Make the Holidays Healthier with These Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Recipes
While you might slow down or take a break during the holidays, fruits and vegetables don’t. They continue to grow even when the temperatures dip, and you should be glad they do. With fresh produce available year-round, you can create holiday dishes that are delectable while still being good for you. To add a bit of pizzazz to your holiday feast, check out a few of these healthy holiday recipes.
1. Beet Salad
Offering a heavy helping of vitamin B, folate, and fiber, beets are a great in-season vegetable to liven up a ho-hum salad. But you don’t have to grab canned beets if you want to add them to your holiday food lineup. In fact, roasting beets on your own can produce more flavor without reducing any nutritional benefits.
Roasted beet salad screams winter feast. To make this salad, buy some fresh beets and cut off the greens. Then quarter the beets and toss them with oil, salt and garlic. Turn on the oven to 325 degrees and roast for about 75 minutes.
Once you pull them out of the oven, toss them in a bowl with walnuts, red onion, dill, and arugula for a mouthwatering starter.
2. Kiwi and Orange Fruit Salad
You can never have enough salad during the holidays, so balance out the earthy taste of your beet salad with a sweet yet tart kiwi and orange fruit salad. In warm climates, both kiwis and oranges are harvested in the winter, so you can always find fresh options at your local grocer.
The best part about this recipe is that it gives a huge dose of vitamin C, calcium, and fiber along with great taste in just minutes. Simply peel the oranges and kiwis, cut them up however you want, toss together, add a touch of sugar (if you want), and you’re done!
3. Roasted Honeynut Squash
If you love butternut squash but you want a bit more sweetness, look no further than the smaller-sized honeynut squash. Chocked full of iron, calcium, copper, potassium, and zinc, it’s just like a delicious-tasting multivitamin.
To make an amazing main or side dish, start by setting the oven to 425 degrees. Cut the squash in half lengthways, pull out the seeds, and put about one to two teaspoons of butter in the cavity remaining where the seeds were.
Sprinkle the rest of the flesh with cinnamon, salt, and pepper. You can also add a touch of sugar or some anise to enhance the flavor even further. Roast the squash until it’s tender, which usually takes about 30 minutes.
Pop it out of the oven and the possibilities are endless. Add it to a salad, put it on the side of your ham or turkey, or drizzle it with maple syrup and eat it as an appetizer. The choice is yours.
Even for the pickiest eaters, these holiday recipes will have them licking their chops and asking for seconds. But don’t just go with canned veggies and fruits or out-of-season produce that comes from overseas. Instead, look in your own backyard. DLJ Produce is your source for all fresh produce and now seasonal winter produce, you can create mains and sides that burst with flavor. Plus, you’ll look like a five-star chef while doing it.
Look for the DLJ Produce label at your local grocer. To know more about the wide range of fresh produce we supply nationwide, we’re always here to answer question, just give us a call.
