It’s always fun to make a get-together dinner on Christmas night to celebrate the holiday with friends and family, but it’s also always important to take care of your health. Yes, even during holidays and weekends.
There are many amazing DIY Christmas ideas and recipe options for a light and healthy dinner that are surprisingly delicious. If you are the type of person that thinks most healthy foods taste bad, these will certainly change your mind!
Keep reading to learn some healthy Christmas recipes you can prepare for this year’s celebrations!
Vegan Chocolate Truffles
Different from what you might think, truffles can also be one of many Christmas dessert options that are light and healthy. Chocolate truffles usually contain heavy ingredients, which it’s not always recommended if you’re trying to eat better. However, this recipe is a safer version of the treat.
Using a vegan and dark chocolate type for cooking is essential since it significantly changes the health quality of the dessert. High-quality dark chocolate (72% cacao or higher) has many benefits you may not know, including being a powerful source of antioxidants, improving brain functions, and lowering heart disease risk.
Peanut Butter Balls
A really good and healthy source of proteins, peanut butter balls are full of fiber and healthy fats, which are great for keeping you energetic throughout the day.
This dessert recipe can be really practical and easy, needing only 4 ingredients and taking less than 10 minutes to be put together. Plus, to have an even healthier option, try avoiding ingredient brands that add extra salt or sugar.
Cinnamon Apple Chips
Cinnamon apple chips are very popular and practical healthy snacks. You literally just need two ingredients – apples and cinnamon. Typically, you find recipes where the chips are fried and topped with cinnamon and sugar, but not this one.
Instead of frying, you can use an air fryer or oven to bake, and avoid adding sugar. It’s easy, quick, and everyone loves it!
Gingerbread Rice Krispies
In this healthier version of gingerbread rice Krispies, you replace some of the original ingredients for lighter options, and without sacrificing the flavor.
For example, instead of marshmallows, butter, and corn syrup, use almond butter and honey. In some other healthier versions of the dish, the snack can be vegan and gluten-free.
Plus, that’s a really easy and fast recipe for any homeowner to cook, since it doesn’t take more than 15 minutes to prepare.
Peppermint Ice Cream
Cold desserts aren’t only for hot seasons. Try introducing a sugar-free peppermint ice cream on your Christmas night. With only five ingredients, you can remake a vegan and lighter version of the popular peppermint ice cream.
Just as told for gingerbread rice Krispies, the secret is mostly replacing some of the original ingredients with low-carb or other healthier options.
Plus, this ice cream recipe isn’t supposed to take more than 5 minutes to prepare, being one of the fastest DIY Christmas treats you might find.
Salad of The Seven Fishes
A salad is always a good healthy dish. The salad of the seven fishes is an Italian-American traditional recipe and usually arranges seven different seafood ingredients in one.
This seafood salad has a variety of proteins and minerals, such as iodine, phosphorus, and calcium, as well as vitamins A, E, and includes the B and D complex.
Vanilla Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Also common on Thanksgiving, this vanilla sweet potato recipe combines the sweetness of potatoes with an aromatic vanilla flavor and a subtle red chile spice, which excludes the need for marshmallows or brown sugar.
The dish contains plenty of nutrients since the sweet potatoes are rich in vitamins B and C, and it is also packed with minerals, such as calcium, iron, and phosphor. Plus, the cooking only takes approximately forty-five minutes and can serve up to six people.
Rustic Smoky Glazed Chicken and Veggie Bake
This delicious recipe is a great variety of vitamins, minerals, nutrients, and proteins, and a really low amount of saturated fat. The dish is perfect for you to introduce on your Christmas dinner or as a good savory snack, and it can be prepared in less than 1 hour and serve up to six people.
Mulled Cider
Cider, in particular, is already naturally healthy. It has some great roles in preventing cancer and heart disease, just as malefic bacteria with vitamin B help, and is one of the immune system's best friends.
Therefore, it’s a great drink alternative for your healthy holiday, instead of the traditional eggnog. Furthermore, a good alternative for mulled cider is wine, which indeed has usually less sugar than cider. Here’s the full recipe!
Chocolate Orange Cookies
This chocolate dessert indeed is just as fast and easy as the other ones, needing no more than two ingredients - orange slices and chocolate -, and having gluten-free and vegan alternative versions.
And just as told previously, the healthy tip in this recipe is to replace the regular chocolate with high-quality dark chocolate (72% cacao or higher). You can find the full recipe on the Ambitious Kitchen, along with the step-by-step!
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