By Dr. Hemapriya, Mylittlemoppet_official
“Tis the season to be merry, and we deserve to be, after the year we’ve had! As with most festivals, a major part of Christmas celebrations is the food, especially the desserts. With the New Year starting in a few weeks, many people go with the school of thought that throws caution to the wind, saying they’ll start a new in 2022.
However, overconsumption of unhealthy foods like sugar-laden desserts can hinder your progress and take your starting point far back, making it much harder to reach your weight loss goals. That’s not all; all the excess sugar you consume can lead to chronic illnesses like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.
The WHO recommends that adults consume no more than 30 g of sugar a day. However, the NHS estimates that a person consumes over 5 times this amount on Christmas Day alone! Now imagine how much sugar gets into our bodies over the festive period of 7-10 days!
However, this doesn’t mean that you should abstain from everything enjoyable this festive season and give up your favourites. You can easily make popular Christmas recipes at home with much less sugar and by substituting healthy ingredients. Here are 10 of our top picks, ranging from sweet to savory to beverages!
10 Healthy Christmas Recipes for the Whole Family
1. Christmas Egg in a Hole
Ingredients:
- 5 slices Whole wheat bread
- 5 eggs
- 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese
- 2 tablespoons carrots, chopped
- 2 tablespoons coriander leaves, chopped
- 2 tablespoons milk
- Butter, as needed
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
- Use Christmas themed cookie cutters to cut out shaped holes in the middle of the bread slices.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, cheese, carrot, coriander leaves and milk.
- Season with salt and pepper and mix well.
- Heat butter in a pan.
- Take one of the cut out bread slices and toast on one side till golden brown.
- Flip and add the egg mixture in the hole.
- Cover and cook for 5 minutes or till the egg is thoroughly cooked.
- Repeat with the remaining slices of bread.
- Serve immediately.