Creative Christmas Meals

Instead of using those Christmas Cookie Cutters for sugar cookies, why not put those cookie cutters to some good use on… healthier foods? Here’s some ideas that will help you get started – be creative and have fun!

Breakfast

Why not create a fun Christmas breakfast by enjoying some Christmas Tree pancakes or star shaped waffles?

I found some Christmas molds at my local grocery store, so I decided to make blueberry muffins and put my molds to good use! I just added some Organic raspberry jam to make a face and details.

Lunch

Whether it’s PB & J or your favorite Deli Sandwich, create a sandwich and choose which Christmas shape you want to use and go for it!

Tip: Don’t have too big of a sandwich! You will want a relatively thin sandwich to be able to make the shapes.

Dinner

Whether you choose a ham or turkey, why not have some fun with your choice of Christmas dinner meat ? After you have sliced your meat, take out the cookie cutters and have fun with creating different shapes!

I made a turkey for my Christmas dinner, and sliced the meat about 1/4 inch thick. I placed the meat on a plate and used a Bell, Snowman, and Holly Leaf Cookie Cutter and made shapes out of my Christmas Turkey. It was a pretty fun way to enjoy my Dinner.

Christmas Molds and Cookie Cutters are a simple trick to add some Holiday cheer to your meals – have fun!

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Tags: Breakfast, christmas, Cookie Cutters, dinner, holiday, lunch

Chicken Kabobs

Ingredients:

8 Bamboo Kabob Skewers

2 Chicken breasts

8 Mushrooms

1 Red Pepper

1 Green Pepper

4 small Tomatoes

1 Purple Onion

Chicken Seasoning

Instructions:

Step 1) Preheat grill

Step 2) Cut up chicken, red and green pepper, onions, and tomatoes into sizes appropriate for cooking on a kabob (see photo)

Step 3) Add ingredients onto the kabob skewer, mixing up the colors and order of ingredients to add variety. Add chicken seasoning to kabobs.

Step 4) Cook on grill for 10 minutes, then rotate and cook for another 10 minutes; 20 minutes total, or until chicken is fully cooked.

Notes:

You can cook this in the oven, just bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until chicken is fully cooked.

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Tags: chicken, dinner, green pepper, healthy recipe, kabob, lunch, mushroom, purple onion, red pepper, tomatoes

Salmon Almond Crunch

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons Mustard

3 tablespoons melted Coconut oil

5 teaspoons Raw Honey

1 slice Ezekiel bread crumbs

1/2 cup Almond slices

2 teaspoons dried (or fresh) Rosemary

2-4 Salmon fillets

Instructions:

Step 1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees and lightly grease baking pan.

Step 2) In a bowl, combine the mustard, melted coconut oil, and honey

Step 3) Place fillets on baking pan.  Spoon on the mustard mixture to each fillet, then top with bread crumbs, sliced almonds, and rosemary.

Step 4) Bake for 20 minutes (or 10 minutes for each inch of thickness, measuring thickest part of the fillet). Salmon should flake when done.

Notes:

Salmon is a perfect  healthy dinner for you and the family. I always try to season my meats in a healthy way, and that’s why I chose Coconut oil (rather than another oil such as vegetable oil), Ezekiel bread crumbs, almond slices, and rosemary.

This is one of my husband’s favorite dishes…I hope you enjoy it as much as he does!

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Tags: almond, almond slices, coconut oil, dinner, Ezekiel Bread, mustard, Pepper, Raw Honey, Rosemary, salmon, Salmon Fillet, salmon recipe, salt

Cafe Zupas anyone…?

Looking for a new place to eat out for lunch or dinner?  Sometimes, we eat things that are not too healthy or good for us when we are pressed for time, want something quick on the go, or have a lunch meeting or what not. I have discovered Cafe Zupas. They have Salads and Soups- gourmet style (They have panini sandwiches too, but I haven’t personally had them).

Salads

I usually tend to lean towards geting the “Nuts about Berries” salad. At first, I wasn’t too sure if I would like berries in my salads since the salads I usually make for myself are an all-veggie type of a salad. If you are a salad lover, you are seriously going to love this Salad. It tastes great with the added fruit, with a bit of sweetened nuts for a crunch texture, and they have this amazing poppy seed dressing goes perfectly with the rest of the salad. I am not sure what is all in the dressing, but my guess is that you might not want to put too much on your salad for health and calorie purposes.

Soups

If I am getting the soup, the Thai Lobster is one of my favorite. It just has this different taste to it (probably the curry?), and if you want to try something that is a little bit of out of the ordinary and not just your average plain soup, I say it’s worth a try. With this soups esquisite tastes, you will feel like you are dining in a deluxe restraunt- without the high price tag attached.

This is just touching the surface of what they have. My only “warning” is, it tastes really good and you might just get addicted. Also, just because it is salad and soups, you still need to watch out for portion control and calories. The great thing about Cafe Zupas, is that I dont feel guilty when I am done with my meal.

If you want to check out the company’s site for the menu and locations: www.zupas.com

If you have tried Cafe Zupas, any other recommendations?

*Sorry all, no official serving size or calorie count on these dishes, but here is my estimates on how many calories are in the Nuts about Berries salad.

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Tags: cafe zupas, dinner, gourmet salad, Healthy, lunch, nuts about berries, poppy seed dressing, portion control, salad, soups, tastes great, thai lobster, zupas

Spinach Pancakes by Dr. Praeger’s

These aren’t just any pancakes…these are perfect for Lunch and Dinner for someone who wants something fast and easy, healthy, and tastes good.

Nutrition

There are very few ingredients to this wonderful pancake, which is Spinach (of course!), Potatoes, Onions, Egg Whites, Oat Bran, Expeller Pressed Canola Oil, Arrowroot, Salt, All Natural Vegetable  Gum, Garlic, and Black Pepper. So what are these pancakes missing? They are “missing” all of the bad stuff! These pancakes are not only low calorie, but they don’t have Saturated Fat,  Cholesterol, Trans Fats, processed Sugar or Artificial Sweeteners.

Taste

I have good news, and possibly bad news. Good news…if you don’t like the taste of Spinach, you will love these pancakes because they really don’t taste like Spinach. Bad news…if you were hoping these Spinach Pancakes actually tasted like Spinach. They don’t taste like Spinach, sorry.

Either way, these pancakes taste Amazing. I was a little reluctant at first because I just didnt know what to expect from them. Yes, they are green, but they don’t taste like they should be. I ended up cooking more just because they tasted so great!

Preparation

The Spinach Pancakes come in a box, and they are each individually wrapped for freshness. The cooking part couldn’t be easier. Preheat your oven to broil, then cook at broil for about 8 minutes. That’s it.

Serving Size: 1 Pancake

Calories: 80

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Tags: all natural, arrowroot, artificial sweetener, black pepper, canola oil, cholesterol, dinner, Dr. Praeger's, easy meal, Egg Whites, garlic, Healthy, less than 100 calories, low calorie, lunch, no sugar, Nutrition, onion, pancakes, potatoe, salt, saturated fat, Spinach, Spinach Pancakes, sugar, taste great, trans fats, vegetable gum