Episode 42: Holiday Recipe Swap

Welcome to the Beauty of Better podcast, where we help moms thrive in health and faith.

Hey, mama, welcome back to the Beauty of Better Podcast. Today, we're gonna actually be talking about a really fun topic that's related to the holidays and food.

And this can be kind of a touchy subject and even a stressful one for a lot of moms as we kind of enter into this holiday season.

And there are lots of parties and meals and just more opportunities where there's more food that maybe we're not making or things that we're consuming.

So today, we're just gonna talk a little bit about how to approach the holidays with a healthy mindset and some tips and tricks that we use to still enjoy the things that make the holidays special when it comes to food.

But we're also gonna share some of our favorite healthy recipe alternatives that we use to kind of replace some of the recipes that we knew and loved growing up, but that maybe weren't the healthiest.

So these are mainly gonna be sides and desserts, but I think you guys will really enjoy them. And like I said, there's some of our favorites. So they're kind of tried and tried and true.

And just to start off, I think something that is really on my heart as we enter this holiday season is just the idea of being present and joyful and not letting all of the things that you could say yes to, even related to food, really overwhelm and

stress you out. And so something that I try to do when we enter this holiday season, and our family also has all of our kids' birthdays in between basically the end of October and the end of December.

So there's just lots of celebrations thrown in there. But something that we try to do is to really just be intentional with our yeses.

So if there's a food that you really love and there's, like let's say your favorite is apple pie, and there's apple pie at Thanksgiving and you want a piece, like have the piece of apple pie and enjoy the piece of apple pie, and don't feel guilt over

eating this piece of apple pie, because it's there and it's something that you truly love. But I think just being intentional with it and really enjoying each bite, instead of just loading up your plate with every single thing that is probably not

the healthiest. And again, this is one meal, right? If we're talking about Thanksgiving, it's one meal out of the year. So I think it gets a lot of attention.

Even if it isn't Christmas, it's just two meals, like however many you eat.

Yeah, exactly.

Right. Maybe you're having celebrations with like different sides of your family, but it's really just a small number of meals if you're talking about the holiday meals.

So I think just going into it with an approach that's a little bit more balanced than, I can't have anything that I want at this meal or I'm going to have everything I want and then feel really guilty about it later.

And start in the new year.

Yeah. And then the new year comes and you're like, okay, let me jump on this big thing and have these unrealistic expectations that I'm never going to meet. So at the Beauty of Better, we're really just trying to take one small step, right?

One small step to becoming better. And if you decide to enjoy the piece of apple pie that you really love, but you fill your plate with other healthier options, you should not feel bad about that.

Yeah.

So that's just something that I try to do is like, fill up my plate with, you know, protein and veggie dishes and consume those first and then eat the carbohydrate dishes and have the dessert that I want, but then like move on with my day.

This is literally one meal in my lifetime, and I want to enjoy it, but I also want to be mindful about what I'm eating.

Yeah. I love that, Kelsey. Thanks so much.

4:26

Savory Holiday Swaps

Yeah, I'll just jump in and share just the recipe that I have today is, so, you know, a lot of us have that sweet potato casserole at Thanksgiving time, and it's a dish that I've never really liked.

Even as a kid, like, I always just kind of, like, turned my nose to that. But, you know, I've come up with a kind of sweet potato alternative, and this is actually a salad that, but it's also kind of warm and cozy.

So it's you roast the sweet potatoes. It has spinach in it. It's got dried cranberries.

You can also add, I often add toasted cashews to it. And then it has this really yummy, super flavorful kind of vinaigrette dressing that I use on like everything that has fresh garlic in it, apple cider vinegar, honey, olive oil.

A lot of the, in our nutrition series that we had in the past, we talked about the benefits of like olive oil and spinach and a lot of the foods that are encompassed within that dish.

And honestly, it's become a staple that whenever I'm invited somewhere on the holidays, I just make that, and it's always like the bowl is just clean. I come back to it and it's just cleared out.

So it's become a real like favorite for us and also just for taking places as well. But once again, that you get some healthy protein in there, healthy fats, fiber, and it's just kind of a good alternative.

You feel better after you've eaten that, and it's kind of a good swap for if you don't like the traditional sweet potato dish. So that was just one that I wanted to share there. But I just want to echo you, Kelsey, on that.

I've never been one to... We don't want moms to ever feel guilt with food. We feel guilt about so many other things, about if we're doing enough with our kids or this or that.

And once again, the Lord's yoke is easy, and His burden is light.

And so even coming to the Lord before this holiday season and just saying, okay, God, I just pray that you would just help me to make wise choices, that you'd help me to feel fruit of the Spirit, self-control, and just that you would teach me to have

that. And we want to be empowered and not feel like a victim to circumstance. So coming into this season with all the parties we're invited to, it's like you get to make choices.

And I remember living in Northern Ireland, I did love the culture of everyone just invited people over for wine and cheese. But by the time of 15 times going out for wine and cheese, you're like, oh, no.

You know, it's just like, and over time, I realized, okay, no, I need to be selective in like, you know, just sometimes just going, but not having to partake in every single one of those.

And sometimes we need to let go of that people pleasing side of us, you know, going to something and feeling like, oh, they're going to be offended if I don't do this.

And I just think it's important that, you know, you go into the season deciding like, hey, I do, I love the apple pie. I'm going to have a slice of the apple pie. Fully enjoy that.

And then, but then other times, they're like, you know what? That doesn't make me feel so good afterwards. I felt really sluggish and tired.

So I'm just not going to partake in that. And, you know, and also once again, being present for our kids and our families, thinking about how we're feeling ourselves, like this is a lifestyle.

It's not, you know, something that we're just going to pick up in the new year for a month.

So it's like taking all these little tips that we've been sharing in the past, especially through our nutrition series, about eating in a way that balances our blood sugar.

So let's say you have the apple pie, like either go for a walk to help kind of balance that blood sugar, or like you said, Kelsey, eat before that, eat really good protein and like vegetables before that, so that you don't get that big crash.

So yeah, I just wanted to share that.

Yeah, I've been looking forward to the holidays and kind of, I feel like community is built around the table, and so, and memories are definitely formed there.

So there's, you know, can be a lot of different options, depending on where you're celebrating and who you're with.

But I think even if we're making one recipe swap, like in trading something that maybe is a little bit less healthy or less nutritious for something healthier, and even if we're not able to swap everything there, and it's more of a potluck style or

someone else's home, like at least putting something else in the mix, I think, is always just a great way to perceive it. Like, hey, well, you know, if I didn't bring this dish, then maybe we wouldn't have had as many vegetables, right?

Because every family has different preferences. And I think kind of going back to just general tips and tricks, one thing that, you know, we just kind of talk about food in our home, because, you know, food is culture.

And so we just, oh, you know, mommy, is this good? And, oh, you know, this, you know, does this one have protein? They know, like, they ask those questions.

And part of it is, like, you know, if something is maybe high sugar that was an appetizer or a side, you'd be like, yeah, have some of it. But like, oh, we have dessert coming, you know?

So like, have some of that, but maybe just don't load up on that sweet thing if you know that you're gonna be doing that. So it's just trying to find balance. I feel like kids' sugar can hit them, and they get watered.

So I think that's why we have some of those conversations in our home of just, like, you know, you have that amount, and I have the same amount. How it impacts a small body is really different than how it impacts a big body, yeah.

So just, we just kind of have open conversations, it's not necessarily like, this is bad, this is good. It's just, hey, maybe increase or decrease the amount that you have, because something else is really good that we're going to be having to.

And then I think another thing, I'm just kind of echoing what you said, Kathleen, is just adding movement, because it's so easy when you're with this group, you're just sitting and maybe watching a football game, and then, you know, and eating and

talking and catching up, or and it's cold outside, but trying to find some way to have a little bit of movement to help in that digestion, I think is another thing that our family has just done as we navigate holidays. But I can share my recipe.

And, Lesley, now, did you want to jump in on it?

Oh, go for it. Share your recipe, and I can chat after.

Okay. So my recipe is a side. It is a family favorite, and we kind of stumbled on it through this recipe app that I've talked about before.

And normally, if we make it in the non-holiday season, we're pairing it with maybe a flank steak or something like that, like a lean protein. But this recipe, we call it cannelli bean salad.

So you take the cannelli beans, which are really fibrous and have good protein. There's tomatoes in there, onions, or shallots, depending. We have some family members who are very not big fans of onions.

So if shallots are a good substitute because there's so much tinier and then you can kind of hide them in there. We have that. And then fresh basil.

So you've got the red from the tomatoes, the green from the basil, the white with the cannelli beans. And then maybe if we are using onions, we'll use a purple onion just for more color.

And then as lemon juice, salt and pepper, and a couple of other ingredients. But that's one that we always have to double. And sometimes if it's a large group, triple.

And it's just a great alternative for a side to have something that's fibrous, and something that has multiple different colors, because you eat the rainbow, so you're getting a variety of different vitamins and nutrients.

But that's definitely a family favorite. We have some other ones too, but I would say that one is the top of our list. So, that sounds good.

You know, I think going along what you said, Christiana, with just balancing, thinking of like, if a side really is equal to sugar in a dessert, just being aware of that.

And I think Kelsey, you said intentionality earlier, which I just echo that with, it's okay to even try a little bit of everything, like at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

But I think if you're intentional about it, you can get smaller portions, and you can still taste all your favorites and not go overboard.

So mamas, I hope that that's encouraging today to just think, remove the guilt, like taste what you want to taste, but make sure you're intentional and actually tasting it and not just eating while you're talking and not realizing that you're eating

and then going overboard. So I think intentionality has a lot to do with it.

13:16

Sweet Treat Alternatives

One of our favorite recipes in our house, and I, you guys, I switched this up, I use it for like summer holidays, winter holidays, birthday holidays, like everything, is I love cheesecake.

And cheesecake is like so unhealthy, and you, it's just really, really bad. It's okay to have it every once in a while, but I love it to the point where like, I wanted an alternative where it was like, I can eat this and not feel awful after.

And so I make these little cheesecake bites. And so even if you have like a gluten allergy or some other allergies, there's very minimal ingredients in this.

And all you do is you buy a two-pound pack of strawberries, you clean them, and then you hollow them.

And then you take a container of cream cheese, and you mix a little bit of sugar to taste, usually powdered sugar to taste, and then a little bit of lemon and a little bit of vanilla extract.

Mix it together in the mixer, and then you just fill the strawberries. So it's literally just the strawberries filled with that filling.

And again, they're bite size, so it's not like you're having a giant piece of cheesecake, but it literally tastes like cheesecake. You also don't have to take the hours to cook it. It's a pretty fast one.

And then it's like, I use this for the 4th of July, I'll put little blueberries on top, because then they're red, white, and blue. Or for Christmas, you can garnish it with greens, so it's red and green.

But it's like such a great little dessert where it's like you feel like you're having a really great treat like cheesecake, but you don't have like all the butter and all of the like flour and just a lot of things that make it heavier.

It's just like a light bite with the same flavor. So that's definitely one of my go-to's.

And mamas will post all of these recipes like exact on our website and on our social media so that you can grab them and just maybe try to swap one out this season as you go to your different parties and activities, so.

Yeah, absolutely. I will jump in and share, I have a couple of recipes that I really love. One is roasted butternut squash with maple pecans.

So this is, if you like squash or you could even swap out the squash with sweet potato if you prefer sweet potatoes. But basically, you have a butternut squash, and then you peel it, seed it, you know, clean it out, bake it.

You drizzle it with some coconut oil and then roast it. And then basically, you have this little mixture of pecans and cinnamon and maple syrup that you like mix in a bowl and then put on top of it.

And it gives it that like sweet, flavorful taste, but it doesn't have nearly as much sugar as like a classic butternut squash casserole or like a sweet potato casserole would.

But you still get that yummy like holiday flavor, which is what I love, that like cinnamon smell. And, you know, it's got that maple syrup instead of the regular sugar in there. So it's a little bit sweet, but not too sweet.

So it's one of my favorites. We'll post that. And then the other one I really love, this one kind of replaces that like classic green bean casserole.

But the roasted green beans with shallots it's got green beans, obviously shallots, it's got some garlic, some nuts, sea salt, pepper, and lemon juice. And it just tastes really delicious.

Like I feel really good after I eat it, which is just a very motivating factor for me as a mom. Like I want to feel good. And I also want to eat something that tastes delicious.

And this does that for me. So we will post both of those.

17:07

Mindful Eating Practices

But something else that I was thinking about, Danielle, when you were talking about being intentional, is actually just trying to slow down and chew your food.

Because I think sometimes we rush through things as working moms, we're like, okay, I have 15 minutes to feed my kids. And you're like trying to get your kids food, and then you're trying to eat.

And if there's a baby at the table, you're like cutting up all the stuff for the baby. And it can be hard to actually just sit there and enjoy the meal.

But I think, you know, if you have more people around, it's the holidays, like let them help, let them help feed your kids, let them help cut things up for you.

So that you can actually enjoy your meal too, and really try to chew it, and savor it, and taste every single bite that you take. And I think that intentionality of really enjoying it will help you feel more satisfied too. So.

I love that.

I did want to share that a little bit of just like that learning to enjoy food, like food not just as fuel, but food as an enjoyment as well. Like, I felt like I actually learned that more from my European comrades.

Like when I was just out of college, I lived in a house with like 11 other girls, and most of them were internationals. And every night, we would sit down at the table, like we had this huge big table.

We called ourselves little women, because it was just this big table of like women.

And they just would sit on for like hours, and then we'd have a cup of tea after the meal, and we'd just sit and enjoy more, and we'd have dessert together with this cup of tea, and just savor it and enjoy it.

And I loved that I learned that from, like to this day, like I cannot drive in the car and eat, which I would have done that in college, because I was more like, food is fuel from one thing to the next.

And I know often we have that mentality in America of like, okay, I gotta just eat something quick to get me to the next event.

But to actually learn to sit and enjoy the food that God has put before us, like, I'm pretty sure there's science out there.

I've read it, but I'd have to look into it to say for sure, but about how even the enjoyment of food helps our bodies to digest it better, because it's about this psychology, the mentality of even that gratitude mixed in there, of thankfulness, of

like, Lord, thank you for this. And it's actually shown to me even process foods that aren't as good for us, to actually our bodies can process it better in that place of being thankful and present.

And so I just want to echo that, Kelsey, of just finding a way to just really enjoy it and to be present, and to not just be like, oh, I have to get through the holidays, and then I'm going to be on my weight loss program right in the new year, and

just be, you know, kind of like getting through it. It's like, just be present and enjoy. This is a beautiful time of year to enjoy what the Lord has done this year, celebrate, yeah, what's before us, and yeah, I just wanted to share that.

I think modeling that for kids too, right?

Like just showing them, like how to sit down and have a meal together, and how to be thankful for the food that we have, and to taste our food, and see what we really like, and what we really don't like, and even making those healthy swaps, I think

And I think it also shows God loves us, and he has so much goodness for us.

20:41

Food as Blessing

He did not have to make us as beings that ate food to get nourishment, but he did. And he didn't have to make it taste good either, but we have all these flavors that we can use to prepare food.

And he could have made us in a totally different way, where we didn't have to eat to get nutrients, but that's not what he chose to do.

And he chose to make us in a way where we have to eat to get our nutrients, and we can actually flavor foods with different spices and different fats, and different... There's just so much variety.

And I think approaching it that way can really shift your attitude from having a guilt or shame background echo to like, I can be so grateful for this because God made me to enjoy food.

And that's the thing that I get to do with my family, and that's something that I get to do with my kids, and I get to model that for them.

So let me just really do my best to sit here and eat and enjoy this food and be present and take it for what it is.

Yeah, we have a word for that. So my husband is Mexican descent, and then other family members who are from South and Central America.

And so we have this term called sobremesa, which really means like this ties back to the Spanish tradition of like relaxing at the table after a meal.

And that community and that conversation and just being present is just as important as the food that's on your plate.

And so a lot of times at these family gatherings, we're like, no, sobremesa, sobremesa, like don't get up, don't like, you know, you don't need to go do something else. Just like sit and be here.

And then like it kind of goes back to like the rest and digest, you know, what Kathleen was saying, like eating on the go in peed's digestion versus just sitting and being there and tasting and feeling and being in the moment.

But yeah, so sobremesa, you can add that to your family vocabulary, just because different cultures have different values around like the table and what that means and what that looks like.

And so I think our own backgrounds tie into that and then marriages and other things, but yeah, sobremesa.

Hopefully, that will work for you guys for the holidays.

Yeah, I think it really is American to rush and to eat alone, like very individualized and like go eat by yourself or eat in the car and just be solo. And I just think the Bible is full of community. It's full of people eating around a table.

It's full of people eating together. And I think that that's just really such a model of this and just learning how to, I mean, for us, it's really going against culture, right? We all live in the US.

So going against the culture of rush, be on your own, eat quick, get it done to let's pause, let's eat together. Let's taste our food. Let's be intentional.

Let's rest. Yeah.

Yeah, do we have any other tips before we wrap it up today?

Think that was good. I think like, I loved hearing your recipes, Kathleen. I wanna try your salad, and I wanna put chicken on it.

Like, I wanna try it at like a holiday event, but so I'm gonna tag along to one of your vests. But I wanna put chicken on it, or like some kind of protein, and just like have it as a dinner.

Yeah, it's really good with salmon, actually.

So yeah, I think like, we had some great recipes. I am excited to try them all. Mamas, we hope that you got some good tips.

We hope that you go into this holiday season, really, as Kathleen said, filled with the spirit with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

And that really, you find yourself present and in the moment with your kids and with your family, and that it can really start a new trail for you going into the new year feeling different.

So we hope you're blessed by this today, as you take one small step to becoming better.

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