WHAT’S UP FOR DINNER?

I just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and, while I’m at it, share some of my dietary plans for today and tomorrow…

Even though I have ideas, I usually don’t stick to them — I always cook based on what’s in my fridge. Today, though, is a unique day.

I’m not sure whether this is true for everyone, but in our family, we’ve always eaten vegan on the 24th…

I mean, I know there are 40 days to fast and eat entirely vegan before Christmas, but we normally take the easy way out and eat vegan just on the 24th.

This evening has always been a bit frightening to me since I was little. What am I going to do if I don’t eat chicken, milk, cheese, or butter? Why must I suffer so close to Christmas? The bread was my best bet for a vegan dinner back then. And, most likely, beans. But how about supper with an odd number of courses (greater than 5)? Impossible.

Now that I’m older, more creative, more wonderful (- pfff), I have so many vegan ideas in my brain that I can’t possibly decide. In fact, I can’t think of any concepts that include meat. So, I’m guessing it’ll be a vegan Christmas dinner. Vegan HO, HO, HO.

And it’ll be fairly delicious, given that I’ve been eating poorly, horribly, terribly the previous two weeks (even though I shared with you my plan on how to not overeat during the holidays a few weeks ago). I didn’t overeat, but I did consume a lot of sweets and pastries. I’ve been absent for a long due to a family gathering and haven’t been taking care of myself (- can you hear me crying and drowning in self-pity?). Anyway, now that I’m sick of junk food and SUGAR, I’m actually looking forward to eating properly again. Don’t you just love it when you’re so inspired to alter your whole life, only to find yourself clutching a pizza again after a few days? My advice is to embrace and cherish such times for as long as possible. Even if you fall for that sweet-talking pizza, you’ll be able to return to eating healthily more readily.

Btw. If you’ve been eating too much and not eating very well, you may be interested in this wonderful article from Opti Derma on natural ways to avoid stomach troubles over the holidays. I haven’t tried all of the treatments, but my favorite is warm water with lemon. I also add fresh ginger to minimize inflammation, which I need to start doing again right now.

Here’s what’s for supper in the next few days:

APPETIZERS

MANY DIP & SAUCE OPTIONS

Dips and sauces, in my opinion, are what make a meal really excellent. You have a fantastic supper if you have a great sauce/dip. It has been scientifically confirmed. It isn’t, but it should be.

You could drench everything in that sauce and be perfectly content.

When I was at a friend’s house for supper, she served the most wonderful sesame garlic sauce. I accepted the offer and have not regretted it in the least. I drenched every morsel of my meal in it. Was the remainder of the meal noteworthy? No way (and I hope my friend will never read this). But this sauce…oh, it haunts me at all hours of the day and night. It added a particular touch to that supper. It adds to the uniqueness of my dreams. I know it’s an interesting tale. But, as someone who is really particular about food and never says anything is wonderful, this means a lot to me.

I’d probably eat this sauce for the rest of my life if it wasn’t prepared with mayonnaise and sugar. I attempted to make it healthier, but it tasted very, really bad. I mean, really.

I’ll be cooking a bunch of vegan and veggie dips today and tomorrow. I’ve purchased soft tortillas and am ready to head to taste bud nirvana. I’m sure I’ll come up with more dips along the road, and I’ll post the finest ones here later, but for now, here’s what I’ve got planned:

These are just a handful of my favorites; there will be hummus and I’m thinking about preparing something with olives. If they work out well, I’ll post the recipes as soon as it’s light enough outdoors to take a decent photo.

SALADS

Salads are another item I like making when it’s time for a formal supper. They provide so much variety, freshness, and delight that it’s difficult to say no to a superb salad. A lousy salad is easy to dismiss, but a salad with chickpeas or other beans is always a winner. I’m considering serving these as an appetizer with the dips and tortillas.

After such an appetizer, I’m sure I’ll be full.

MAIN

For the time being, I’m rather certain. It’ll be a lentil bowl like this one. Tomorrow, maybe some risotto, such as this one with salmon that was recently featured on Greatest, along with other great, fast, and simple risotto meals. You can read the post and find additional risotto recipes here. Because I don’t have any fish at the moment, I may make the risotto vegan.

DESSERT

There is no question in my mind regarding the dessert. I’ve even purchased the one fruit I despise — apples. I’m going to make my gorgeous apple crumble mini pies. But I’m thinking of filling some of them with cherries. This is by far my favorite healthy dessert dish on Beauty Bites right now. I’d rather have this apple crumble pie than an unhealthy dessert any day.

And that’s it for now; if the weather and my stretch pants permit, I could go out after supper. I wish you, everyone, a Merry Christmas and hope to “see” you next week with some new dishes and tales.