Christmas is just days away! This means it’s time to tackle Christmas food shopping. If you are one of those people who dread the crammed supermarket aisles around this time of year, get yourself a game plan. Decided what you are wanting to serve on Christmas, from nibbles and drinks to breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper. Get a list of ingredients going and don’t step foot near any supermarket without it!
Vegan chocolate fudge cake pops by Miss Marzipan
But are you still stuck in that stage of not knowing what to serve at your family’s lunch or dinner? We have some ideas that can help you get inspired in the kitchen and produce some delicious and healthy Christmas meals!
Entrée – Prawns:
Seafood is a wonderful, summer treat to have and is especially popular around Christmas time. But don’t just toss some prawns on the barbecue and serve them with a salad, try the new modern way of eating prawns by wrapping them in katiafi. Kataifi is a Greek pastry, almost like thin noodles that you can by in the cold section of your supermarket. Wrap your fresh prawns in a layer of kataifi and fry them off in a shallow pan of oil. Instead of your basic salad, serve with a capsicum, carrot and basil quinoa salad.
Main – Glazed Ham:
It’s essential to serve ham at Christmas and a perfectly glistening, glazed ham will be the center of attention on your dining table. The key to a perfect glazed ham is a balance of salty and sweet elements. Try to avoid glazed ham recipes that require added extra sugars. Use natural sugars in fruits such as cherries, berries, oranges, apricots and apples to create a healthy glaze alternative. If you want to add extra sweetness, consider rice malt syrup or natural honey before reaching into that kitchen cupboard for brown or white sugar!
Dessert – Fruit Cake:
Fruit Cake is also another one of those Christmas essentials! And even thought it might be tempting to buy a Christmas Fruit Cake from your supermarket, try making your own at home. This is a great task to get the kids involved in and is guaranteed to be a healthier and tastier option that the store bought cakes! Rely on the natural sweetness of fruits such as dates, cherries, oranges and sultanas with mixed spices, instead of adding processed sugars. Also try supplementing white or whole meal flours with almond meal. Added with a little bit of olive oil, this will activate the almond meal and make your gluten free fruit cake super moist and delicious!
Matcha Options!
Want to involve Matcha Maiden in your Christmas festivities?! We have a wonderful selection of recipes from breakfast smoothie bowls to healthy cocktails that all your family and friends will love!
There are also some AMAZING festive recipe collections from the lovely Miss Marzipan and vANGIEtarian HERE – you matcha masterchefs are all so unbelievably talented!!!!
Christmas coloured smoothie bowls from the lovely Stephanie H Park
Article by our wonderful Madeleine Gill.