The holiday season is a joyous but busy one! I share tips on how to stay healthy during the season with some delicious and festive ways to do so .
Build your meals are immunity-supporting foods and nutrients
Vitamin C is found in foods like oranges, bell peppers and broccoli. Zinc can be found in pumpkin seeds, beans and fortified grains. And Vitamin D, otherwise known as the sunshine vitamin, is of importance but we get less of it in the winter months. Find it in fortified dairy products and fish like salmon which is also a great source of protein, is easy to cook and delicious to eat. Serve with vitamin-C rich broccoli and a side of whole grains for an immunity-supporting meal.
Get your vitamin C from PIZZA
Next I have a nutritious take on a classic comfort food – pizza! These pizzas are made with bell pepper crusts. Bell peppers are an excellent source of immunity-supporting vitamin C and are also a naturally lower calorie, lower carbohydrate, gluten-free alternative to traditional pizza crust but you still get all of the goodness from the toppings. Place your bell peppers on a baking sheet, add marinara sauce and top with shredded cheese and toppings of choice. Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees F.
Make desserts with benefits
Next, It’s not the holiday season without sweets and you don’t have to give them up completely. Instead, make desserts with benefits. These cut-out cookies are made with only 6 ingredients. Whisk together 2 cups of blanched almond flour, ½ cup of coconut flour and 1 tsp of baking powder. Next add one egg, 1/3 cup of maple syrup and 2 tablespoons of coconut oil. This is a versatile vegan cooking and baking swap for butter that’s plant-based, vegan, cholesterol and dairy free and has a neutral flavor so you get the creamy taste and potential benefits of lauric acid which has anti-viral properties, without the coconut flavor.Roll out into a single layer, use your cookie cutters to cut into cookies and place on a pre-greased baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 min at 350 F.
