By Rhonda Jones
Like it or not, the holidays are almost here. I have always felt that the holiday season actually starts with Halloween and flows into Thanksgiving, Christmas (Hanukkah or Kwanza), and New Year’s eve and day. By January 2, most of us are several pounds heavier due to literally two months of celebrating attending parties, drinking alcohol, and eating rich food.
There is no question that sticking to a healthy plant-based diet during the holidays is extremely difficult. Most of our holiday memories are centered around food. We have traditional dishes that are served every holiday, and we look forward to those foods as they bring back happy memories.
When I started doing Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner, I had all of the traditional foods but added some other recipes that sounded good and were generally accepted by everyone but my mom. She always had to have her traditional foods. When I made cranberry sauce one year, she brought her own can of jellied cranberry sauce.
Over the years, I have made some plant-based versions of my favorite foods, and most of them turned out pretty tasty. My version of broccoli rice casserole has changed several times, but is still pretty good. I use brown rice instead of white, fresh or frozen broccoli, saute onions and celery in veggie broth instead of butter and make a plant-based cheese sauce to hold it all together. There are several plant-based cheese sauces but my favorite is called Game Changer cheese sauce and it is made with oatmeal. I believe I have given out the recipe in another column but feel free to call me if you need the recipe. This year, when I make this casserole, I will probably add some mushrooms. I rarely put salt in any dish, but sometimes will add a little if making it for the family. Black pepper, seasoned salt substitute and garlic powder give good flavor to the dish.
One of my favorite cookbooks, “Plant Pure Comfort Food” by Kim Campbell is full of plant-based versions of many holiday recipes. The book has an entire section on holiday recipes and includes green bean casserole, scalloped corn, pumpkin pie, and cornbread dressing. Rather than taking the time to tweak your favorite recipes, Kim has done that for you and made them healthy with very little sugar, salt and oil. I love scalloped corn, so wanted to include her recipe here. If you will be eating at someone’s house, make some yummy recipes that you can enjoy and, if you are cooking, these recipes will make it easy for you to do a great plant-based holiday meal. I encourage you to check out her book as there are some comforting recipes that are good but also very healthy so no guilt after the meal.
Scalloped Corn
1 onion diced
2 green bell peppers seeded and diced
1 cup low sodium vegetable broth
2 cups unsweetened plant-based milk (almond, soy, oat, etc)
6 tablespoons whole wheat flour or gluten free flour
½ teaspoon ground mustard
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
6 cups fresh or frozen corn (thawed)
¼ cup whole-grain bread crumbs
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
Saute the onion and bell peppers in the broth over high heat until tender.
Whisk together the milk, flour, mustard, black pepper, paprika and nutmeg until completely smooth.
Add the corn and sautéed onion and peppers to the bowl and mix well Transfer the mixture to a 9 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and bake for 30 minutes or until the top is bubbly and golden brown.
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