Christmas is the perfect time of year to visit family and friends, and indulge in all those traditional festive treats but between all the selection boxes, pudding and stuffing, it can be easy to slip back into unhealthy eating habits and gain a few unwanted pounds. Eating well will help you watch your waistline, as well as help to prevent too many unexpected trips to the doctor. It’s easy to convince yourself that one little treat won’t matter, but don’t forget that all the calories add up if you don’t burn them off! Why not try some healthy festive recipes to help fight off the winter bugs without having to face the dreaded January crash diet trend?
Here are some favourites from the BBC Good Food website.
Cranberry chicken salad.
A quick and easy recipe, perfect for when you want a light lunch with a Christmassy twist. Cranberries help to add a festive twist to any meal and also happen to be full of disease fighting antioxidants and vitamin C.
Simply mix sliced chicken, red onions, mixed leaves and some dried cranberries into a bowl and use cranberry sauce to garnish. Add a can of cannellini beans if you want to bulk it up.
Simply mix sliced chicken, red onions, mixed leaves and some dried cranberries into a bowl and use cranberry sauce to garnish. Add a can of cannellini beans if you want to bulk it up.
Tasty turkey soup.
Make the most of your Christmas leftovers with this warming winter treat!
Use one sliced red pepper (or veg of your choice), some chilli and 3 tablespoons of rice to make the soup’s base and stir for around a minute before pouring in some stock. Add in a can of chickpeas and your sliced turkey, season before bringing to the boil and leave to simmer for 8-10 minutes. Once the vegetables and rice are tender your soup is ready to serve.
Poached pears in spice tea.
Use one sliced red pepper (or veg of your choice), some chilli and 3 tablespoons of rice to make the soup’s base and stir for around a minute before pouring in some stock. Add in a can of chickpeas and your sliced turkey, season before bringing to the boil and leave to simmer for 8-10 minutes. Once the vegetables and rice are tender your soup is ready to serve.
Poached pears in spice tea.
This recipe might have sugar, but it’s certainly better than a stodgy Christmas pudding!
Mix 50g of golden caster sugar, 1 tablespoon of clear honey and your spiced fruit tea bags of choice into a big saucepan with 600ml before bringing to the boil until the sugar is dissolved. Peel and halve four pears and scoop out the cores with a spoon before adding the fruit into your saucepan. Cover and allow to simmer for 12 to 15 minutes or until the pears are just tender. Take out the pears and turn up the heat, throw in a handful of fresh cranberries and boil until the mixture is syrupy. Remove the tea bags before serving the pears with the delicious syrup poured all over!
Mix 50g of golden caster sugar, 1 tablespoon of clear honey and your spiced fruit tea bags of choice into a big saucepan with 600ml before bringing to the boil until the sugar is dissolved. Peel and halve four pears and scoop out the cores with a spoon before adding the fruit into your saucepan. Cover and allow to simmer for 12 to 15 minutes or until the pears are just tender. Take out the pears and turn up the heat, throw in a handful of fresh cranberries and boil until the mixture is syrupy. Remove the tea bags before serving the pears with the delicious syrup poured all over!
You can find all the recipes in full over at BBC Good Food.
Photo credits: Elana’s pantry & La Fattin.
Do you have any healthy festive treats you’d like to share?
* This is a guest post with sponsored content
* This is a guest post with sponsored content
Poached pears sounds delicious! Love Christmas time and all the lovely food :)
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Me too, it's nice to have something healthy in the middle of all the stodge though :)
DeleteIt wouldn't be Christmas without my mum's turley soup! Might give the chicken and cranberry salad a go too.
ReplyDeleteThe turkey soup sounds particularly yummy, I think I will give this a try.
DeleteYummy! They look delicious.I love the idea of Turkey soup, using the left overs from dinner! Will certainly try that one!
ReplyDeleteI think it's a great idea I am definitely trying it.
DeleteThey sound delicious. I love the soup recipe - always looking for nice recipes as that's what I tend to eat for lunch.
ReplyDeletePerfect for a Monday lunchtime after your roast the day before too.
DeleteOhh everything looks and sounds delicious especially the Cranberry chicken salad. Yum!!
ReplyDeleteThat does look especially delish.
DeleteThose pears look lush!
ReplyDeleteAnd relatively healthy too.
DeleteMmm. The cranberry chicken salad has got my mouth watering. Must try it :-)
ReplyDeleteIt has made my mouth water too
DeleteOhh those poached pears do get me in the spirit! Thank you for hosting Love my Post!
ReplyDeleteI think a nice dollop of cream would go well with the pears.
DeleteOooh that turkey soup looks lovely and is a great idea to use up leftovers.
ReplyDeleteThanks for joining in with the I Love My Post blog hop
www.adventuresofayorkshiremum.co.uk
Thanks Michaela it does look yummy!
DeleteI love the look of the first two and the third, but I haven't really eaten pears before (ha, I know that is weird).
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