Cranberry Sauce with Pears

by Robin Barrie | Holiday Tips, Recipes

Yield: Serves 8

Ingredients

• 12 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries
• 2 medium pears, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch chunks
• 3/4 cup coconut sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 tablespoons agave
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Direction

Combine cranberries, pears, coconut sugar, water, agave, orange juice, and salt in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Cook, stirring occasionally until berries start to pop, about 5 minutes.   Press berries against side of pan with wooden spoon and continue to cook until berries have broken down and sauce thickens to a jam-like consistency, about 5 minutes more.  Remove from heat and let cool for 30 minutes.  Adjust consistency with water as needed.  Stir in crystallized ginger.

Serve immediately or place in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator. Can be served cold or reheated.

Butternut Squash + Pomegranate Quinoa Stuffing

by Robin Barrie | Holiday Tips, Recipes

YIELD: Serves 8

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 ounces olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 6 stalks celery, diced
• 1 tablespoon fresh sage
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• ½ cup chopped hazelnuts
• ½ cup pomegranate seeds
• ½ cup roasted butternut squash cubes
• ½ cup cubed whole wheat sourdough bread toasted in oven with olive oil, salt and pepper

PREPARATION

1. Roast cubed butternut squash tossed in 1 tbsp olive oil in a 400 degree preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until browned. Set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
3. Combine the stock and 1 cup water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in the quinoa and bring back to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 12 minutes, or until the quinoa has absorbed all the liquid.
4. Meanwhile, pour olive oil into large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 10 minutes.
5. Remove the onion mixture from the heat and add the quinoa to the pan. Stir in the sage and salt and pepper and mix thoroughly. Transfer the stuffing to an 8-inch square pan. Add bread and roasted butternut squash.  Bake for 30 minutes.
6. Toss with hazelnuts and pomegranate seeds before serving.
7. Garnish with parsley and ENJOY!

Baked Apple Recipe

by Robin Barrie | Holiday Tips, Recipes

Try this sweet, healthy alternative to apple pie on Thanksgiving or any time during the year.

• 6 apples (choose your favorite variety!)
• 1/2 cup raisins and/or dried apricots
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts OR pecans (or other nuts)
• 3/4 tsp grated orange zest
• 3/4 cup water
• 3/4 tsp powdered cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp powdered nutmeg 

Preheat oven to 350F.  Remove apple cores and peel around core opening.  Place apples in shallow baking pan.  Stir together raisins, nuts, and zest in a small bowl.  Add water and spices to saucepan and heat until it boils.   Simmer at low heat for 2 minutes.  Fill each apple core with nut mixture.  Spoon the hot mixture over each apple.  Place pan in oven for 30-35 minutes or until apples are soft.  Enjoy!

Wild Mushroom Gravy

by Robin Barrie | Holiday Tips, Recipes

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 c. chopped onion
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 8 oz. oyster mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 c. dry sherry
• 3 c. mushroom stock
• 1 1/2 tbsp. almond flour (or use all-purpose, wheat, oat, rice etc)
• 2 tbsp. water
• 2 tbsp. olive oil (or ghee/butter/margarine as desired)
• 1/8 tsp. black pepper

Instructions:

• Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté at least 1 minute. (I cook a little longer as I love the caramelized onion flavor.)  Add thyme, salt, and mushrooms and sauté about 8 minutes, or until mushrooms are browned. Add sherry and cook until liquid evaporates. Stir in mushroom broth. Bring to a boil and cook until gravy is reduced to about 2 cups (about 14 minutes).
• Whisk together almond flour and water in a small bowl. Add mixture to skillet; return to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in oil (or ghee/butter) 1 tablespoon at a time and pepper.

Lower-Calorie Holiday Drink Recipes

by Robin Barrie | Holiday Tips, Recipes

Wine Spritzer

(Instead of a full glass of wine/champagne, this has half the calories.)

Ingredients:
3 oz white wine (Sauvignon Blanc, Reisling, etc), 1 oz club soda, handful of ice, lemon or orange garnish

Directions:
Pour wine into glass containing ice.  Top off with club soda.  Squeeze a wedge of orange or lemon and add garnish to glass or rim.

Eggnog

(Instead of the regular, high-calorie, high-fat version, try this one.)

Ingredients:
3.5 cups 1% or fat free milk, ½ cup sweetened condensed fat free milk, 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour, ¼ tsp grated nutmeg, 1/8 tsp salt, 2 large egg yolks, ¼ cup bourbon, 2 Tbsp brandy, 1 tsp vanilla extract, extra nutmeg to garnish

Directions: 

1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a saucepan and boil over medium heat on stove, stirring with whisk.    Place egg yolks in a bowl and whisk 1/3 of hot mixture into egg yolks.  Add everything back to saucepan, stir with whisk and continue to cook on medium heat for 1 minute or until thickened.  Pour into pitcher and stir in brandy, bourbon, and vanilla.
2. Cover pitcher surface with wax paper and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Garnish with added nutmeg when serving.

This makes 8 ½ cup servings, each at 147 calories and 2.3 g fat.

Apple Sangria

(Try this fall fruit version instead of the usual sugary one.)

Ingredients:
3 cinnamon stick with extra for garnish, 2 chopped honeycrisp apples, 1 orange sliced thin, 1 bottle red wine (light bodied Spanish works well), 1.75 cups apple cider, ½ cup brandy, ¼ cup orange juice (or juice from 2 medium oranges), juice from one lemon, club soda

Directions:

1. Place cinnamon sticks, apples and orange slices into a pitcher.  Add wine, cider, brandy, orange and lemon juice.  Refrigerate for 6-24 hours.
2. Pour into glasses with fruit, and add extra cinnamon stick to garnish as desired.
3. Add club soda to taste right before serving. The more club soda vs. mixture, the less calories!