Healthy Holiday Recipes to Feed a Crowd
Check out the RP Cookbook for more delicious RP Friendly recipes!
No one particularly wants to tote along “clean food” to someone else’s holiday meal. So, why not host family and friends at your place this year…and treat them to traditional holiday fare they won’t believe is actually good for them! Make room in the “Keepers” file, folks – you are going to love these super flavorful holiday-worthy recipes.
Let’s start with the main protein. If you can break with the tradition of wrestling in your kitchen with a huge bird, I promise you won’t regret trying this turkey breast instead. Moist, incredibly flavorful – and made in the slow cooker(!), you’ll free up your oven and have next to no cleanup after the big meal. And, it cooks on top of a bunch of yummy veggies, so you’ll end up with a built-in side dish! If you’ve ever had veggies that have cooked under meat for hours and hours, you know why we end up fighting over these babies at our house!
|
Slow Cooker Rosemary Fennel Turkey Breast |
||||||
| INGREDIENTS | ||||||
| Protein | Net Carbs | Fat | ||||
| 2.5 Cups chopped onion | ||||||
| 1 Cup chopped celery | ||||||
| 1.75 Cup chopped fennel | ||||||
| 2 Tbsp EVOO | 30 | |||||
| 1 Cup low sodium chicken broth | 1 | 2 | 0.5 | |||
| 28 oz canned whole tomatoes | ||||||
| 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes | ||||||
| 5 tsp fine Kosher salt, divided | ||||||
| 2.5 tsp pepper, divided | ||||||
| 4 Tbsp chopped rosemary | ||||||
| 2.5 tsp whole fennel seeds | ||||||
| 2 tsp orange zest | ||||||
| 1.5 tsp red pepper flakes | ||||||
| 9 cloves garlic, sliced | ||||||
| 3 lb boneless skinless turkey breast | 288 | |||||
| Total Recipe | 289 | 2 | 30 | |||
| If divided into 16 equal portions | 18 | 0 | 2 | |||
| If divided into 10 equal portions | 29 | 0 | 3 | |||
| For easiest cleanup, use a slow cooker liner bag! | ||||||
| Saute onion, celery and fennel in EVOO in a large saucepan over medium heat for about 5 minutes. | ||||||
| Increase heat to High and stir in 1 C chicken broth. | ||||||
| Boil 2-3 minutes to reduce broth by about half. | ||||||
| Break up whole tomatoes with a wooden spoon. | ||||||
| Add tomatoes and bring to a boil. | ||||||
| Stir in 1.5 tsp salt and .5 tsp pepper | ||||||
| Transfer veggie mix to your slow cooker. | ||||||
| Mix together rosemary through red pepper flakes, along with remaining S&P. | ||||||
| Using a sharp knife, cut 1" slits in the turkey every inch or so. Insert a garlic sliver into each slit. | ||||||
| Place turkey breast on top of veggies in the slow cooker. | ||||||
| Rub rosemary mix all over top of turkey, pressing to adhere. | ||||||
| Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours, or on high 5-6 hours. | ||||||
Moving on to a classic holiday side dish….what holiday is complete without sweet potatoes!?!?! Unfortunately, so many sweet potato dishes are sugar laden, carb-a-riffic recipes for dieting disaster! Not this version! It doesn’t get much “cleaner” than this, but you won’t believe it when you taste it. Even the marshmallow-topped-sweet potato casserole fans at your house will be coming back for seconds:
| Sweet Potato Casserole topped with Brown Sugar Pecans | |||||
| INGREDIENTS | |||||
| Protein | Net Carbs | Fat | |||
| 4 pounds sweet potatoes | 320 | ||||
| 2 Cups raw pecan halves | 143 | ||||
| 1/4 Cup brown sugar cinnamon SF syrup | |||||
| 2 1/4 tsp fine sea salt, divided | |||||
| 1 tsp Chinese Five Spice powder | |||||
| 1 1/2 Cups water | |||||
| 2/3 Cup brown rice syrup | 192 | ||||
| Total Recipe | 512 | 143 | |||
| If divided into 18 equal portions | 28 | 8 | |||
| If divided into 9 equal portions | 57 | 16 | |||
| 350 oven. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. | |||||
| Add pecan halves to a small bowl. Pour brown sugar cinnamon SF syrup over; stir. | |||||
| Sprinkle with 1 tsp fine sea salt and Chinese Five Spice powder, and toss to combine. | |||||
| Let sit, stirring occasionally. Prick potatoes all over with a fork and wrap each one in foil. | |||||
| Roast until potatoes are very tender, at least an hour. Test with a cake tester, toothpick, or squeeze. | |||||
| Unwrap and let sit until cool enough to handle. Scoop out the flesh of the potatoes. | |||||
| Use a slotted spoon to remove the pecans to a small bowl. Save the soaking liquid! | |||||
| In a large food processor, (in two equal batches), combine sweet potatoes, water, brown rice syrup, | |||||
| remaining salt, and remaining pecan soaking liquid. Puree until smooth. | |||||
| Spoon into a 13x9x2 cast iron baking dish, if you have one. | |||||
| A well sprayed regular 13x9x2 baking dish will do just fine if you don't have cast iron. | |||||
| Top with the soaked pecan halves. | |||||
| Bake about 40 minutes. Let sit for about 20 minutes before serving. | |||||
Ok, we need some green on the plate, right! Wait until you see and taste this beautiful, vibrant green warm shaved Brussels sprouts and baby kale salad. Consider having this as your first course (great to tide folks over if you’re running a bit behind), or serve alongside the meal – it comes together in less than 5 minutes flat. At my house, I’ll even hand the recipe and the 5 ingredients over to a willing guest – it’s that easy. Get ready to hear the oooh’s and aaaah’s when your guests see, and then taste, this mouthwatering salad.
| Warm Brussels Sprouts & Kale Salad | ||||
| INGREDIENTS | ||||
| Protein | Carbs | Fat | ||
| 1/4 Cup EVOO | 60 | |||
| 2 9oz bags of shaved Brussels sprouts | ||||
| 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar | ||||
| 1 Tbsp brown rice syrup | ||||
| 5 oz package of baby kale | ||||
| Coarse sea salt | ||||
| Total recipe | 60 | |||
| If divided into 10 equal portions | 6 | |||
| Heat EVOO over medium heat in a large skillet with straight sides. | ||||
| When warm, add shaved Brussels sprouts and sauté until tender, about 1 min. | ||||
| Add vinegar and brown rice syrup and stir to coat. Add baby kale and toss until it starts to wilt. | ||||
| Remove from heat and transfer to serving bowl. Top with coarse sea salt to taste (you'll use more than you think). | ||||
Oh, yes, you better believe we’re having dessert! This sweet and satisfying double crust apple crisp bakes at the same oven temp, and for about as long as the sweet potato casserole. You can either throw them in the oven together, or toss the apple crisp in right when you’re sitting down to your holiday feast. Then, your straight-from-the-oven warm, guilt free dessert will be ready when your guests start looking for that sweet end to the meal.
| *Double Crust Apple Crisp | ||||||||||
| INGREDIENTS | ||||||||||
| Protein | Carbs | Fat | ||||||||
| coconut oil spray | ||||||||||
| 6 Cups peeled apples slices | 78 | |||||||||
| 2 Tbsp lemon juice | 3 | |||||||||
| 2 Tbsp whole grain flour | 12 | |||||||||
| 2 tsp cinnamon | ||||||||||
| a healthy pinch of sea salt | ||||||||||
| 2 Cups whole grain flour | 192 | |||||||||
| 2 Cups uncooked old fashioned oats | 92 | |||||||||
| 1/2 tsp baking soda | ||||||||||
| 1/2 tsp baking powder | ||||||||||
| 1 Cup coconut oil, melted | 218 | |||||||||
| 1/3 C SF vanilla syrup | ||||||||||
| 1/3 C water | ||||||||||
| 1/4 Cup brown rice syrup | 72 | |||||||||
| Total Recipe | 449 | 218 | ||||||||
| If divided into 16 squares | 28 | 14 | ||||||||
| 350 oven | ||||||||||
| Toss apple slices with lemon juice in a large bowl. | ||||||||||
| Combine 2 Tbsp whole grain flour with cinnamon and salt; toss with apples. | ||||||||||
| In a second bowl, combine 2 C whole grain flour with oats, baking soda and baking powder. Stir to combine. | ||||||||||
| Once coconut oil is just slightly cool, combine with your oat mixture and stir with a fork or your hands until clumpy. | ||||||||||
| Spray a 13x9x2 pan well with coconut oil spray. | ||||||||||
| Divide half of your crumb mixture in the bottom of the pan. | ||||||||||
| Top with apples. Pour SF syrup and water over the apples, then drizzle with brown rice syrup. | ||||||||||
| Top with rest of crumb mixture. | ||||||||||
|
Bake 35 - 45 minutes until apples are cooked to desired tenderness. *If you want less fat and carbs, simply use half the crust ingredients, and only do a top crust! |
||||||||||
If you’ve ever had a reason to train hard on the morning of a holiday meal, this menu is it! At Renaissance Periodization, we know that your body needs refueling after a tough workout, and believe it or not, you could have this 4-course holiday meal after your training session, and not have to consider this much of a splurge! Train hard, eat GREAT this holiday season – that’s what we’ll be doing at RP!