Christmas Day should not be the time to be trying new and complicated recipes for the first time. If you want to embark on a new dish, try it out beforehand and if suitable it could be frozen ready for Christmas Day, otherwise you can make another one. If you have never hosted a dinner party, try it with your family first as a celebration meal, so that you have some experience behind you.
Sit down several weeks beforehand with paper, pen and recipe books and plan your menu. Think about what you can make beforehand, to relieve the pressure on the day. This can include dishes such as Christmas pudding, Christmas cake, stuffing, mince pies. Check the recipe if it will freeze. Rich fruit cakes and puddings are best made in advance anyway. When writing out your menu, divide it into sections for making things beforehand, the day before and on the day. Ideally, the day itself should be kept for preparing the joint, vegetables and sauces. The rest of the food can be made the day before with no guarantees, but I can guarantee that it will be lovely, fresh and delicious. Ideally, by the time you have planned your menu, you should be able to tell your chef what you need in the dish and he will be able to deliver, probably in time for the first day of preparation.
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Here are some key points that you should pay attention to the day before you plan your menu.
Fresh vegetables and salad – absolutely fresh! Focus on non-veg and seafood. You can find some of these delightful vegetables and snacks at your local supermarkets, fresh in a basket, etc.
Choose supporting foods – for instance, try an organic serving of rice or pasta, rather than the fried variety.
Plan on lots of napkins and paper towels.
Make sure that you have enough cutlery and plates, linen napkins and tea towels etc.
If you are using the day off to relax, take a long walk in the afternoon and go for a picnic. However, this is a good idea only if you have plenty of food to eat and drinks to drink.
Make your own breakfast and lunch sauces and soups. You can take a bagel and fill it with soup, add some cream cheese and toppings like bell peppers, handful of deli meats, and a tomato or two. Not only will this filling and nutritious lunch be delicious, but it will help you avoid eating muffins or other repeatable carbs.
If you want to make your dinner as unusual as possible, you could make your own sushi and tofu. Get a wide variety of ingredients, like for example, Alaska salmon, avocado and flavored tuna and use your imagination to create exciting and unusual combinations of flavors.
If you have to eat dinner later than normal, make the most of leftovers. There are amazing recipes for cold salads that will help you use up the leftovers of other meals. My favorite is a tuna salad dressing. Take 2 cans of tuna and blend then add 2 cans of Medium/Sweet corn and mix together. Then add half a cup of milk, 2 tablespoons butter, a little salt, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce and 1 tablespoon dried onion soup mix and blend. These are flavors that will go with almost anything. I have basically used this dressing on every single batch of tuna pasta that I have made. Another great idea is to add a tablespoon or two of brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of paprika, some salt and pepper and a tablespoon of olive oil. Then add your tuna and corn. Pour this over the pasta while it is heating.
There are many other creative ways that you can incorporate tacos into your healthy life. Next time you go to the store, try some new ideas that will help you increase your satisfaction with your meal. Just remember that if you are satisfied with your meal, it is a good sign that you might want to indulge in the rest of the day with more of healthy foods.
Blue corn and black bean salad
Buffalo chicken salad
Cauliflower and Broccoli Casserole
Fruit salad with Nectarines
Farm salad with Turnips, Celery and Morel
Honeydew melon with orange chunks, Granny Smith apples and pears
Jicama and Mango Salad
Kale and Grapefruit Salad
Mashed.
