Here’s how you can prepare a healthy Christmas meal (bonus recipe)

Nutritionist and lifestyle educator Karishma Chawla shares her cooking hacks for creating delicious meals. christmas meal.

*Keep recipe recommendations ready, and most importantly, keep a list of healthier options to replace high-calorie ones.

*Use better cooking options such as steamed, grilled, stir-fried instead of fried.

*Use lean protein options such as chicken, fish, turkey, low-fat paneer, or vegan options such as tofu, jackfruit, and legumes.

*You can replace thick sauces made with sugar, cream, or cornstarch with sauces made with onions, tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, and herbs and spices. The idea is to prevent high blood sugar spikes and insulin.

*Fries can be replaced with baked potatoes or baked turnip fries.

*Replace corn and refined flour wraps with celery wraps that contain lean protein and vegetables.

* Plenty of colorful vegetables rich in phytonutrients are used. “These compounds are powerful defenders of health,” Chawla said.

*It is OK to add nuts such as cashews. almond Thicken the gravy rather than cornstarch or full-fat cream.

*Replace white rice with brown rice or red rice.

*You can use almond poodle instead of corn or bread to tie the vegetables.

*Replace the refined noodles with zucchini noodles.

*Please use anti-inflammatory oils such as olive oil and rice bran for cooking.

*Use herbs such as ginger, garlic, turmeric, rosemary, thyme, and cinnamon to flavor your food and avoid excessive salt intake.

*If you’re in the keto prep, you can try replacing whole grains with almond flour and flax, sugar with stevia, butter with nut and seed butters, and spreading guacamole on foods and avocado salads.

*You can use olives as a side snack, replace refined flour sticks with whole grain options, or veggie sticks like carrots or cucumber sticks with guacamole, hummus, or hang curd dips.

*Apple Cider Vinegar, Spices, Herbs, Lime, Low Fat Curd, avocado, hummus as a salad dressing instead of a heavy dressing. You can also use nut and seed butter or grated nuts and seeds for an added crunchy flavor.

*For desserts, use whole grains, indulge in vegetables instead of all-purpose flours, and use natural sweeteners such as honey, jaggery, or stevia instead of sugar. You can also

Confect, Founder of Chef Gauri Varmam, Shares the Perfect Christmas Cake Recipe
This is the recipe you must try (Source: Chef Gauri Verma)
material

pickle the fruit

100g – raisins
150g – pitted dates
100g – dried apricots
100g – Tutti Frutti
100g – ginger crystals
125g – orange/mixed peel
180ml – dark rum/whiskey/brandy

to bake a cake

275g – Flour
275g – salted butter (softened; added for grease)
275g – brown sugar
5 No – eggs
75g – almonds
40g – cashew nuts
40g – Pistachios
Peel of 1 orange
8 – Cloves
stick cinnamon 4cm
1/4 teaspoon – nutmeg
15 – allspice berries (optional)

Method

pickle the fruit

*Cut dates, apricots, ginger, and mandarin orange skins into 1cm cubes.
* Place chopped dates, apricots, ginger and orange peel in an airtight glass jar with raisins and tutti frutti.
*Pour 180ml of dark rum (I used Old Monk), brandy, whiskey, or mixture into the jar and place over the fruit.
*Cover the jar and store it in a cool, dark place.

bake a cake

* Finely chop the cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Separately chop the almonds. Set these aside.
*Be careful not to grate the orange, as the white part is bitter, peel the whole orange. Chop the cashew nuts and pistachios into 5mm cubes.
*Prepare the cans as described above and set the oven to preheat at 150°C.
*In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and cream until airy. Add brown sugar and cream even more.
* with a whisk egg, one by one. Follow this with ground almonds, spice mix and orange zest. Incorporate everything thoroughly. *Sift in the cake flour and mix gently with a rubber spatula. Be careful not to overmix the dough as it may become stiff after adding the flour.
* Add chopped cashews and pistachios. Along with rum-soaked dried fruit. The fruit should have absorbed all the alcohol, but if it contains excess liquid, strain it and add only the fruit.
*Mix until the dough comes together, but be careful not to over knead.
*Spoon the batter into the prepared cake tin, pressing all the way in and flattening the top.
* Tap the trapped bubbles.
*Place in preheated oven and bake for 3.5 hours. Check regularly after the first two hours. The cake is ready when the thermometer in the center registers a temperature of 95°C or when the skewer comes out clean. The cake should get a dark brown color.
*Remove cake Remove from oven and let cool completely in tin. This takes about 5 hours.

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