Breakfast for Holiday and Brunch Recipes

make your holiday breakfast or brunch special with these easy, festive recipes.

There are so many things that make the holiday season special, but one thing is the food -- am I right? For many of us, this is the only time of year we enjoy certain dishes, some of which have cultural significance. So now is the perfect time for a few festive (but healthy) breakfast and brunch recipes!
More than perhaps any other time of year, people are likely to be making special breakfasts and sitting down to eat with visiting friends and family. The way I see it, there are four ways to celebrate the season with breakfast or brunch before, during, and after Christmas Day:

• Enjoy favorite holiday foods. This is the time of year to make gingerbread cake, pumpkin spice muffins, or cranberry nut bread.
• Give your regular breakfast foods a holiday twist. Whipped butter for your biscuits becomes orange butter when you blend in orange marmalade. Or, make holiday cream cheese by blending light cream cheese with cranberry-orange or cranberry-raspberry sauce. French toast is festive when made with slices of pannetone -- an Italian bread baked in a round, tall-sided pan and made with pieces of dried or candied fruit. Turn scones into a holiday treat by making cranberry-orange scones.
• Celebrate your heritage (or someone else's). This might be the only time of year you think to make a breakfast from your heritage, like strata (an Italian dish made by layering bread, eggs, and other ingredients in a casserole dish), German apple pancakes, Swedish pancakes, pannetone, or -- my own favorite -- stollen. Since my parents were Dutch immigrants, December in our house always meant a Christmas stollen -- a loaf whose shape resembles a swaddled baby Jesus. I loved this dried-fruit-studded and almond-paste-filled treat, and after a couple of slices, I was perfectly content to wait until the next Christmas to have it again. To this day, I always buy one stollen around the first of December.

• Create a new holiday breakfast tradition. When you start a household, each partner brings holiday traditions from his or her youth to the kitchen table. But there's always room to create your own. For example, one Christmas eve when my daughters were very young, we made cinnamon rolls and let them rise overnight in the refrigerator. Then, on Christmas morning, while my husband started the coffee and my girls raided their stockings, we popped the pan into the oven -- and 15 minutes later we had piping hot, cream-cheese-glazed cinnamon rolls. We've made these cinnamon rolls on Christmas eve every year since. 

For Holiday Breakfast or Brunch Recipes

Here are four festive breakfast or brunch recipes. Two are easy holiday spreads for biscuits, muffins, or other breakfast breads; the others offer a holiday twist on two popular breakfast foods: gingerbread muffins and cranberry orange scones.
Orange Butter
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons whipped butter
2 tablespoons less-sugar orange marmalade
Preparation:
In custard cup or small serving bowl, blend whipped butter with orange marmalade using a small spoon.
Serve with biscuits, toast, or muffins.
Yield: About 4 servings
WebMD Weight Loss Clinic members Journal as 1 teaspoon jam + 2 teaspoons light butter or margarine
Nutrition Information: Per serving (just the orange butter): 85 calories, 0.2 g protein, 4.5 g carbohydrate, 7.7 g fat, 4.7 g saturated fat, 20 mg cholesterol, 0.3 g fiber, 80 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 79%.
Cranberry Cream Cheese
Ingredients:
2/3 cup light cream cheese
1/3 cup raspberry cranberry sauce, home-style cranberry sauce, or orange cranberry sauce
Preparation:
In mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and cranberry sauce while beating on low speed.
Spoon into serving bowl, cover, and keep refrigerated until ready to serve. Serve as a spread for sandwiches, crackers, biscuits, toast, or muffins.
Yield: About 16 tablespoons
WebMD Weight Loss Clinic members Journal each tablespoon as 1 ounce of low-fat cheese OR 1 teaspoon jam
Nutrition Information Per tablespoon (just the cranberry spread): 32 calories, 1 g protein, 3 g carbohydrate, 1.7 g fat, 1.1 g saturated fat, 5 mg cholesterol, 0.1 g fiber, 51 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 48%.
Cranberry-Orange Scones
Ingredients:
Canola oil cooking spray
1 cup fat-free sour cream
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups unbleached white flour
2 cups whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar (or substitute 1/2 cup Splenda plus 1/2 cup sugar)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup less-fat margarine (use a brand with no less than 8 grams of fat per tablespoon)
1/2 cup light cream cheese (or fat-free cream cheese)
2 tablespoons fat-free half-and-half

Zest from 1 orange, finely chopped
1 large egg, higher omega-3 if available, lightly beaten
3/4 cup dried cranberries
Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a nonstick baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. In a small bowl, blend the sour cream and baking soda and set aside. In a food processor, combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cream of tartar and pulse to blend well. Add the margarine and cream cheese and pulse to cut them in. (If you don't have a food processor, cut in the margarine and cream cheese with a pastry blender.)
3. In a large bowl of an electric mixer, combine the flour mixture, sour cream mixture, half-and-half, orange zest, beaten egg, and cranberries. Beat on low speed just until a dough forms.
4. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured piece of wax paper and knead a couple of times. Pat the dough into a 3/4-inch round. Cut the round into 12 wedges and place them an inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake scones for 15 to 20 minutes or until they're golden brown on the bottom. Serve warm or cold.
Yield: About 12 scones
WebMD Weight Loss Clinic members Journal as 3 pieces of pancakes OR 1 small muffin + 1 tablespoon sugar or jam OR 1 cup starchy foods with 1 teaspoon fat maximum
Nutrition Information: Per scone: 311 calories, 8 g protein, 55 g carbohydrate, 7.5 g fat, 1.6 g saturated fat, 21 mg cholesterol, 3.5 g fiber, 500 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 21%.
Gingerbread Muffins
Ingredients:
1 cup boiling water
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour
1 1/4 cups unbleached white flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup light or fat free cream cheese or sour cream
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 cup unsulfured molasses

2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger (optional)
1 large egg, higher omega-3 if available
1/4 cup egg substitute
Powdered sugar for dusting over the top of the muffins if desired
Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add muffin liners to 20 muffin cups.
2. In a small bowl, combine baking soda with boiling water, stir briefly, then set aside. In a large bowl, combine flours, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, salt and baking powder with whisk.
3. Fit your electric mixer with the paddle attachment. Then, in a large mixing bowl, combine canola oil, light cream cheese or sour cream, and brown sugar together by beating on medium speed. While beating on low speed, add molasses, the baking soda mixture and the flour mixture. Now beat in the egg and egg substitute.
4. Fill muffin cups each with about 1/4-cup of batter. Bake until the top center of a muffin barely springs back when gently pressed (about 22-25 minutes). Let the muffins cool, then dust the tops with powdered sugar if desired.

Yield: 20 muffins
WebMD Weight Loss Clinic members Journal as 1 small muffin or 2 slices of bread
Nutrition Information: Per muffin: 139 calories, 3 g protein, 25 g carbohydrate, 3 g fat, 0.3 g saturated fat, 10 mg cholesterol, 1.1 g fiber, 149 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 20%.

 

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Loss your Weight Tip No. 4: Stock Up on Frozen Vegetables

Sure, fresh vegetables are delicious and nutritious. But faced with the need to scrape a carrot, wash and slice a zucchini, or cut broccoli into florets, many of us say, "Too much trouble!" and reach for chips instead.
To make things easier, stock your freezer with frozen vegetables, Blake tells dieters.
"They are already clean, chopped and ready to cook in the microwave," she says. "It's like having Rachael Ray in the freezer."
An even better way to be sure you eat more vegetables: Cook the frozen veggies ahead of time. Microwave the whole bag of green beans, for instance. Then keep them in the refrigerator, ready to dump into canned soups, add to a salad, or just eat by the handful.

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Loss your Weight Tip No. 3: Beef Up Your Lunch Salad

One of the most common mistakes dieters make is to eat a vegetable salad with little or no dressing for lunch, says Joan Salge Blake, RD, professor of nutrition at Boston University and a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. "Then they are starving by mid-afternoon," she says.
A salad is a great choice, she says, if you add some protein and a little fat to help keep you feeling full longer.
Top your greens with a 3 oz piece of chicken breast, and you've added about 26 grams of protein but just 140 calories. Add about two tablespoons of light salad dressing, and your salad may be filling enough to get you through the 3 p.m. hunger slump without hitting the vending machine.

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everyday healthy foods

 Kale:

 

Of all the leafy greens, none has achieved star status quite like kale has. Add it to a meal or a smoothie and you're surrounded by a beatific glow. It's a member of the Brassica genus (along with broccoli and Brussels sprouts), a category of plant foods that are linked to a lower risk of certain cancers. Not only that, but kale is high in nutrients you need for bone health — vitamins A and K and calcium — plus it delivers almost a day's worth of vitamin C. While kale has much to offer, don't neglect other leafy greens, like collards and mustard greens, which provide as much nutrition as kale.

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tips for healthy eating forever

 

 Eating a healthy, balanced diet is an important part of maintaining good health, and can help you feel your best. It doesn't have to be difficult either. Just follow these eight tips to get started.

The key to a healthy diet is to do the following:

    Eat the right amount of calories for how active you are, so that you balance the energy you consume with the energy you use. If you eat or drink too much, you’ll put on weight. If you eat and drink too little, you’ll lose weight. It is recommended that men have around 2,500 calories a day (10,500 kilojoules). Women should have around 2,000 calories a day (8,400 kilojoules). Most adults are eating more calories than they need, and should eat fewer calories.
    Eat a wide range of foods to ensure that you’re getting a balanced diet and that your body is receiving all the nutrients it needs.

Get started

These practical tips cover the basics of healthy eating, and can help you make healthier choices:
Base your meals on starchy foods

Starchy foods should make up around one third of the foods you eat. Starchy foods include potatoes, cereals, pasta, rice and bread. Choose wholegrain varieties (or eat potatoes with their skins on) when you can: they contain more fibre, and can help you feel full.

Most of us should eat more starchy foods: try to include at least one starchy food with each main meal. Some people think starchy foods are fattening, but gram for gram the carbohydrate they contain provides fewer than half the calories of fat.
Eat lots of fruit and veg

It’s recommended that we eat at least five portions of different types of fruit and veg a day. It’s easier than it sounds. A glass of unsweetened 100% fruit juice (150ml) can count as one portion, and vegetables cooked into dishes also count. Why not chop a banana over your breakfast cereal, or swap your usual mid-morning snack for a piece of fresh fruit?
Eat more fish

Fish is a good source of protein and contains many vitamins and minerals. Aim to eat at least two portions of fish a week, including at least one portion of oily fish. Oily fish contains omega-3 fats, which may help to prevent heart disease. You can choose from fresh, frozen and canned: but remember that canned and smoked fish can be high in salt.

Oily fish include salmon, mackerel, trout, herring, fresh tuna, sardines and pilchards. Non-oily fish include haddock, plaice, coley, cod, tinned tuna, skate and hake. If you regularly eat a lot of fish, try to choose as wide a variety as possible.
Cut down on saturated fat and sugar

We all need some fat in our diet. But it’s important to pay attention to the amount and type of fat we’re eating. There are two main types of fat: saturated and unsaturated. Too much saturated fat can increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood, which increases your risk of developing heart disease.

Saturated fat is found in many foods, such as hard cheese, cakes, biscuits, sausages, cream, butter, lard and pies. Try to cut down on your saturated fat intake, and choose foods that contain unsaturated fats instead, such as vegetable oils, oily fish and avocados.

For a healthier choice, use just a small amount of vegetable oil or reduced-fat spread instead of butter, lard or ghee. When you're having meat, choose lean cuts and cut off any visible fat.

Most people in the UK eat and drink too much sugar. Sugary foods and drinks, including alcoholic drinks, are often high in energy (measured in kilojoules or calories), and if eaten too often, can contribute to weight gain. They can also cause tooth decay, especially if eaten between meals.

Cut down on sugary fizzy drinks, alcoholic drinks, sugary breakfast cereals, cakes, biscuits and pastries, which contain added sugars: this is the kind of sugar we should be cutting down on, rather than sugars that are found in things such as fruit and milk.

Food labels can help: use them to check how much sugar foods contain. More than 22.5g of total sugars per 100g means that the food is high in sugar, while 5g of total sugars or less per 100g means that the food is low in sugar.
Eat less salt

Even if you don’t add salt to your food, you may still be eating too much. About three-quarters of the salt we eat is already in the food we buy, such as breakfast cereals, soups, breads and sauces. Eating too much salt can raise your blood pressure. People with high blood pressure are more likely to develop heart disease or have a stroke.

Use food labels to help you cut down. More than 1.5g of salt per 100g means the food is high in salt. Adults and children over 11 should eat no more than 6g of salt a day. Younger children should have even less.
Get active and be a healthy weight

Eating a healthy, balanced diet plays an essential role in maintaining a healthy weight, which is an important part of overall good health. Being overweight or obese can lead to health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, heart disease and stroke. Being underweight could also affect your health. Check whether you’re a healthy weight by using our Healthy weight calculator.

Most adults need to lose weight, and need to eat fewer calories to do this. If you're trying to lose weight, aim to eat less and be more active. Eating a healthy, balanced diet will help: aim to cut down on foods that are high in fat and sugar, and eat plenty of fruit and vegetables.

Don't forget that alcohol is also high in calories, so cutting down can help you to control your weight.

Physical activity can help you to maintain weight loss or be a healthy weight. Being active doesn’t have to mean hours at the gym: you can find ways to fit more activity into your daily life. For example, try getting off the bus one stop early on the way home from work, and walking. Being physically active may help reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. For more ideas, see Get active your way.

After getting active, remember not to reward yourself with a treat that is high in energy. If you feel hungry after activity, choose foods or drinks that are lower in calories, but still filling.

If you’re underweight, see our page on underweight adults. If you're worried about your weight, ask your GP or a dietitian for advice.
Don't get thirsty

We need to drink about 1.6 to 2 litres of fluid every day to stop us getting dehydrated. This is in addition to the fluid we get from the food we eat. All non-alcoholic drinks count, but water and lower-fat milk are healthier choices.

Try to avoid sugary soft and fizzy drinks that are high in added sugars and calories, and are also bad for teeth. Even unsweetened fruit juice is sugary, so try to limit how much you drink to no more than one glass (about 150ml) of fruit juice each day.

When the weather is warm, or when we get active, we may need more fluids.
Don’t skip breakfast

Some people skip breakfast because they think it will help them lose weight. In fact, research shows that eating breakfast can help people control their weight. A healthy breakfast is an important part of a balanced diet, and provides some of the vitamins and minerals we need for good health. A wholegrain, lower-sugar cereal with fruit sliced over the top is a tasty and nutritious breakfast.
More information

    To help you get the right balance of the four main food groups, take a look at the eatwell plate. To maintain a healthy diet, the eatwell plate shows you how much of what you eat should come from each food group. It's important to have only small amounts of foods high in fat and/or sugar.
    Learn how to have a balanced diet, and read about the energy contained in food in our page on understanding calories.
    Download Losing weight: Getting started, a 12-week weight loss guide that combines advice on healthier eating and physical activity.

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