It’s easy to feel like you aren’t making the right dietary decisions during the holidays because of all the parties, gatherings and potlucks with endless spreads of sweet and savory foods alike. To help ease this stress, we tested out a few better-for-you holiday recipes that you might bring to your next party to make snacking feel a little lighter, and your holiday season healthier and enjoyable.
First up: a cranberry mandarin orange salad This salad is a delicious blend of lettuce, mandarin oranges, cranberries, pecans, goat cheese, and a tangy dressing. The cranberries and mandarin oranges give a flavorful sweetness to this salad while the dressing balances out the sweetness.
Next, we have chocolate peppermint cookies. This recipe is classic and delicious, while being simple enough that you can change the recipe to your tastes easily. Almond butter is used as a healthy alternative to unsalted butter, but that doesn’t make the cookie any less delicious. Skyline student Jack M. said, “During the holidays, I like to eat cookies, so it’s good to have a few healthier options. I like the peppermint-chocolate cookies, but they could use more peppermint.”
The final recipe that we tried was for vegan peppermint chocolate chip cookies. These treats are healthier because they use oil to add moisture to the cookies. They tasted good, with the peppermint flavor being just strong enough to make out but not enough to overpower the entire cookie.
“I liked the peppermint in the cookie because it felt very festive and appropriate for the holidays,” one eighth grader said. The texture of the cookies is important to note: they turned out a little firmer than expected, so consider letting them bake for a shorter period and cool them.
Recipes:
