Quick and Healthy Food For Diet Conscious Guests

So you are hosting a holiday dinner and you need some ideas for food for diet conscious guests. We get it. It seems like EVERYONE is on some kind of low-sodium, low-fat, low-carb, no sugar diet. How do you accommodate these guests to make them feel welcome, but do it quick and healthy? 

Pumpkin Hummus

Our first suggestion for a quick and healthy food for diet idea is serving hummus as an appetizer. Hummus contains garbanzo beans, tahini (sesame paste), garlic, lemon and sea salt. It is a great substitute for your traditional cream cheese and sour cream based dips.  It is super quick and healthy and will be just the food for diet conscious guests! Hummus has many variations and we like the Pumpkin Hummus in The Healthy Edge Holiday E-book. Vegetables such as carrots, cucumbers, bell peppers and celery or a whole grain cracker such as Mary Gone’s Crackers or Food Should Taste Good brand crackers. 

Serving some type of fish is a great way to make a holiday meal quick and healthy. Instead of spending an entire day roasting a turkey and hoping it comes our juicy and edible, why not try a fish such as salmon or halibut for your guests? This will be a welcome food for diet conscious guests! The highlight  of a fish based meal is what is served on it. We love the quick and healthy recipe for Maple and Cranberry Sauce below from The Healthy Edge Holiday E-book to put over baked halibut (or your fish of choice). 

Ingredients:

Maple and Cranberry Sauce over Halibut

2 tbsp olive oil, divided

1 cup unsweetened cranberries, fresh or

frozen

1 tbsp maple syrup

1 small shallot, minced

1/8 tsp sea salt

1/8 tsp cracked black pepper

Directions: 

1.       In a medium saucepan, add the cranberries and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for approximately 5 minutes. Drain the water from the cranberries and add the cranberries to a medium mixing bowl.

2.       Add maple syrup, shallot, sea salt, and black pepper to cranberries. Mix well to thoroughly combine ingredients.

3.       Divide the cranberry mixture evenly and spread upon each fillet before serving.

We hope these tips have given you some ideas for quick and healthy meals for diet conscious guests! Remember, use REAL ingredients and avoid packaged and boxed dishes that contain excess amounts of sodium and ingredients that are anything but “real” and “healthy”! For more ideas on recipes for the holidays, check out this site.