The holiday season is known for its eat-fest of cookies, pies, fudges, sweets and different kinds of heavy desserts, with loads of sugars and fatty creams…
Unfortunately there are too few delicious and healthy Christmas recipes…
Yes, they taste may amazing, but the sad truth is that none of them are really healthy, clean or natural.
Then I thought to myself, “what if I make a recipe that will save Christmas?“.
A recipe that looks like, feels like and tastes like Christmas, but healthy and clean, prepared without grain flour or sugar.
Well that’s a big challenge, but I’m up for it. Because fit girls deserve to get their creamy and tasty sweet treats too.
Since my father is diabetic, my mother traditionally makes a healthier dessert for the holidays.
So I decided to step up this year and take the mixer in my own hands!
I came up with the healthiest and yummiest Christmas dessert recipe of all time – my Protein Christmas Pancakes!
LET THE HOLIDAYS BEGIN! 🙂
Festive & Sugar-free Protein Pancakes
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Since my father is diabetic, my mother traditionally makes a healthier dessert for the holidays. So I decided to step up this year and take the mixer in my own hands! I came up with the healthiest and yummiest Christmas dessert recipe of all time – my Protein Christmas Pancakes!
Since my father is diabetic, my mother traditionally makes a healthier dessert for the holidays. So I decided to step up this year and take the mixer in my own hands! I came up with the healthiest and yummiest Christmas dessert recipe of all time – my Protein Christmas Pancakes!
Blend the raspberries into a puree (don't worry about the seeds)
Add the rest of the ingredients into a blender: the banana, egg, egg whites, coconut flour and the olive oil. Blend them until you make sure they've transformed into a homogeneous mixture It should be thick, but pour-able
Heat a frying pan on medium temperature You should cook every pancake for about 2 minutes on each side, or until they turn golden brown. When the pancake starts getting bubbles, you’ll know that it’s time to flip it.
Separate the coconut milk form the coconut water
Pour the milk in a mixing bowl. Prepare the mixer and start mixing it on medium speed. After a minute, start adding the protein powder one tablespoon at a time, without stopping the mixer. After you finish pouring the protein powder, mix for another minute.
Crease the whipped cream onto each pancake, arranging them one on top of the other.
Mix the 3 ingredients, cocoa, honey and water, in a small bowl, with a tablespoon. Mix them until you get a homogeneous mixture. The dressing should be creamy and thick, but pour-able.
Splash the dressing over your 7-story cake with the help of a tablespoon. To make a nice finish, add a tablespoon of whipped cream on top of the pancakes and a few fresh raspberries. And pour few tbsp of the raspberry puree.
Every family has at least one recipe that has been passed down and perfected through generations. It's the whole family's favorite meal...just the smell of it brings back memories, and the first bite always feels like home. For Stella (her mom Alexis is Tea's photo producer), that dish is her Nonna's Pasta Sauce. Stella, her mom (Alexis), dad (Rob) and brother (Marcel) traveled to Italy to learn more about their heritage and meet their extended family. While they were there, Nonna made her famous sauce with Stella. Now she shares the recipe with you, too!
Every family has at least one recipe that has been passed down and perfected through generations. It's the whole family's favorite meal...just the smell of it brings back memories, and the first bite always feels like home. For Stella (her mom Alexis is Tea's photo producer), that dish is her Nonna's Pasta Sauce. Stella, her mom (Alexis), dad (Rob) and brother (Marcel) traveled to Italy to learn more about their heritage and meet their extended family. While they were there, Nonna made her famous sauce with Stella. Now she shares the recipe with you, too!
First, boil the tomatoes. Leave them in just-boiled water for a few minutes. Then take them out of the water. The skins should slip off easily. Dice the tomatoes-and the other vegetables too.
Heat the olive oil in a 5 quart pan. Add the sliced garlic, celery, onion and carrot. Saute for about 4 minutes, stirring ever so often.
Add your diced tomatoes and the tomato sauce. If your mom has some red wine handy, add a glass to the sauce. Add the oregano, basil, thyme and rosemary. Take a break and let the sauce simmer for 90 minutes. Then add in chopped parsley.
If you're a meat eater, add the hamburger and sausages. Stir occasionally. Cook pasta in plenty of boiling water. Add salt just before the pasta. Cook it al dente (cooked but still firm).
Stir the pasta with the sauce. Add freshly grated Parmesan cheese at the table. The last step? Tu mangi! (That's Italian for "You eat!"). Nonna says this sauce keeps in the fridge for a week!
During the holidays in Sweden, many people celebrate Saint Lucia Day as well as Christmas. Saint Lucia day falls on December 13th and honors the Saint Lucia, who is known to bring love, kindness and light to the Swedish people during the dark times of winter. On the morning of December 13th, a family’s eldest daughter dresses in a long white nightgown and places a wreath lined with ligonberries and nine candles on her head. She wakes the household carrying coffee and baked treats, such as saffron buns, tea cakes and gingerbread cookies. Saint Lucia’s presence on this morning symbolizes the return of light and a joyous start to the holiday season. Here, Tea’s Design Director, Hannah Robinson, shares her family’s Swedish Tea Ring recipe.
Swedish Tea Ring
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"When I think about my family’s holiday traditions, one of the first things that comes to mind is the beautiful Swedish tea ring that my mom makes every Christmas morning. By the time I get out of bed, my mom has already formed the kneaded dough into a ring and has placed it in the oven to bake. Quite frankly, nothing is better than waking up to the smell of sweet dough baking when it’s chilly outside! After the tea ring cools, my mom adds a festive touch by lightly drizzling icing across the top of it and placing a crimson-colored candle in the center. We then gather as a family to start our day of celebration by opening stockings and each enjoying at least one slice of my mom's delicious breakfast treat."
"When I think about my family’s holiday traditions, one of the first things that comes to mind is the beautiful Swedish tea ring that my mom makes every Christmas morning. By the time I get out of bed, my mom has already formed the kneaded dough into a ring and has placed it in the oven to bake. Quite frankly, nothing is better than waking up to the smell of sweet dough baking when it’s chilly outside! After the tea ring cools, my mom adds a festive touch by lightly drizzling icing across the top of it and placing a crimson-colored candle in the center. We then gather as a family to start our day of celebration by opening stockings and each enjoying at least one slice of my mom's delicious breakfast treat."
To make the dough, start by scalding the milk and stirring in the butter, sugar and salt. Cool to a lukewarm temperature. Dissolve the yeast in warm water. Add milk mixture, eggs and half of the flour to the yeast and beat until smooth. Stir in as much of the remaining flour as necessary to make the dough slightly stiff.
Turn dough on floured board and let rest 5 minutes. Knead the dough 5-8 minutes until it’s smooth and elastic. Put in greased bowl and grease the top. Cover and let it rise in a warm place until double in size (which will take about 1 hour).
To make the tea ring, start by working the butter into the sugar. Add in a lemon peel and almonds and mix well. Roll dough into a 14" x 10" rectangle and sprinkle sugar mixture evenly over the dough.
Arrange dried fruit evenly over all and roll up from the long side. Form it into a circle on a greased baking sheet and seal ends together firmly. Snip the dough with scissors from the edge of the circle—3/4 of the way to the center every 1 1/2".
Turn the cut pieces on their sides. Place a greased tin can in the center to keep the hole round for a non-drip candle. Cover and let it rise until it’s double in bulk (which will take about 1 hour).
Now, to make the icing, mix all the icing ingredients together. Preheat your oven to 350-degrees. Bake it for 25-30 minutes. Let it cool and lightly drizzle icing on top of it. To finish it up, place a candle in the center and enjoy the start to your holiday!
1) Arrange crackers on a plate.
2) Spread thin layer of creme fraiche on each cracker.
3) Thinly slice avocados and green apples. Arrange one of each on top of each cracker.
4) Place pieces of smoked salmon on top of apple and avocado.
5) Pepper to taste. Add capers if you'd like.
6) Squeeze fresh lemon over all crackers.
7) Serve immediately!
“Gone are the days when squash meant a choice of acorn or butternut. Yes, I still eat them, but there’s a special kind of thrill involved when you hack into your first Red Kuri, or break down a Kabocha, with its tough green skin and sweet, almost spiced orange flesh.
I’d recently bought some Japanese 7-spice because I’d seen someone using it in a curry, and it piqued my curiosity. I found my Japanese 7-spice at Spices and Tease in Chelsea Market, but Amazon and other online vendors will carry it as well.
While I’m familiar with Chinese 5-spice powder and use it frequently in my cooking, I’d never tried Japanese 7-spice – a spicy, earthy blend of orange peel, black, white and toasted sesame seeds, cayenne, ginger, Szechuan pepper and nori.
The spice mixture sounded like a perfect match for Kabocha. Sweet and spicy is one of my favorite flavor combinations, and with the orange and ginger, a virtual soup was quickly forming in the food-centric depths of my brain.
The Kabocha starts with a slow roast in the oven with a touch of olive oil, salt and pepper. Best to keep the flavors muted at this point to let the 7-spice really shine.”
"If there’s a dish that defines my cooking these days, it’s this soup. It’s simple to make, yet feels new and exotic. It’s healthy and can be eaten with a range of diets from dairy- & gluten-free to vegan/vegetarian, and even Paleo. It’s easy enough for a weeknight meal, but pretty enough to put on your Thanksgiving table."
"If there’s a dish that defines my cooking these days, it’s this soup. It’s simple to make, yet feels new and exotic. It’s healthy and can be eaten with a range of diets from dairy- & gluten-free to vegan/vegetarian, and even Paleo. It’s easy enough for a weeknight meal, but pretty enough to put on your Thanksgiving table."
Break down your Kabocha squash by splitting it in half and scooping out the seeds. You can reserve the seeds for another use (spiced, roasted seeds can be made just as you would make roasted pumpkin seeds). Cut the squash halves lengthwise into segments (they’ll resemble half moons).
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and add the squash segments, tossing with the olive oil and seasoning with the salt and pepper to taste. Roast the squash for an hour, flipping halfway through. Let the squash cool, and then scoop out the flesh and reserve.
Heat a Dutch oven on medium-high heat and add the olive oil, and the onions with a pinch of salt and pepper. Sweat the onions until translucent, stirring every so often to prevent browning.
When the onions are nearly done, add the ginger and Japanese 7-spice, stirring frequently, for 1 minute. Add the Kabocha and stock, and bring to a boil, then turn your heat down to low. Simmer the soup for 10 minutes.
While the soup is simmering, scoop the cream off the top of the coconut milk and reserve. Once the soup has been simmering for 10 minutes, add the rest of the coconut milk, and simmer for a few minutes more.
Puree the soup with an immersion blender and taste again for seasoning. If you’d like to add more heat, add another pinch of the Japanese 7-spice. When ready to serve, ladle the soup into a serving bowl, and then top with a dollop of the coconut milk and another sprinkle of the Japanese 7-spice. Shower the soup with a pinch of Maldon salt which adds great texture and another salty contrast to balance the sweetness of the soup.
The day after Thanksgiving may be the toughest time to cook for people who have hosted the big feast the day before. In my family, my stepmom calls it her day of rest. Her baguette french toast is the absolute perfect solution to keeping us all well fed with minimal effort on her part. She uses leftover (if there is any!) baguettes from dinner and throws any fruit she has in it, our favorite are blueberries! The best part about this breakfast, or brunch, is that you can make it the day before and pop it in the oven when you're ready to eat.
The day after Thanksgiving may be the toughest time to cook for people who have hosted the big feast the day before. In my family, my stepmom calls it her day of rest. Her baguette french toast is the absolute perfect solution to keeping us all well fed with minimal effort on her part. She uses leftover (if there is any!) baguettes from dinner and throws any fruit she has in it, our favorite are blueberries! The best part about this breakfast, or brunch, is that you can make it the day before and pop it in the oven when you're ready to eat.
Arrange the slices of bread in a single layer in the dish.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add in the milk, nutmeg, vanilla, and 3/4 cup of the brown sugar. Stir well to mix.
Pour egg mixture evenly over the bread. Cover and let sit for 8 hours in the refrigerator, or overnight.
The next morning, or when you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and remaining 1/4 cup of brown sugar, stirring well.
Top the egg mixture with the pecans and blueberries, then drizzle on the butter sauce.
Bake for 30 - 45 minutes, or until set and golden brown on the top. Serve warm with maple syrup.
Chimichurri is the quintessential partner to grilled beef in Argentina, where the beef is renowned and where barbecued beef is considered their national dish. The sauce is a vibrant mix of fresh parsley, vinegar, and spices – very simple and quick to make if you have a blender or a food processor.
Grilled Steak With Chimichurri Sauce
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Slather it on steak, chicken or fish. Use it as a marinade. I love to keep a stash of chimichurri in the fridge to jazz up burgers and sandwiches, too.
Slather it on steak, chicken or fish. Use it as a marinade. I love to keep a stash of chimichurri in the fridge to jazz up burgers and sandwiches, too.
Put all the sauce ingredients (everything but the steak) into the bowl of a food processor or blender and blend just until everything is combined and garlic is very finely minced. Set aside.
Put steak in a non-reactive container. Spoon 4 tablespoons of the chimichurri sauce on top of steak and spread it around. Flip steak over a few times to coat. Marinate at room temperature for 1 hour or in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight. Allow steak to come to room temperature before proceeding (about 1/2 hour out of the fridge). Preheat the grill to high. Sprinkle steak with salt and pepper and grill for 3-4 minutes per side, until it is lightly charred on the outside and medium rare on the inside. Let steak rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Slice against the grain. Spoon chimichurri on top or serve on the side.
