Cooking Xmas dinner - how do I disguise healthy food ?

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snowbike
snowbike Posts: 153 Member
in Food and Nutrition
A main part of losing all my weight was learning to cook. In the last year I have completely taken over cooking and it seems the extended family thinks i'm some super cook.
So everyone wants me to cook Christmas dinner.

Trouble is I don't do unhealthy food.

Any suggestions to what to serve on Xmas day or how to cook normally unhealthy things in a healthy way that no one will realize is healthy?

Veggies is easy (steamed) but starters, stuffing and other garnish is a problem. I also plan on using olive oil on the turkey not goose fat.

Any other tricks people have planned?
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Replies

  • Gramps251
    Gramps251 Posts: 738 Member
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    I don't know why you have to disguise your food if everyone likes it. What is your menu for christmas dinner?
  • Kymmu
    Kymmu Posts: 1,650 Member
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    Well for the salads- Rocket, pumpkin, fetta, pine nut, red onion sage lemon o. oil dressing;
    2. Haloumi, fresh cherry Red onion lemon juice, lettuce balsamic dressing;
    3. Watermelon, red onion, red wine vinegar, fetta o. oil fresh mint;
    4 Avocado, toasted walnuts, rocket, red onion wholegrain mustard lemon juice olive oil dressing.
    I've marinated some mushrooms too.
    For the MEAT - warm glazed ham, garlic and lemon marinated chicken. There will be turkey too. Pork pies in pm.
    There will be cheese platter, nuts, stone fruit and devilled eggs, olives etc to graze on.
    Husband's mum makes a mean trifle, and fruit mince tarts.
    I have made a buckwheat Christmas cake and have a pudding too.
  • snowbike
    snowbike Posts: 153 Member
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    Dont have a "plan" yet.
    Dont know what for starters, thnking some sort of soup , maybe butternut squash
    Main is traditional Xmas turkey roast , but want to avoid loading up the butter and fat.
    Im looking for some healthy stuffing recipes.

    Pudding is the biggest problem.
  • Kymmu
    Kymmu Posts: 1,650 Member
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    http://realfoodforager.com/recipe-dairy-free-chocolate-pudding-gaps-paleoprimal/

    Take a look I've made it and it's delicious! Have a practice run if you are unsure.
  • diadojikohei
    diadojikohei Posts: 732 Member
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    I put all the veggies;- sweet potato, parsnip, halved red and yellow peppers, chestnuts, baby onions, whole carrots in a roasting tin drizzle with grapeseed oil a bit of garlic and roast in the oven! Really quick, really healthy, any left overs make soup on Boxing day!

    I make stuffing with 2 slices of bread in the blender, chopped cashew nuts and herbs and bake in the oven.

    I make roast potatoes for everyone (but don't eat them) and I toss them in grapeseed oil before roasting.

    Normally no one wants anything after that so I don't make a pudding any more tll boxing day!

    Breakfast is smoked salmon, scrambled eggs and croissants (I don't have a croissant) and cream cheese.
  • lauren3101
    lauren3101 Posts: 1,853 Member
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    I wouldn't bother disguising it. If it tastes good, that's all that matters!
  • 5pmsomewherenow
    5pmsomewherenow Posts: 163 Member
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    Oven roasted vegetables are great - carrots, parsnips, baby red potatoes, onion, red pepper, etc. season with a little olive oil, salt & pepper and perhaps a touch of maple syrup, and roast on a baking sheet at 425. Can replace mashed potatoes, etc.

    Mashed butternut squash, or a combo of some yukon potatoes and cubes of butternut squash cooked separately, and then combined for a combo-mash.

    Everything at a holiday dinner can be prepared a little more on the healthy-side -- but just cutting back or subtituting for all the butter, cream, etc.

    Fresh fruit pies for dessert, with the option of vanilla ice cream for those who want a little "more."

    Good for you, learning to cook, and then doing it for your family. 90% of living a healthy lifestyle is knowing how to provide the right nutritional base for yourself and your family, and then passing on those good habits. It's probably the most "valuable" life lesson learned from my MOM.
  • Kymmu
    Kymmu Posts: 1,650 Member
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    http://www.healthfulpursuit.com/2012/12/grain-free-paleo-stuffing-cranberry-flax/

    this looks interesting!
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    I don't know why you have to disguise your food if everyone likes it. What is your menu for christmas dinner?
    This.

    But I have a version of mashed potatoes that's very yummy and healthier, I guess. I use olive oil and garlic powder with either soy milk or fat free milk. Even the picky, picky, picky boyfriend loves them.

    (I don't add any salt -- not needed.)
  • snowbike
    snowbike Posts: 153 Member
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    I don't know why you have to disguise your food if everyone likes it. What is your menu for christmas dinner?


    What to show that food does not need lashings of fat, salt and sugar to be good.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    I don't know why you have to disguise your food if everyone likes it. What is your menu for christmas dinner?


    What to show that food does not need lashings of fat, salt and sugar to be good.
    The point is, just cook what you want. Why pretend it's something else?
  • snowbike
    snowbike Posts: 153 Member
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    Some great ideas.

    I will try the dairy free chocolate pud.
  • msbunnie68
    msbunnie68 Posts: 1,894 Member
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    Christmas has been at my house for many years now and I have slowly been changing it over from a traditional hot meal to cool salads and cooled cooked meats - we live in Australia for goodness sakes and Christmas is darn HOT. This year they are predicting Christmas here in Perth will be around 40C (about 104 in degrees fahrenheit) so the prawns will be cold in their shells with no sauces etc...lots of cool salads and roasted cooled meat.

    Marinading meats overnight or for 24 hours really lets the flavours develop and lessens the need for fats etc for taste. Cooking chicken and smaller turkeys in oven bags with herbs and some liquid keeps them really moist without using fats and the bonus is the pan is incredibly easy to clean. You can get extra large oven bags for turkeys.

    I also precook some roasted meats the night before (like rolled roasts) so the fillings/seasonings can permeate the meat AND I can drain any fats off.

    A gorgeous whole roasted fish stuffed with lemon and herbs would be a yummy and healthy addition.

    The first time I totally changed up Christmas was the first time I had praise for my cooking from my Sicilan father in law as it was different and fresh.

    EDIT: instead of roasted potatoes try jacket potatoes with an array of condiments in little pots to try and some plain yogurt and chives or light sour cream and chives - lets your guests choose how healthy/unhealthy they want their potatoes to be.
  • flechero
    flechero Posts: 260 Member
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    When in a similar situation, I cook the meal healthy and make the appetizers and the desserts the "normal" bad stuff people want... that way I can avoid the apps and just have a nice healthy dinner. And if the rest is good, most people won't even realize the meal was healthy.

    It is Christmas, so I will have some dessert!! (just a smaller portion)
  • Linli_Anne
    Linli_Anne Posts: 1,360 Member
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    Last year I made a lovely wild rice stuffing with dried cranberries, rosemary and cashews. It was fabulous on it's own as well.

    You could also make a bread stuffing, but find something like a weight watchers bread if you are really concerned about the calories...mix it with sage, celery salt, green onions, apples, celery. You can stuff it in just like that, or moisten it a little bit with some vegetable broth.

    Desserts are the area that I am not willing to compromise. So, I make them just as recipes call but, I dress it up by serving them in smaller sized dishes - think of things like liquer glasses, shot glasses. One year I spooned out bread pudding (the only alteration was I used part skim milk because it's all I had at the time) into my china tea cups. It turned a recipe that yielded 12 servings, into one that fed almost 30!
  • cramernh
    cramernh Posts: 3,335 Member
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    I understand your puzzlement, but if you are inviting people to YOUR home for Christmas dinner, then they should be thankful for the meal that was provided....

    My husband and I stopped inviting HIS MOTHER AND SISTER about 10 years ago. They both had the balls to criticize my cooking as being too healthy and no "real holiday foods"... Mind you, I have several medical problems that requires my cooking everything 100% from scratch with only whole foods. I still make my husband's favorites as I feel he should not have to go without... but he eats everything that I make also. He even likes the fact of not having starchy foods all the time as he feels completely different and more alert when he goes without it... but, he loves my old school homemade stuffing.

    So - prior to getting rid of MIL and SIL, we always told them, you are more than welcome to bring in a dish that you like to the table. I never had a problem with that. But they made it a whole frigging fiasco.

    When she opened up about my table being too healthy, my husband gave it to her real firm - "youre insulting my wife's cooking. She preps and cooks for 24 hours straight every year to share with you and Katie, and all you are doing is being rude in our home.. perhaps you need to leave and go without?"

    She sat there in shock! Her daughter had a nasty look and then I had to open up at that point and asked them to leave. She looked to her son for support, but he sat there and agreed "You both need to leave if you are going to be nasty and ungrateful"...

    I got up from the table and left the room I was so fuming.

    I used to work as a full time chef.... they had a five course meal ready to be served, DAMNIT!!!!

    So, now its just my husband and I... My daughter comes home to visit with her boyfriend at our place for dessert and coffee... We get the so-very-obvious hints of his mother and sister wanting to come over every year, but we tell her the truth, we already made plans...


    You make your meal the way you intend it to be... enjoy the kitchen, enjoy creating and preparing..... and definitely DO NOT put up with anyone who isnt appreciative of your efforts either...
  • RobynLB
    RobynLB Posts: 617 Member
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    Roast the veggies instead of steaming them- not for added health but just because steamed veggies are boring and don't taste great to most people. Cut the fat in half in all the sides... really... no one will notice one pat of butter instead of 2. If you do mashed sweet potatoes or squash instead of mashed potatoes, you can go really light on butter. Add more veggies to the stuffing and maybe sub out some of the bread with cube diced squash / apples / rice etc. Up the flavor in everything by using more seasoning / fresher ingredients. For dessert try a simple apple crisp on fillo instead of pie.
  • RobynLB
    RobynLB Posts: 617 Member
    Options
    Christmas has been at my house for many years now and I have slowly been changing it over from a traditional hot meal to cool salads and cooled cooked meats - we live in Australia for goodness sakes and Christmas is darn HOT. This year they are predicting Christmas here in Perth will be around 40C (about 104 in degrees fahrenheit) so the prawns will be cold in their shells with no sauces etc...lots of cool salads and roasted cooled meat.

    Marinading meats overnight or for 24 hours really lets the flavours develop and lessens the need for fats etc for taste. Cooking chicken and smaller turkeys in oven bags with herbs and some liquid keeps them really moist without using fats and the bonus is the pan is incredibly easy to clean. You can get extra large oven bags for turkeys.

    I also precook some roasted meats the night before (like rolled roasts) so the fillings/seasonings can permeate the meat AND I can drain any fats off.



    A gorgeous whole roasted fish stuffed with lemon and herbs would be a yummy and healthy addition.

    The first time I totally changed up Christmas was the first time I had praise for my cooking from my Sicilan father in law as it was different and fresh.

    EDIT: instead of roasted potatoes try jacket potatoes with an array of condiments in little pots to try and some plain yogurt and chives or light sour cream and chives - lets your guests choose how healthy/unhealthy they want their potatoes to be.

    OMG - you sound like a fabulous cook!
  • monicalosesweight
    monicalosesweight Posts: 1,173 Member
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    Last year I made a lovely wild rice stuffing with dried cranberries, rosemary and cashews. It was fabulous on it's own as well.

    I was about to suggest something just like this. Basically, dried fruits, rice, nuts and some spices. You don't need to fill a turkey with tons of wheat which is just fattening. You could also do more of a roll like a pork loin sliced in half and stuffed and baked. You may need to test a mini-version over the weekend. You can use glazes made from fruit like orange juice. The other option, buy cornish game hens. You can slice them in half and serve half to each person. If you stuff them with cranberries, rice, cashews, and whatever spices you like - you'll have a nice presentation and they are really good!

    Desert - Avoid the crust - that's where the calories are all located. You can do some sort of baked fruit in a pie OR bake some apples with a minimal amount of sugar and then use it as a topper for a low calorie frozen vanilla yogurt. Avoid canned toppings....sugar is outrageous. You can cut up strawberries, put a few table spoons of sugar on top and let it sit in the fridge (mix of course) and it'll release it's own juices. At that point, make an Angel Food Cake. The calories for a small slice are pretty darn low and you can cut it into cubes, put the topping on it and serve it in small little glass dishes so it's healthier.

    I would do based sweet potatoes or regular potatoes with light butter and salt.

    Remember, it's a holiday so you are allowed to have a bit more for one day out of the year....just make your dishes healthier by cutting out the stuff that's bad like full butter/lard crusts and stuffings that are made from carbs that are super heavy.

    Monica
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,970 Member
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    Some great ideas.

    I will try the dairy free chocolate pud.
    Why? Taste is important.

    Your invitation to Christmas dinner should be gratefully accepted, without criticism, if someone doesn't like a particular food they can graciously decline. Cook the foods you want to cook.

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