Monday-Eggplant Parmesan and salad

Tuesday- Skillet Steak over salad with baked sweet potato

Wednesday- Potato Cheese Soup with spinach salad

Thursday- Christmas Eve- In my husband’s Italian tradition, we eat fish on Christmas Eve- Grilled Salmon, rice pilaf, garden salad, lobster bisque, grilled asparagus

Friday- Christmas is at our house this year, so in an attempt to satisfy all family, I am cooking a strange mix of foods: Ham, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, tossed salad, Sicilian Spaghetti and meatballs, Garlic Bread. Also making Wassail, another family tradition (see recipe below). I will also make a sausage, egg, cheese and mushroom breakfast casserole for brunch.

Saturday- leftovers

Sunday- Ham Bone Soup with carrots, celery, beans, broccoli, spinach, and herbs.

How to Make Herbal Wassail

Wassail is a traditional German drink that my family has made each Christmas for as long as I can remember. This year, I found a way to incorporate herbs into the recipe for some added health benefits.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 gallon apple cider
  
• 1 quart freshly brewed tea made with Red Raspberry leaf (3 parts), Alfalfa (2 parts), Nettle (1 part), and Dandelion (1 part)
  
• 2 cups pineapple juice
• 2 cups cranberry juice
  
• 8 cinnamon sticks
  
• 3 organic oranges, cloved
  

To Make:

1. Peel oranges, section, and put 1 clove in the middle of each section.
2. Mix juices and tea in large pot. (Or reduce quantities and put in crock pot)
3. Put cinnamon sticks and oranges in the mixture.
4. Simmer in large pot for one hour and serve. Can also be kept in crock pot all day.

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Apples. According to “SuperFoods Lifestyle” author Dr. Steven Pratt, different varieties of apples have different phytonutrients, but they all have tons of antioxidants, including flavonoids and other polyphenols, and fiber.

Avocados. Avacados are packed with good fats that are excellent for your skin, eyes and brain. These fats are necessary in our diet and have been shown to lower bad cholesterol. They also contain large amounts of fiber, potassium, magnesium, folate and antioxidants up the ante.

Beans. Some are better than others, but in general, beans are packed with lean protein and fiber. They have a lot of potassium, B vitamins, and antioxidants.

Blueberries. The best of the berries, blueberries contain antioxidants like anthocyanins and other polyphenols, and carotenoids. They are low in calories, high in flavor and vitamin rich. All berries are great for antioxidants, but blueberries are the Rolls Royce of berries.

Dark chocolate. In moderation, a high quality dark chocolate is full of flavonoids, a potent antioxidant. Only dark chocolate has this, and the higher the cocoa content the better. Try to look for organic with at least 65% cocoa.

Kiwis. Who knew? Kiwis have as much potassium as bananas and as much vitamin C as citrus fruit. You can even eat the skin for antioxidants.

Oats. Oats give you fiber, protein, potassium, magnesium and other minerals, and phytonutrients, including antioxidants. Their cholesterol-lowering powers are well known, and all that fiber is also believed to help stabilize blood sugar. Oats’ combination of nutrients appears to have more healthy effects than if each nutrient were consumed separately — which seems to be true of all whole grains. And, they’re inexpensive. The best way to eat oats is to soak old fashioned whole oats in cool water for about 30 minutes and eat cool without cooking. Oats prepared this way taste great with frozen or fresh berries.

Spinach. What doesn’t spinach have? It’s loaded with lutein (great for eyes) and many other carotenoids, which are healthful antioxidants; plus other antioxidants like coenzyme Q, in serious doses; plus several B vitamins plus C and E; plus iron and other minerals; plus betaine, a vitamin-like nutrient research suggests is good for your heart. And with almost no calories, you can eat as much as you want. Also good for similar reasons: kale, chard and other dark leafy greens.

Walnuts. All nuts have been rehabbed as good-for-you foods, for their healthy fats and micronutrients. A few go a long way, though, as they are calorie bombs. Walnuts’ main claim to stardom are their omega-3 fatty acids, which fight heart disease. Other goodies: plant sterols, which lower cholesterol, and lots of antioxidants.

Yogurt. Nutritionist Jo Ann Hattner says if she could pick only two superfoods, they would be yogurt and tea, because their health-giving attributes have been known for centuries. Yogurt’s claim to fame is live cultures, also called probiotics or beneficial bacteria. They are what turns milk into yogurt (but some commercial yogurts are heated to kill the cultures after they do their work, so be sure to read the label). In your gut, they fight bad bacteria, aid digestion, help metabolize food and generally tune your system up. Yogurt also is a good source of calcium and protein.

The medical community is finally starting to pick up on how beneficial whole foods can be for you. In this recent article, scientists suggest that eating watercress daily can help reduce the risk of cancer. What a surprise! Who knew that if we ate a balanced diet containing a lot of fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds and drank enough pure filtered water, we could reduce our risk of cancer.

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