HOW TO HOST THE FESTIVE SEASON HEALTHILY & AFFORDABLY: Last-Minute Tips

UPDATED 22/12:  

This Week: IMAGINATIVE LEFTOVERS (Scroll down)

Tips for impressive and tasty holiday dishes that are easy on the waistline and on the wallet...with a few spectacular indulgences

Merry Christmas to All!

Make life easier by preparing as much as you can in advance...

• Check supplies of egg and rice noodles; ready in a few minutes, they make ever-so easy Almost Instant Chinese Dishes
• Have extra eggs on hand; they make quick canapes, filled omelettes and quiches 
• Inexpensive bags of apples or pears can be turned into terrific crumbles with just a bit of flour, fat and sugar
• Invest in a pineapple, it will ripen through the holidays if you don't use it straight away
• It's a good idea to make a batch of rice according to packet instructions or see Foolproof Brown Rice.  Cool by spreading out on a large tray, leave an hour, refrigerate and use within 3 days OR freeze & defrost overnight when needed
• Ditto: pasta; in this case lightly sprinkle cooked drained pasta with olive oil to keep pasta from clumping together. It will keep well, covered, in the fridge for up to 3 days including cooking day
• Make Gravy & Cranberry Sauce in advance (see mushroom vegetarian gravy) &  pour in juices from turkey pan 
• Get a start on Christmas Day by preparing veg on the 23rd or on Christmas Eve; stored in airtight bags & refrigerate 

• On the day: remember to rest cooked turkey at least half an hour, covered in tin foil and lots of tea-towels (or newspapers); resting allows the juices to return to the meat and prevents dryness
• Carving a Turkey: check out Carving a Chicken; same principles, bigger bird - but leave skin on
• Don't throw out leftover veg; freeze them and incorporate into soups
• Save leftover Christmas pud, mince pies & leftover fruit & nuts - they can be mixed into softened ice cream and re-frozen or used to stuff baked apples
• Turkey carcass makes great broth, bag & freeze it for later
• If you have the space, set the table on Christmas Eve  
• Fortify yourself for Christmas Day. Don't get up and go straight into cooking the Christmas meal; make up a jug of Breakfast Smoothies - low sugar but high energy - you'll be energized and calm  

       
SCROLL DOWN FOR:

Party Snacks Canapes Starters Mains Sides Desserts Imaginative Leftovers Menus If you can't afford x, try y What to do if you've Eaten Something Dodgy
                               

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During the Festive season, eating healthily - and if you're the host, affordably - can be a struggle.

67 believes Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year's Eve/Day are sacrosanct. Just relax and indulge; be disciplined if you want to, but not too much.  

The rest of the time, try to stay as close as possible to your eating plans; always remember portion control and discipline:

• if you've stopped tasting it, stop eating it
• if you find you're overdoing it, replace a meal or two with Broth or Granola Porridge.
• eat as much salad, vegetables and fruit as you can
• cut back on meat and white carbs 
• if you've eaten something dodgy or are feeling bilious, scroll down to bottom of page for possible cures 

ALL  the Festive Season Recipes will be listed on this page. (How to... can also be reached directly on the Nav Bar).  

WEEKLY festive recipes, with links, will be on the Welcome to the Blog page.  Also check out Home and Recipes on the Nav Bar.  


New Festive Season Recipes: Leftovers


This Week's Healthy & Affordable Festive Dishes: Imaginative Use of Leftovers

Singapore Noodles with Turkey & Ham, Healthy, Easy-peasy, ever so tasty 

Mini Christmas Pavlovas, lower sugar, with a hint of Christmas spices, served with Gingered Orange & Berries and Yoghurt Cream

Impressive Dishes using Leftovers, from Previous Posts

Sunshine Salad, thrown-together (with a bit of knifework) for the family cook who also wants a break; the textures makes this a delight.  Serve with Cornbread Muffins hot from the oven.

Every forkful succulent with moist and salty meats, juicy crunchy fruit, crisp salad, sharp herbs and a hum of heat.

Two Almost Instant Noodle Dishes - little cooking needed; ready in 10 minutes

Crispy Noodles with Cooked Turkey, Chilli Broccoli  & Gravy - divine taste & crunch 

Rice Sticks with Cooked Pork - a stunner
of a quick dish




VEGETABLES

• Freeze leftover veg and incorporate into soups
• Cold potatoes can be sliced and made into potato & artichoke pizza

DESSERTS

• Leftover pavlovas can be crushed and layered with fruit and yoghurt cream or double cream
• Leftover mincemeat, Christmas pudding and dried fruits can be stirred into softened ice cream, then re-frozen.  For a showstopping version, pour the ice cream mix into a bowl lined with two layers of clingfilm and freeze.  When ready to serve, melt good chocolate over simmering heat & cool slightly; decant the ice cream onto a flat plate and pour over the melted chocolate in a continuous stream, allowing the melted chocolate to spread down the sides
• Leftover sponge or chocolate log make great trifles
• Useful flavourings for leftovers: lemon curd, sugared ginger, ginger in syrup, coffee (for chocolate); liqueurs

MENUS

Breakfasts

Creamy Granola Porridge
with Molasses Sugar

Fruit Smoothie

Granola Porridge, low sugar, high protein

Fresh berries

Single cream or 

yoghurt cream

Coffee, Tea, Juice

Breakfast Bread, low added sugar, with fruit & nuts, Quick & Easy

OR as an indulgence, Flaky Cheeese Biscuits (the cholesterol phobic, beware & be disciplined)


Lunches

Light/thin or Whole-Meal Soup (See Sides in Recipes on Nav Bar)
Skinny Sandwiches (check out vegetarian sandwiches for using up Irresistable Nut Loaf)
Fruit & Cheese


Simple Salad, frugal
Hot Turkey Sandwiches: lay slices of leftover turkey on standard white bread (nothing fancy here), maybe a slice of leftover stuffing, a sliced roast potato or two and cover thickly with hot gravy.  Serve with leftover cranberry sauce
Fruit Crumble (see Bakery in Recipes on Nav Bar)


Suppers

Family

Child Friendly: 

Egg Drop Pea Soup, Easy-Peasy
Tuna-Fried Rice, OR
Tuna Pasta Casserole with Potato Crisp Topping (use white pasta)
Baked peaches with cinnamon & vanilla, tinned are fine


Ginger and Soy Fish, 10 mins, the frugal use frozen fillets
Unfried Rice
Hot Pineapple Pudding


Particularly Frugal

Tuscan Chicken, Easy-easy, frugal
Melange of Potato, Onion & Carrot, a richly flavoured dish for just a few pence

Super-tender Wings

Chicken Wings in Sweet & Sour Tomato Sauce, Double Duty (makes good stock & tenderises wings for chew-resistant children)
Rice
Easy-cook veg like tenderstem broccoli, green beans, mange tout and frozen peas

A WORD ABOUT SUGARY DRINKS & KIDS OVER THE HOLIDAYS... 

Kids and sugary drinks don't do well and steering them toward flavoured waters will save a lot of angst & demanding behaviour.  Try these...

Flavoured waters From Jaime Oliver 

Everyday Super Food (Michael Joseph £18.20)

The Dish, The Times, 1 Nov 2105

The following combinations are steeped in a jug of water and ice, and refrigerated for at least three hours.

Cucumber, Apple & Mint Water

Add one finely sliced apple; strips of cucumber and a few fresh mint leaves.

Strawberry

Add half a dozen sliced strawberries

St Clements

Add Sliced oranges and lemons

Watermelon & Basil

Add a peeled, chopped wedge of watermelon, bashing the fruit to release flavours. Add a squeeze of lime.

DESSERTS

Almost no-added sugar Stollen
'Big thumbs up!'  Taster

Almost no-added sugar Stollen

Chocolate & Banana Croissant Bread Pudding

Plus 
Armagnac Partridges with Apple




Spectacular Festive Desserts from Previous Postings

• Irish Coffee Cheesecake:  One of 67's first experiments with 'skinnier' desserts - a spectacular success. Lower in fat, lower in sugar but stunningly good to eat.  Includes a child-friendly alcohol-free version with Orange.  
• Upside Down Cheesecake: Adapted from Heston Blumethal's mother, this wonderful cheesecake takes all day to be ready - though not long to put together.  It's also skinnier and the crust is crushed and served separately to accommodate gluten-phobics

Very low calorie but unusual and delicious festive desserts from previous postings

Deconstructed Plum, Ginger &
Orange Crumble

• Hot Pineapple Pudding: This frugal dessert is a true delight, extremely low in sugar but humming with ginger. Serve with ice cream or Yoghurt Ginger Cream
• Orange & Berry Plate: Again, frugal but delightful - a real palate pleaser
• Plum, Ginger & Orange Crumble: A taster ate his way through 4 servings in one day!  Says it all.  The crumble is served separately to accommodate the gluten-phobic

Chocolate Festive Desserts

• Chocolate Shortbread,Easy-Peasy 
• "I'm on Holiday, too" Simple Chocolate Cake: No butter but more to the point, so simple it'll keep the kids occupied for a few hours
• Chocolate Mousse, No Added Sugar, Cream, Butter or Egg Yolk: One of the most lovely guilt-free chocolate desserts, ever 

Chocolate Mousse, Skinny 

MAINS

Week 9/12

Vegetarian Feast: Nut Loaf, Veggie

Mushroom Gravy, Cranberry &

Red Wine Sauce, Sprouts & Corn

Irresistable Nut Loaf Fabulous! Veggies, rejoice.    
Stir-fried Sprouts with Corn
Savoury & crunchy; kids will love it

An INDULGENCE
Skinny Mongolian HotPot: A spectacular Festive Lunch but not for the faint-hearted






OTHER FESTIVE MAINS

Healthy but Humungously Tasty Turkey Chilli Low-fat, low-cholesterol, low-salt but big on flavour.  Frugal, too; feeds 8-10 for £7; add bowls of mashed avocado & chilli, finely chopped red onion, grated cheese & tortilla chips to make it a party! 

Paella, Classic & Vegetarian a fancy double-duty dish that pleases carnivores, vegetarians and a time-conscious cook

Lamb Ribs for the Health Conscious, Easy-peasy but oh-so-tasty easy-eating food; bang it in the oven and cook long & slow to reduce fat

Southern Unfried Chicken, Guilt-free & totally more-ish, low-fat, oven-baked, crispy, spicy 

Avocado Pilaff

Avocado Pilaff, a sublime vegetarian dish with hot buttery avocado, mushrooms & pine nuts in wine-scented rice

Marvellous Meatless Moussaka more than worth every minute it takes to make - a spectacular dish & you won't miss the meat

Tantalising Cheat's Tortilla Espagnol 
Brings back memories of sunny Spain, a large vegetarian omelette of potato and onion, made easier with the use of chip shop chips! 

(For Family only festive meals, go to Recipes on the Navigation Bar, Frugal section)

SIDES 

Salads - prettily presented rabbit stuff - can be simple or complex to suit the budget but definitely keep guests healthy

 Fantastic Frugal Salad
4 ingred, £1

Mixed Salad

Also:

Cranberry & Red Wine Sauce, a winning combination of savoury & sweet

No-Butter Garlic Bread many like it better than the original

Chinese Crudites kids can help with this one 





Foolproof Brown Rice worth the effort; can be made in advance and kept warm over boiling water
Foolproof White Rice, including Dinner Party White Rice with 'rice crackling'
Green Bean, Mushroom & Nut Salad a carnival of textures


And easy quick breads:

Cheese & Walnut Loaf

Cornbread with Chilli & Green Onions, Quick & Easy a one-bowl wonder - sassy, gorgeously yellow 
Tear & Share Healthier Cheese & Walnut Loaf the guests won't get enough of this one
Soda Bread, Light Wholemeal, No Sugar, Low-gluten, Easy Peasy - as tasty as it is good for you




STARTERS & Canapes 

French Onion Dip Platter

French Onion Dip, Skinnier, a Canadian classic
Skinnier Liver Pate  Big flavours but Low-fat, Low-cholesterol 
Skinnier Sausages, Honey & Mustard, a classic but still so fab
Spinach Parfait Gorgeous! Light, fluffy, savoury and emerald green


Festive Snacks (amended version of Healthier Bar & Party Snacks)

Eating for health and affordability does not mean restricting yourself to carrot and celery sticks but it is possible to minimise potential health damage. 

• NUTS.  Make your own - spray raw nuts lightly with olive oil and spread them out on a tray.  Bake in a pre-heated 180C/350F/gas 4 preheated oven for about 5 minutes.  Salt lightly; add finely minced fresh, or dried rosemary or smoked paprika. Some PACKAGED NUTS can be less expensive. Shake them in a strainer to remove excess salt and/or rub with a paper napkin to reduce oil.  67 finds packaged unroasted nuts bland and really not very nice.

• CRISPS  Try low-salt, fat-reduced and baked crisps.  One of our favourite English food halls does lentil and chickpea based crisps which are surprisingly tasty.

• SAUSAGES.  Pierce with a fork several times.  Drop into boiling water; reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  Bake on a roasting tray on a rack so sausages do not sit in their own fat. See Honey & Mustard Sausages, below, and serve with no-sugar relish.  

• BUFFALO WINGS - Bake them naked first, then brush with sauce of choice.  

• SPARE RIBS. Reduce fat by dropping ribs into boiling water with two onions and a couple of cloves of garlic.  Boil 5 mins; reduce heat to medium and simmer 30 -45 minutes or until tender. Coat with sauce; bake in a medium oven for 30 mins, basting with sauce every 10 mins.

Canapes

• Parmesan Crisps.  A sheer salty Indulgence to accompany drinks.  Easy-peasy.  Drop tablespoons of freshly grated parmesan on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper, leaving a bit of room between; level with clean fingers; bake in a moderate oven 7-10 mins. Rest a minute or so then lift with a metal fish slice or knife and carefully place on a cooling tray. They are very delicate but no one will refuse broken shards.

• Cucumber & spiced sausage.  Cut slices of cucumber 1/4 in/1/2 cm thick and top with similar-sized slices of good salami or a Polish sausage like kielbasa.  Keep sausage slices/pieces small.  If you have a set of scone cutters, use the smallest size to cut out the sausage. 

• French Bread Crispbreads.  Easy-peasy; frugal. Thinly slice French bread; lightly spray with olive oil both sides; salt lightly and bake for 7-10 mins in a medium oven (watch they don't burn).  Cool on a wire rack.  These are a good vehicle for cheese or smoked salmon on a slice of lettuce (anchor both with a dab of mayo) or pate.  Assemble at the last minute to retain the bread's crispness.

• Parma ham Sticks. Roll parma or thinly sliced ham round breadsticks or thin mango wedges or drained peach slices. (Fruit ups the healthy quotient.)

• Date & Walnut Yummies.  An Indulgence.  Fresh Medjool dates are at their best at this time of year - plump and not-too-sweet.  Slit tops, fill with cream cheese & top with (a) a dab of set honey or (b) a walnut half or coarsely chopped walnuts

• Baby tomato & mozzarella balls.  Alternate baby tomatoes & mozzarella on cocktail sticks.  Serve with a pesto dip.  A non-meat canape.  

• Stuffed New Potatoes.  Take a thin slice off the bottom of boiled new potatoes to keep them upright.  Use a melon baller or sharp knife to hollow out the top, stuff with sour cream or yoghurt-mayo; sprinkle with (a) chives or (b) strips of offcuts of smoked salmon of (c) whatever you fancy

Starters

A first course, usually a light soup, fills up guests before the more expensive main course and adds to intake of vegetables. Some suggestions:

• Velvety Pea Soup - a light but intensely flavoured broth enhanced by a sprinkling of peas

Salad Veg Soup

• Salad Vegetables Soup - gorgeous coral coloured soup made from spring onions, peppers, radishes, celery, carrots and cauliflower.  Uses up salad veg.
• Broth, Chicken - light intensely flavoured broth with shredded chicken
• Broth, Garlic - light intensely flavoured broth (you won't taste the garlic) which is actually good for you, especially if there are blood pressure issues.    Garlic broth is said to help clear the system after (or during) culinary excesses
• Easy-Peasy Tomato Soup - an easy peasy soup that serves double-duty for vegetarians and carnivores 

OR:

Have a more substantial first course, followed by a less expensive, lighter main course: 

Spinach Parfait, a delicious and unusual emerald green mousse, wonderfully savoury. which will impress guests.  Contains butter but that's partially offset by the spinach. 

Skinnier Liver Pate, Guilt-free. Low-fat & Low-cholesterol but Big flavour.  Perfect as a first course, for a soup lunch or on the festive buffet table.

If you can't afford...

• Turkey...try Partridges with Armagnac & Apple (post 18/12)

• Smoked salmon, try smoked salmon offcuts from a trusted producer/supermarket and use as a garnish. (See canapes above; also scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, or smoked salmon and spring onion quiche.)  

• A Gammon joint, try ham hocks.  Soak overnight & drain; cover with fresh water, bring to the boil & discard water.  Cover with fresh water, add a couple of onions and carrots; bring to the boil and simmer for a couple of hours (or in a slow cooker) until the meat is tender and falling off the bone.  Cool in stock water; remove fat & gristle and shred the flesh for soups, quiches and sandwiches.  The stock will be lethally salty and is not recommended for anyone with high blood pressure. But some of it can form part of the liquid for soups such as split pea to heighten flavour.

• Artisan Bread, check out supermarket bakeries where you may find similar items at reasonable prices.  M&S has a great fruit and nut loaf perfect for cheese and a scrummy cheese boule.  Morrisons has a good selection of specialist bakery breads, though some are better than others.  Pumpernickel and Pumpkin Seed is recommended. Waitrose does wonderful large crusty Pan Rustica Rolls in white or wholemeal.  They're deep enough to serve as edible bowls for soup and Sloppy Joes.
• OR try making your own easy-peasy quick breads; straight out of the oven, they will wow your guests:Tear & Share Cheese & Walnut Loaf, Cornbread with Chilli & Spring Onions, Breakfast Sweet Bread and Soda Bread, Light Wholemeal (no-sugar, low-gluten)

If you eat something dodgy...try

• homoeopathic remedy Nux Vomica 30, available from Boots and homoeopathic pharmacies Helios, Ainsworths and Nelsons (all online & in central London).  Good for diarrhoea, nausea from overeating and hangovers.  Let the pilule dissolve on the tongue; nothing to eat or drink 20 mins before or after. No more than 4 a day with at least 3 hours between.
• Ginger Tea helps relieve nausea and aids digestion
• See also Restoring Health After Illness

For more festive recipes, see How to...page on the nav bar, above

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