The holidays are just around the corner, and eating healthy and delicious is the perfect combination! Regardless of the menu you have planned for your holidays, it's crucial to include a good quantity and variety of vegetables, both raw and cooked. Not only will you be providing your body with the essential nutrients, but you'll also be satisfying that space in your belly that you don't want to fill with unhealthy cravings.
My classic Christmas menu includes oven-baked turkey injected with Pisco and orange juice, rice with olives and pecans, saffron rice with dates and pistachios, sweet potatoes baked with orange juice and spices, and a couple of powerful salads. The idea of having a beautiful buffet isn't about driving yourself crazy doing everything on the same day; For example, rice is healthier the day after because it creates resistant starch, and you can make salad dressings even two or three days before, depending on the recipe you choose. So, eating healthy and not dying in the attempt is not only possible but also extremely satisfying.
Delicata squash is one of my favorite ingredients; I love baking it with some spices and adding it warm to the salad. It's in season, just like pomegranates, so this salad is full of flavor, antioxidants, good fats, and many other nutrients. I recommend removing the pomegranate arils yourself; it's cheaper, and you'll have fresh and higher-quality pomegranate than the packaged ones in supermarkets. The easiest technique for doing this is to cut the pomegranate in half, place one-half upside down on the palm of your hand, and hit the shell strongly with a spoon. You'll see how easily the arils come off (and at the same time, you'll do a stress-relief therapy).
