Many of the trademark flavors of the holiday season add sweetness to foods without adding calories. This year, I encourage you to discover the spices that have been hidden or forgotten in the dark corners of your cupboard. Reach for allspice, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and nutmeg, to name just a few. Add any of these spices to sweet potatoes for a sweet side dish. Add ginger to cooked carrots or a sprinkle of nutmeg to cooked spinach. Add allspice, nutmeg or cinnamon to warm oatmeal on a chilly morning. Last, but not least, bring these seasonings into the light by adding them to warm drinks like coffee, hot chocolate, or cider. Here are a few non-alcoholic drinks to dress up your holiday season and warm the heart without adding extra calories.

 

Hot Peppermint Chocolate

My favorite hidden spice this season has been peppermint extract. And, naturally, I will always have a deep connection to chocolate. For a super-easy holiday drink that will please children both young and old, just add 1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract to heated chocolate soy or rice milk.

 

Cool Peppermint Chocolate

This has become my favorite morning beverage for the holiday season. Because it includes JuicePlus+ Complete Powder*, it can serve as a meal replacement and is perfect as a pre- and post- exercise drink! I’ll often make one serving and split it between my two boys as a delicious and nutritious addition to their breakfast. As for myself, I’ll enjoy the full serving for less than 200 calories!

1 cup rice milk

1 scoop JuicePlus+ Chocolate Complete Powder *

1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract

4 ice cubes

 

Combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth.

JuicePlus+ Complete provides a variety of plant-based protein sources including low processed soy protein, golden chlorella, chickpea powder, pea protein, tofu powder, and rice protein.The fiber sources include apple fiber, natural gums, corn fiber, pectin, soy fiber, natural plant cellulose, inulin, and rice bran.  It also includes pumpkin powder, pomegranate powder, and spirulina pacifica.

For more information about JP+ Complete Powder, contact me at juiceplus@sacredbite.com

 

Mock Glögg (gloog)

Here’s a spicy twist on a popular non-alcoholic Swedish drink.

 

48 ounces 100% grape juice

5 cinnamon sticks

1 1/2 teaspoons cardamom

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Peel of 1 orange

 

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan or crock pot. Heat until simmering, but not boiling. Serve warm. Yield: 6 — 8 ounce servings.

 

Is a corn-cob pipe and a carrot nose enough to nourish Frosty? Apparently not! But even with a banana, apple, carrot, broccoli floret, and cucumber (or is that a zucchini sticking out of his ear?), he is actually getting more than the average American!  What’s more, he doesn’t realize that the recommended intake of 5 servings per day is old news. Because of the tremendous health benefits of consuming more fruits and vegetables – including a reduction in the risk of cancer, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, reduced inflammatory symptoms in those diagnosed with rheumatoid disease, and a potential reduction in body weight – the new recommended intake is 7-13 servings per day. Yet, despite these health benefits and the efforts of public health campaigns, fruit and vegetable consumption remains far below recommended levels for most Americans.  In fact, only 2.2% of men and 3.5% of women meet current recommendations for daily intake of fruits and vegetables (J Am Diet Assoc. 2011;111:1523-1535).

What’s it going to take to get people to consume more plants?  Given that we can’t force feed anyone, we must continue to rely upon continued education about the hugely supportive role that plants play in the human body combined with individual and communal efforts to get them into the body.

 

What can we learn from Frosty?

1.  When encouraging kids to try new foods, be sure to offer them in combination with old and familiar favorites.  For example, Frosty is trying out broccoli and zucchini, but alongside the familiar carrot  This takes the pressure off of that one new food.

2.  Keep portions small.  Overwhelming your child with more than they can chew can backfire.  Easy goes… one bite at a time.

3.  Like Frosty, be a good role model!  Kids will do what they see us do much more than they will do what we say!

 

 

TOASTED PECANS

 

 

 

 

I received this recipe from my dear friend, Sarah, years ago and have been making them every year since.  In fact, they are now a tradition in our household.  I will be gifting my kids’ teachers with a bag of them for Thanksgiving.  They are terrific eaten alone, tossed over a salad, or on baked sweet potatoes!

INGREDIENTS

1 pound pecans, halved

3 Tbsp. melted butter

1/3 cup sugar, white

1 Tbsp. karo syrup

1 tsp. vanilla

 

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

½ tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. allspice

¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

½ tsp. coriander

 

Mix together the melted butter, sugar, karo syrup, and vanilla.  Boil pecans in water for one minute.  Drain and put in a bowl.  Stir in the butter mixture and place pecans on a non-stick cookie sheet overnight at room temperature.  The following morning, bake at 300 degrees F for 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.  When done, put pecans into a bowl.  Sprinkle spice mixture over pecans and stir.  Lay on cookie sheet again to cool completely.  Enjoy!

Fruit salad with BOO-berries and BOO-nanas and BOO-gels with SCREAM cheese!