Healthy, Inexpensive Meals for Holiday House Guests
Posted By Beth K On November 20, 2012 @ 9:30 am In Health and Wellness,Home and Garden,Organic and Green Living | No Comments
If you are hosting family for the upcoming holidays, you’re probably wondering what to feed everyone. I’ve got some ideas for healthy, inexpensive meals that will be easy on your pocketbook and simple to prepare.
Since holiday visits usually revolve around one big, extravagant meal, I’m going to use leftovers from the main meal and simple ingredients that we already have on hand to make a plan for the other meals.
One breakfast option is to throw together omelets using leftovers. I’ve used ham, turkey, broccoli, green onions, tomatoes, diced potatoes, and just about any leftover veggie in an omelet.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon of oil or butter
- Leftover ham or turkey, diced or shredded
- Leftover vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, green onions, tomatoes, diced potatoes, mushrooms, and just about any leftover veggie you like.
- 2 eggs
- Dash of milk
Instructions
- Heat the oil, meat, and vegetable leftovers in a saute pan.
- In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and milk.
- Pour egg mixture over the thoroughly heated leftovers.
- Flip the omelet after about 4 minutes to brown thoroughly on both sides.
- Throw some cheese on top and serve with turkey smoked sausage, onions, bell peppers, and potatoes for a quick and easy breakfast to please the holiday crowds. Yum!
Quick breakfasts are a good way to start the day. I love to make these muffins which use all the staples we already gathered to prepare our main meal.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup dried organic cranberries
- 1 cup organic whole wheat flour
- 1 cup organic white flour
- 1/2 cup organic sucanat
- 3 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 3/4 cup organic milk
- 1/3 cup organic coconut oil
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon homemade vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup vanilla yogurt mini chips
Instructions
- Place cranberries in heat-proof cup or bowl. Boil 1/2 cup water. Pour water over the cranberries and let them soak as you continue the following steps.
- Heat oven to 400 degrees.
- Grease entire muffin pan with baking spray, butter, or organic coconut oil. Regular-size muffin pans work best.
- In medium bowl, combine flours, sucanat, baking powder, and salt. Mix well.
- In small bowl, combine milk, oil, egg, and vanilla. Beat well.
- Add liquid mixture to the dry mixture. Stir until ingredients are almost combined.
- Drain water from cranberries.
- Add cranberries and yogurt chips to the muffin batter. Stir until barely combined. The less you handle the mixture the more tender your muffins will be. Batter will be lumpy.
- Divide batter evenly into muffin cups.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Cool 1 minute and remove to rack to cool slightly before serving.
Notes
I love this recipe because it’s light and fluffy and full of flavor. If you’d like to come up with your own variation, start with this basic, whole grain muffin recipe and have fun finding your family’s favorite muffin!
Many healthy, inexpensive meals revolve around leftovers. My all-time favorite use of leftovers is to make shepherd’s pie as it just throws everything all together. Check out this easy and delicious recipe here!
How do you please your houseguests and keep you wallet and waistline in good shape? We’d love to hear your tips and tricks for healthy, inexpensive meals for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
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