HEALTHY HOLIDAYS!

This holiday season, remember that health is the most important blessing of all. I want to serve a festive meals that will not ruin our diet. It will be possible if I stick with healthy ingredients and watch out for fat and refined starches. Although family menus at this time of year seem to be "set in stone," I will have to strike out in a new direction. Often, when I introduce new recipes to the menu, they are met with skepticism. Some of those "new" dishes are now old favorites.

The menu below is quite good, satisfying and very healthy. We are watching our cholesterol so I will opt for a turkey breast rather than a whole turkey with dark meat. To be more traditional, you could substitute cornbread dressing made with stone ground cornbread and low-fat, low sodium stock.

Turkey Breast
Since turkey breast contains very little fat, I like to cover it with an aluminum foil tent to keep it from drying out. (Some people recommend brining to accomplish that, but brining adds a lot of salt. You could also baste it with an oil and white wine mixture, but that adds extra fat.)

6-8 pound turkey breast
1 teaspoon sage
bit of salt, optional
1/2 stalk of celery, thinly sliced
1/4 onion, thinly sliced

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the turkey breast from the package and wipe it with a damp paper towel. Rub sage and salt, if using, into the skin and cavity. Make little slits in the skin of the turkey and insert slivers of celery and onion.
Place the breast in a roasting pan and add the remaining celery and onion to the cavity. Cover loosely with an aluminum foil tent. Roast until the bird reaches an internal temperature of 155 degrees. Remove the foil and continuing roasting until the bird reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees and is nicely browned. (Allow approximately 25 minutes per pound total cooking time.)

Remove from the oven and let stand 20 minutes before carving.

Apple-Pecan Brown Rice Dressing

2 teaspoons soft, heart-healthy margarine2 medium red apples, cored and cubed 1 small onion, chopped 1/2 cup sliced celery 1 teaspoon rubbed sage 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups cooked brown rice
(preferably cooked in low fat, low sodium chicken or turkey stock)
3/4 cup pecan pieces
1/4 cup chicken or turkey stock

Melt the margarine in a large skillet and cook apple, onion and celery. Cook until the vegetables are tender crisp. Add the sage, thyme and pepper and cook another minute or two. Stir the rice, pecans and stock. Pour into a casserole dish. This is best if made the day before, covered and refrigerated to let the flavors meld. To serve, bake (covered) 20 minutes at 400 degrees or until heated through.

Lemon Asparagus

1 1/2 pounds fresh asparagus
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
Pinch of salt, optional
Freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon spicy brown mustard
Juice of one lemon (about 1/4 cup)
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Wash the asparagus. Holding one end of each asparagus in each hand, snap off the woody end at the point it will break easily. Put the asparagus in a bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Season with salt, if using, and pepper.

Spread the asparagus in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast until just crispy done–about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile whisk together the mustard, lemon juice, lemon zest, a pinch of salt, if using, and freshly ground black pepper. Slowly drizzle in the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil whisking constantly.

To serve, put the asparagus on a serving platter and drizzle with the lemon juice dressing. (These may be served warm or cold.)

Cherry Mold

My husband is on Coumadin and cannot have cranberries so I came up with the following congealed salad. It’s tart and red and fruity so it makes a good relish with the turkey.

15 ounce can unsweetened pitted tart cherries
8-ounce can unsweetened crushed pineapple
2 .3-ounce packages sugar-free cherry or black cherry gelatin
1 12-ounce can diet cola

Drain the cherries, reserving the juice. Chop the cherries. Do not drain the pineapple. Put the crushed pineapple and its juice plus 1/2 cup of the reserved cherry juice in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir in the gelatin until it is dissolved. Stir in the diet cola. Chill until thickened but not firm. Stir in the chopped cherries and pour into individual molds. (I use silicone muffin pans.) Chill until firm before unmolding.

Pumpkin Bread

1 15-ounce can pumpkin
3/4 cup measures-like sugar sweetener
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup egg substitute
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
(Or 4 teaspoons sodium and potassium-free baking powder)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
pinch of salt, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray and line with waxed paper.
With an electric mixture beat together the pumpkin, sweetener, oil and egg substitute. In a separate bowl whisk together the whole wheat flour, baking powder, spices and a pinch of salt, if using. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture. Do not over mix. It will be dry in places.

Pack the batter into the prepared pan, spreading evenly. Bake 50 minutes to 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes and remove from the pan. Serve with orange "butter."

Orange Butter

1/4 cup soft heart-healthy margarine
1/4 cup sugar-free orange marmalade

Combine the margarine and marmalade and beat until fluffy.