While the festive season diet is synonymous with junk food, binge eating and overall unhealthy eating choices, many people are actively seeking alternative food options that are beneficial for their health and bodies.
People often struggle with a healthier dietary shift because fruits and vegetables are habitually deemed as boring and flavourless, which is absolutely incorrect.
On the contrary, fruits and vegetables bring colour to a meal, taste absolutely delicious when prepared correctly and most importantly provide the body with the vitamins and minerals that it needs.
Here are some healthy dishes that can be explored over the festive season that don’t comprise the taste of a meal and its presentation on a plate!
Starters and appetisers
Fruits are often only used in salads or as kebabs but there’s so much more that you can create with them. Take spring rolls for example – these bitesize appetisers are typically filled with carrots and cabbage or chicken and beef.
However, other various fruit and vegetables can be included in this traditional Asian appetizer to create pink fresh fruit spring rolls – these include, but are not limited to, strawberries, watermelon, beets and fresh mint to name a few. Pop on over to Yummly to view the complete ingredient list and recipe.
The pink fresh fruit spring roll is an example of a more intricate starter that one can make but there are easier appetiser options such as cutting carrots and zucchini into strips and dipping them into a sauce of your choice and plating them with cheese, nuts and biltong.
Alternatively, one can roast the veggies and drip them with a cheese sauce of your choice such as blue cheese or parmesan cheese. These are just a few examples of a plethora of starters that can be made with both fruit and vegetables.
Main dishes
Main meals don’t always have to be comprised of meat but can consist of just vegetables and fruits and can be just as filling. Dishes such as the quinoa avocado salad are packed with protein and are also refreshing.
Cottage pie is also a festive season favourite which can be made with ground beef mince or lentils, peas and carrots (if you’d rather not have something meaty), topped with mashed potatoes.
For the burger lovers, this meal is a win in terms of incorporating vegetables and fruits in a dish because tomatoes, lettuce, onion and pineapple can accompany the beef, chicken or black bean quinoa patty. Burgers are also filled with flavour and are satisfying.
Desserts
Cakes, ice cream and puddings frequently appear on many family tables over the festive season. Very few people consider fruits for dessert, yet there are so many sweet and delicious fruit desserts out there.
Great examples of fruity desserts include fruit tarts with a dash of custard, mixed berry coconut cream parfaits and chocolate dipped pineapple slices with toasted coconut.
The above-mentioned dishes and treats are only a few examples of how fruits and vegetables can easily be incorporated into everyone’s festive dinner or lunch tables. Most importantly, these suggested eats prove just how flavourful dishes that include fresh produce can be.