It’s not low-calorie if it’s loaded with
fattening dip. Serve a nonfat dip! Photo
courtesy Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.
Do the pants that fit before Thanksgiving dinner still fit? If not—or if you’re concerned that they won’t—here are some healthy holiday eating tips for hosts and guests from Women’s Health nutritionist Keri Glassman and THE NIBBLE editors:
Baking: When baking, commit that you won’t lick the bowl or eat half of the cookie dough.
Buffet: At a buffet, use a salad plate instead of a dinner plate. If you’re the host, do your guests a favor and provide 7″-9″ plates instead of large 10″-12″ plates.
Appetizers: Focus on healthy appetizers: crudités with a low-fat or nonfat dip, cucumber slices topped with salmon caviar, whole wheat pretzel sticks with a fancy mustard (not honey mustard!).
Cheese: No matter how it calls out to you, avoid cheese and bread unless you want tons of saturated fat and lots of carbs. Keri Glassman calls cheese “caloric death.”
Cocktails: Avoid sweet, fruity, caloric drinks: The mixers add about five times the calories and are easy to toss back again and again. Stick to a Bloody Mary, Martini, wine or Champagne. Ask the bartender to give you half a portion. Alternate cocktails or wine with glasses of club soda or mineral water.
Location: Keep as far away from the food—preferably out of eyesight.
Mingle & Network: You won’t chat with your mouth full.
Know Yourself: If you know that you can control yourself, enjoy a sliver or a spoonful of everything. If you feel that one bite might lead to another…and another…stay away.
BYO Snacks: Feel free to bring your own healthy snacks—vegetables, plain popcorn, rice cakes. If anyone notices, they’ll admire your discipline.
How good are these White Chocolate* & Peppermint Pretzel Crisps?
They’re so good, we had to hide them so the enthusiastic NIBBLE staff wouldn’t devour every one before we could photograph them.
Thanks to the Snack Factory, makers of Pretzel Crisps, for such an enjoyable holiday snack. And thanks for not making them year-round: We’d become addicts.
Pretzel Crisps are even kosher, so kosher eaters can share the joy of White Chocolate Peppermint Pretzels.
They’re the perfect complement to a cup of hot chocolate.
The bags have a hole punched at the top. String a ribbon through it, tie a bow, and you’ve got an instant mini-gift.
White chocolate + crushed candy canes
+ crunchy pretzels = 1 great holiday snack.
Photo by River Soma | THE NIBBLE.
RECIPE FOR CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT PRETZELS
You can make your own chocolate-coated pretzels at home. It’s easiest to dip pretzel rods. You’ll need a 10-ounce bag of pretzel rods and 12 ounces of chopped chocolate or chocolate chips.
1. Melt chocolate over a double boiler or in microwave (melt in stages in the microwave, stirring so the chocolate doesn’t burn).
2. Dip pretzel rods 2/3 deep in melted chocolate. Set on wax paper.
3. While chocolate is still tacky, roll in crushed peppermint or other topping (sprinkles, chopped nuts, crushed toffee, etc.).
4. Allow to set completely. Serve in a short glass vase.
*White confectionary coating is used instead of white chocolate. But we didn’t notice the difference between the allure of the pretzel and candy cane crunch.
Look for limited-edition holiday ice cream flavors at your favorite market or scoop shop. Egg Nog, Ginger, Gingerbread and Peppermint/Candy Cane/Peppermint Bark are ice cream flavors that we could enjoy all year.
A scoop with or without chocolate sauce is a holiday treat. But you can go one step further and make an easy holiday ice cream cake.
Here’s a recipe for a Chocolate-Candy Cane Ice Cream Cake from Dreyer’s—which has limited edition 1.5-quart containers of Egg Nog, Peppermint and Hot Cocoa With Marshmallows.
The flavors are part of the Slow Churned Rich & Creamy line, which has half the fat and one-third fewer calories than regular ice cream. The Hot Cocoa With Marshmallows is especially fun: The miniature marshmallows are soft and airy and fun to bite into.
RECIPE FOR CHOCOLATE-CANDY CANE ICE CREAM CAKEThe recipe specifies boxed cake mix and premade frosting as time-savers, but you can substitute your own from-scratch recipes.
Peppermint candies or candy canes to crush as garnish
Preparation:
1. Bake two nine-inch layers according to the package directions and cool completely.
2. Remove cake from pans. Using a serrated knife, cut the rounded top off one of the cakes to make one flat, even layer. Wrap and freeze the second cake for later use.
3. Remove ice cream from the freezer and let sit for 5-10 minutes to soften. While it softens, wash one of the cake pans and dry completely. Line the pan with plastic wrap.
4. Carefully spread the ice cream in the pan using the entire container. Freeze for 1 hour or until very firm.
5. Remove the ice cream pan from freezer. Spread the chocolate frosting over the ice cream and place the trimmed cake on top of the frosting. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and freeze overnight.
6. To serve, take the cake out of the freezer and let sit for about 5 minutes. Unwrap cake and invert onto a serving plate. Remove plastic wrap from the ice cream. Sprinkle crumbled pieces of peppermint candies over top of cake. Cut into slices and serve.
You may not have room (or the energy for) a six-foot Christmas tree.
But there’s no significant space or energy requirement for a miniature topiary Christmas tree. It can sit on the dining table, your bedroom or anywhere else an 18-inch tree can perch.
A topiary is a plant pruned and trimmed into a special shape—geometric, animal or other fanciful design.
Large topiary plants date to Roman times. Topiary underwent a renaissance in the late 1500s in Europe, decorating the gardens of the European elite.
Miniature topiaries were created for indoor enjoyment.
Each holiday season we purchase a rosemary topiary tree or two. We look for one 12 inches or shorter for the dining table and a bit taller as a coffee table centerpiece.
We love the heady aroma of the fresh herb. When we pass by we run our hands over the tree and inhale the rosemary perfume on our palms.
A rosemary topiary tree is more than a holiday/winter home decoration: It’s a supply of fresh rosemary for cooking and garnishing throughout the year. You can keep it indoors or plant it in your garden when the weather turns warm.
You can eat this rosemary topiary Christmas tree. Photo courtesy ProFlowers.com.
Is there anything cuter? Photo of
Brownie Pops courtesy MackenzieLtd.com.
What’s more fun than a brownie on a stick? A Nibble Top Pick Of The Week, these whimsical and delicious treats will delight sweet tooths of all ages.
Fudgy brownies are hand-dipped in chocolate and decorated with the smiling faces of Frosty, Rudolph and Santa. The box contains two pieces of each character.
While the Holiday Brownie Pops are pricey due to the elaborate hand-decorating (6 Pops $39.95, 12 Pops $69.95), you can also buy round brownie pops for $24.95 per set of 6.