Green Plate Foods Blog Healthy Recipes to Help Survive the Holidays!

The holidays are such an amazing time of the year, as we all gather with our friends and family to celebrate. But let's be honest, it can feel more like work than a celebration when dealing with closing out end of year business, shopping and attending all the parties that are usually filled with hefty holiday foods. We have come up with some recipes to help make the 'right choices' a little easier for everyone this holiday season! #CraveHealthy, Friends! ------------------------------------- Holiday Fruit + Veggie Trees Materials: Toothpicks cut in half 2 nine-inch foam tree form Large platter 2 small bowls for dipping sauces Ingredients: 2 lbs of broccoli crowns 20 cherry or grape tomatoes 1 large head of cauliflower for the snow 4 large apples 2 red + 2 green 1 pack of Green Plate Foods Nubblers Optional cut out a an apple with a star cookie cutter for the top Veggie Tree Instructions: Cut off cauliflower stem and separate out florets. Use your hands to break apart the florets into nickel size pieces to give them the appearance of snow. Remove the broccoli from the large stem and cut them into pieces about the size of a quarter. Trim stems more as you go if needed. Place a half toothpick into a broccoli piece and then into the 9 inch foam tree form. Repeat all over the tree, leaving some room for tomatoes. Finish with tomatoes to look like lights and top it with a tomato. Fruit Tree Instructions: Core each apple. Slice in half, and then quarters. Slice each quarter in half and then slice the 8th apple into 3 pieces (making 24 pieces an apple). Squeeze Lemon juice onto apple pieces and toss. Quarter the Nubblers and place to the side. Place a half toothpick into a green apple piece and then into the 9 inch foam tree form. Repeat all over the tree, leaving some room for red apple pieces. Place a half toothpick into the quartered Nubblers and then into the 9 inch foam tree form. Repeat all over the tree, to act as tree lights. Cut out a star of an apple and place it on the top of the tree. Place trees and two small bowls for your favorite dipping sauces onto a platter. Arrange the cauliflower pieces around the tree to look like snow.Chocolate Dipped Clementines with Sea Salt. Chocolate Dipped Clementines Ingredients: 7-8 medium clementines 4 oz. dark chocolate, finely chopped 1 teaspoon of sea salt Instructions: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Peel and segment clementines; set aside. In a small bowl in the microwave or over a double boiler, melt dark chocolate. Dip clementine segments halfway in the chocolate and transfer to prepared sheet. Immediately sprinkle with tiny pinches of salt before the chocolate sets. Once all pieces are dipped, set sheet aside until chocolate hardens Tip: To quickly harden chocolate, refrigerate sheet for 10 minutes. Store in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Christmas Tree Pizzas + with Zucchini Crust Zucchini Pizza Crust Ingredients: 1 large egg 3 small zucchinis 1/2 cup grated parmesan Christmas Tree Pizza Ingredients: 1 jar of your favorite low sodium pizza sauce 1 cup of freshly grated mozzarella 1/2 cup of chopped bell peppers 1/4 cup of sliced mushrooms Zucchini Pizza Crust Directions: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Grate the zucchini. Sprinkle salt on the zucchini and stir. Let sit 5-10 minutes. Squeeze out the water of the zucchini by wrapping the grated zucchini in cheese cloth and squeezing. Mix with egg and grated cheese. Place parchment paper on a baking sheet and spread dough batter out into a ½ in. thick circle. Put it in oven and cook until it has browned, about 15-20 minutes. Remove crust from the oven and top with tomato sauce, cheese and your favorite toppings. Place pizza bake in the oven and bake until the cheese melts. Stamp out Christmas tree with cookie cutter. Christmas Tree Pizza Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees Spread a thin layer of pizza sauce onto the crust. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top and decorate the tree bell peppers and mushrooms. Bake until the cheese fully melts. Pecan Maple Spice Muffins Vegan + Gluten Free Ingredients for Muffins: 2 tablespoons chia (mixed with 6 tablespoons warm water) 3/4 cup rice flour 1/4 cup garbanzo/ chickpea flour 1/4 cup potato starch 1/4 cup arrowroot or tapioca starch 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoons baking soda 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 cup Almond Milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3/4 cup maple syrup 1/3 cup grape seed oil 1/2 cup apple sauce Ingredients for Candied Pecans: 3/4 cups pecans, chopped fine 1/2 cup maple syrup Instructions: Preheat oven to 350F and grease and flour a cupcake pan Make the chia 'egg'* by mixing ground chia with water, and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and set aside. In another bowl, combine all the wet ingredients and set aside. Pour liquids into dry ingredients and stir to combine well. Set aside for about 15 minutes. Pour mixture into wells and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, remove from pan and set out on a wire rack to cool completely, about 30 minutes to 1 hour. Cover them with a clean kitchen towel so they don't dry out. Before serving, mix the maple syrup and pecans together scoop a small amount right on top and enjoy! Super Brownie Santa Hats Gluten-Free Ingredients: 1 Dozen Super Brownies with the tops removed 12 Strawberries washed and greens removed 1 teaspoon Vanilla 4-5 tablespoons Whole Milk 4 cups powdered sugar 4 tablespoons butter Frosting Instructions: Add in 4 cups of powdered sugar into a mixing bowl with the butter and vanilla. Turn mixer on medium low speed and slowly pour in the whole milk. I started out using 4 tablespoons of milk and added another tablespoon until it reached the consistency I wanted. Mix until smooth Pipe frosting onto the Super Brownie. Place a strawberry on top and finish with a ball of frosting on top. Click here to find out where you can pick up our products!