Christmastime breakfast
Hearty and healthy fuel for the busy holiday season
Food has always played an important role during celebrations and holidays. These occasions allow us to sit with others to connect and share cultural and food traditions. Sticking to our healthy eating habits during these times can sometimes be challenging. If you find yourself straying from your normal eating habits, consider keeping in mind these tips:
- Whenever possible, whether hosting or attending an event, choose or offer dishes made with whole foods.
- Next, try to be mindful and enjoy your food. During gatherings, there’s often a lot going on and it’s easy to get distracted while eating.
- Know that eating foods you like without judgment can help you develop a healthy attitude about food. When it comes to less healthy food choices, instead of feeling like you’re missing out, it’s okay to indulge in a smaller portion and take some time to savour it.
- Finally, try to think beyond celebrating with food and try to celebrate instead with an activity that gets you moving: go for a walk, strap on some ice skates, or play your favourite tunes and dance.
Christmas morning can be a special, if not busy, time of the season. While it’s nice to celebrate with food that’s a little more special than your everyday fare, it’s also important that it be healthy to ensure you remain energized and satisfied throughout the morning. The following recipes all fit these criteria and are sure to start your morning off right.
This puffed pancake is the perfect start to a holiday morning. Unlike traditional pancakes, this one only requires a quick stint in the oven to produce a lovely soufflé effect that sinks soon after it leaves the oven. Its pillowy sunken middle lends itself to cradle all kinds of toppings, either sweet or savoury. Here, we went with a seasonal cranberry compote spiked with some citrus. However, feel free to adorn as you like.
Gingerbread is a quintessential holiday flavour that lends itself to a variety of applications both sweet and savoury. Here we showcase it in a make-ahead breakfast that is crowned with warm caramelized pears and toasted nuts. The combination of warm and cold elevates this breakfast from a simple bowl of oatmeal into something a little special, fit for the holidays. Feel free to double or triple the recipe should you need to feed a larger crowd.
A popular breakfast dish throughout the Middle East, shakshuka is traditionally made by poaching eggs in a spicy tomato sauce. Here, we’ve shaken things up by replacing the eggs with seasoned and seared tofu, and we’ve included an extra helping of protein by adding crispy spiced chickpeas to fuel you up for a busy day ahead.
Inspired by a classic Swedish treat, these rolls are the perfect breakfast pastry when you’re looking to impress. While classic breakfast rolls can take the better part of a day to assemble and bake, these rolls come together quickly and easily in about an hour, leaving you with more time to pursue other holiday endeavours.
Quiches are the blank canvas of the breakfast world. There are so many ways to flavour them, depending on what is seasonally available and your taste. Here, we’ve kept it simple with spinach and some smoked gouda cheese. The crowning glory, though, is the simple pepper relish served on top of each slice. The bright acidity cuts through the richness of the quiche and will keep you coming back for bite after bite.
