over the past week has been a challenge for me but I have still been eating smaller portions and being more aware of what I am putting in my mouth.
This week for many of us, the holiday intensity is kicked up a notch. The more that you have meals planned and made ahead will give you more time to enjoy and stick with a healthy eating plan. Here are a few ideas to consider. For lunch or supper, a festive soup served with bread and salad makes a complete meal and can be made ahead for the most part. Consider a few of these menu and recipe suggestions. The soup and casserole can be made ahead of time even this week and frozen:
White Bean Soup
Sweet Potato Biscuit
Green Salad with Orange, Fennel and Asparagus
Poached Pear (see December 9th blog entry for recipe)
Tortellini and Zuchinni Soup
Cornbread (try some of the healthy substitution ideas for this from November 17th blog entry)
Spinach Salad with Warm Maple Dressing
Fruit Crisp (see December 9th blog entry for recipe)
You can also check out a menu from Cooking Light’s Website: Gather Around the Chili Menu
http://www.cookinglight.com/food/everyday-menus/gather-around-the-chili-00400000001252/
Instead of the soup, you might prefer a Shepherd’s Pie or an interesting lasagna combination, a salad and dessert. Here are a couple of ideas
Butternut Squash Lasagna http://healthycooking.suite101.com/article.cfm/butternut_squash_lasagna
Either Green Salad with Orange, Fennel and Asparagus or Spinach Salad (recipe link above)
Banana Foster (see December 9th blog entry for link)
Shepherd’s Pie (this one calls for turkey but you can use vegetarian soy crumbles or lean ground beef instead)
Salad of Bitter Greens and Walnuts
Pear Cranberry Pie (check out December 9th blog entry for recipe)
For brunch consider some of the following menu ideas:
Below is recipe and menu ideas for a Southwestern Holiday Brunch
http://www.cookinglight.com/entertaining/holidays-occasions/southwestern-holiday-brunch-00400000001258/
How about Stuffed French Toast or a Marmalade French Toast Casserole at the next two links?
A change of pace might include a menu with a Shrimp and Grits Casserole for breakfast:
The link below includes a more traditional sausage breakfast casserole:
If you haven’t found what you are looking for, here are two more collections of brunch recipes:
Some holiday meals are appetizer and dessert in nature. Here is a suggestion for a great meal building on these:
Build Your Own Taco Bar or Mezza Platter
Vegetable Tray
Red Grapes, Pineapple and Sliced Orange
Date Nut Truffles
Chewy Meringe Cookies
(See entry December 9th on Fruit Desserts and December 1st for Appetizer Recipes)
Start purchasing your ingredients and begin doing the possible pre-prep. Stay tuned for next week’s entry on Stress and Eating During the Holidays.