Thanksgiving is about gathering and gratitude, and it doesn’t necessarily mean you need to eat unhealthfully and throw caution to the wind. It is possible to nourish yourself (and your friends and family) during the holidays—whether at the turkey feast or at a Christmas cocktail party.

Here, Fortytude exemplar and Manhattan-based AADP culinary nutritionist Amie Valpone shares how you can stay healthy this holiday season, along with some tasty recipes to get you there. Amy is the CEO of the gluten-free blog, The Healthy Apple and Publisher of Easy Eats, an online gluten-free magazine.

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Why is it that most of us who attempt healthy eating during the holiday season get thrown off the bandwagon before we even have a chance to sit down to Thanksgiving dinner? This time of the year we’re running around housing guests, buying gifts, baking 20 kinds of holiday cookies, taking the kids to the Christmas pageant and trying to decorate the house.  It seems everywhere you turn there’s someone offering you a glass of wine or a box of fancy chocolates; I’ve even encountered this while shopping in a clothing store.  Not only is it difficult to avoid these free goodies, but every food store aisle, TV ad and holiday gathering displays a vast array of tempting, processed treats that are screaming at you to bite in and savor their sugary goodness.

The holiday season can be quite stressful for many of us and we need to keep ourselves healthy with enough energy to care for our own bodies and our family.  This time of the year is about nurturing yourself and your body so that you’re able to make your holiday season enjoyable and healthy.  It’s essential that we eat wholesome, fresh, Clean foods that are minimally processed for maximum nutrition.  I use the word Clean to describe the food I eat as well as the food I recommend to my clients because these are the foods that our bodies need more of no matter what time of year.  I like to include whole gluten-free grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes nuts and seeds, which are soaring with nutrients and pack a powerful nutritional punch.  Eating Clean is not the same for everyone.  For some it may be cutting out fake sweeteners while for others it may be eating straight from the farmer’s market.  Now I’m not asking you to go from candy bars to kale overnight; what’s important is to not follow some silly fad diet or drastically cut calories as this will only lead you back to square one.  My goal is to teach you how to eat Clean and feel good about what you’re putting in your mouth because it will end up determining how you feel in the long run.   Arm yourself with the tools you need to create flavorful and nourishing meals and snacks for you and your family so you can all feel energized and enjoy the holiday season.

Eating clean isn’t about jumping from one extreme to another. It’s about lifestyle.  Take a good look at what you are currently eating.  Are there enough colors in your meals and snacks? Are you incorporating all flavors such as bitter, sour, salty and sweet? Take a gander at your pantry and fridge and jot down a list of fun vegetables and lean proteins that you can use to cook once, eat twice.  What do I mean by this? Well, how about whipping up a batch of quinoa or wild rice on Sunday night, store it in sealable containers in your fridge and use throughout the week as porridge for breakfast, atop your lunchtime salads and into your dinner stir-fries. You can even get creative and create a rice pudding with cinnamon and honey.  So, essentially you are cooking once on Sunday night and you’re able to enjoy the food numerous times in your meals and snacks for a quick go-to when you’re in a time crunch.

I work with many clients and take them on food store tours where I introduce them to new vegetables such as rainbow Swiss chard, fennel and leeks.  Take these beautiful greens, steam them on the stovetop and serve warm with a drizzle of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sea salt and sesame seeds.  Easy, quick and delicious.  Again, you can cook this up on Sunday night and enjoy it all week long.

I like to serve jicama, zucchini and asparagus with hummus, salsa and Greek yogurt for an afternoon snack or I’ll toss these ingredients into a corn tortilla and wrap it up for a mini-burrito meal.  Why not toss some of that cooked quinoa or wild rice in there for an extra fiber boost?  Fresh herbs can do wonders for your taste buds.  Say good-bye to fake sweeteners and welcome in some fresh cilantro, basil, dill, marjoram and rosemary.  Clean the herbs, chop ‘em up and wrap them in a damp, clean dish towel; then store in a Ziploc bag or sealable container to use for salads, eggs, chicken/tofu/turkey dishes, stir-fries, oatmeal, hot tea, sandwiches, desserts and grilled vegetable dishes.  If you’re anything like me and you buy a pretty bushel of cilantro – toss it directly into the fridge and every time you want some, you don’t want to go through the hassle of cleaning, chopping and drying the herbs, right? Right. So, why not take this quick step; clean and chop then store in the fridge so they’re an easy grab n’ go with a handful here and a handful there. Here are a few of my favorite gluten-free healthy eating tips that you can use to help you get through the holiday madness without reaching for a Snickers bar or another helping of Grandma’s apple pie.

It’s important to eat before you arrive at a dinner party or holiday gathering and be mindful of what you’re consuming.  You don’t want to end up famished when you walk in as you’ll be more likely to chug a glass or two of eggnog, down the fried appetizers and eyeball the desserts before you realize you’ve just consumed way too many over-processed, unhealthy and unclean foods.  Do your body a favor and take a deep breath this holiday season; walk into your food store with your head held high and bypass all those scary packaged and processed goodies screaming your name in every aisle.  Instead, simply visit the produce section and purchase a few Clean foods of a different color or taste that’s missing in your lifestyle.  Not getting enough greens? Reach for bok choy, collard greens, broccoli and watercress.  Yearning for something on the sweeter side? Try a sweet potato, beets, daikon radish, butternut squash, pumpkin, jicama or fresh coconut.

Don’t deprive yourself of the foods you love, simply focus on feeling good about yourself and bringing in more Clean foods into your daily eats one at a time. These slow changes are sure to get you on the Clean eating bandwagon in no time.

Gluten-Free ‘Clean Eating’ Tips:

• No need to reach for processed, packaged foods
  • Create sweet or savory snack depending on what you are in the mood for
    • Sweet: Sliced raw zucchini drizzled with agave nectar, chopped fresh basil, cinnamon and chili powder
    • Savory: Sliced steamed eggplant with a spread of hummus, salsa, fresh cilantro and a sprinkle of cumin
  • Create sweet or savory meal depending on what you are in the mood for
    • Sweet: Roasted Brussels sprouts with black rice dipped into a sauce of  balsamic vinegar, almond butter and mashed avocado
    • Savory: Grilled squash filled with quinoa, steamed rainbow chard, pumpkin puree, dulse (seaweed) flakes, coriander, fresh rosemary and ground cashews

Wishing you all a very happy Clean holiday season.  Here are a few Gluten-Free and Vegan recipes that are purely made from Clean food, easy to whip up and will be enjoyed by your guests as appetizers or served with the main course.

For more healthy, Clean and gluten-free recipes, you can visit my blog, The Healthy Apple at www.TheHealthyApple.com and my gluten-free magazine, Easy Eats.

Roasted Beet and Edamame Hummus

Gluten-Free and Vegan

• 2 medium roasted beets, peeled and chopped
• 1 cup edamame, cooked
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup tahini sesame seed paste
• Juice and zest of one lemon
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 1/4 cup cooked chickpeas
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for thinning the hummus
• Gluten-Free crackers, for serving

Place all ingredients except for the chickpeas and olive oil in a food processor or blender.
Pulse until well blended.
Add the chickpeas and olive oil and pulse until just incorporated.
Add more olive oil as necessary for blending the chickpeas into a paste, or to thin out the hummus to a thinner consistency.
Serve with gluten-free cracker and crudités.

Guacamole-Stuffed Peppers

Gluten-Free and Vegan

• 6 red bell peppers
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 3 ripe avocados, peeled, pitted and chopped
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
• 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 teaspoon minced fresh jalapeño chile
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Cut a thin slice from stem end of each pepper and scoop out and discard seeds with a small spoon. Carefully scoop out pulp to form a pepper shell.
Drizzle inside of each pepper shell with lime juice.  Set aside while making guacamole. Mash avocados with a fork in a bowl. Fold in chopped onion, cilantro, chile, and salt, then spoon into pepper shells.
Serve chilled.

Eggplant Tapenade with Rice Crackers

Gluten-Free and Vegan

• 1 large eggplant
• 2 Roma large tomatoes , seeded and chopped
• 1 cup chopped zucchini , minced
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped green onion
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 medium garlic cloves , minced
• 1 tbsp fresh basil , finely chopped
• 2 tsp fresh oregano , finely chopped
• 1 tsp fresh thyme , finely chopped
• 1/8 tsp freshly ground white pepper
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1 package Gluten-Free rice crackers

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Poke holes in surface of eggplant with fork. Place in shallow baking pan.
Bake for 25 minutes or until tender. Set aside to cool.
Peel and discard skin. Finely chop eggplant. Place in colander, and press to squeeze out excess liquid.
Combine eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, green onions, vinegar, oil, honey, garlic, basil, oregano, thyme, and black pepper in large bowl. Mix well.
Refrigerate 2 hours to allow flavors to blend.
Stir in the pine nuts just before serving. Spread on rice crackers and serve.

Roasted Fennel Bruschetta

Gluten-Free and Vegan

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 fennel bulbs, cut horizontally into 1/3-inch thick slices, fronds reserved
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup freshly shredded Parmesan
  • 1 baguette Gluten-Free French bread
  • 1/4 cup olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Lightly oil the bottom of a 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Arrange the fennel in the dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then with the Parmesan. Drizzle with the oil. Bake until the fennel is fork-tender and the top is golden brown, about 45 minutes. Chop enough fennel fronds to equal 3 teaspoons, then sprinkle over the roasted fennel and serve.

Align the bread on a serving platter, olive oil side up. Either place the roasted fennel topping in a bowl separately with a spoon for people to serve themselves over the bread, or place on each slice of bread and serve.