Healthy festive recipes: diabetes-friendly and family-friendly!

It’s mid-December, which means we’re all ready to kick back, relax and feast with our friends and family… But does December have to be decadent? Not with the right recipes! Leanne Kiezer, Pick n Pay’s dietician, has shared some delicious and healthy festive recipes with us. Here’s to happy holidays (and happy blood sugar!)

Mediterranean-style Chicken Bake

Serves 4
Ingredients

• Non-stick cooking spray
• 8 skinless chicken thighs, on the bone
• Juice and zest of 1 lemon
• Pinch of salt
• 2 red onions, peeled and cut into crescents
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 2.5 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup wild rice
• 250 g cocktail tomatoes
• 10 Kalamata olives
• 3 tbsp. oregano, chopped

Method

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees
• Grease a casserole dish with non-stick spray
• Place chicken, lemon, salt, onion and garlic into the dish, and toss to combine
• Roast for about 15 minutes
• Add the remaining ingredients, and continue to roast for 25 minutes, or until cooked through
• Scatter with oregano before serving

Grape, Goats Cheese and Red Onion Stuffed Sweet Potatoe

Serves 4
Ingredients

• 4 large sweet potatoes
• 20 ml olive oil
• Pinch of salt and pepper
• 2 cups seedless red grapes
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 1 red onion, cut into wedges
• 200g goats cheese

Method

• Place sweet potatoes on a baking tray. Rub with oil, salt and pepper
• Bake for 20 – 30 minutes until almost cooked through
• Toss grapes, rosemary and onion on baking tray with sweet potatoes
• Bake for 10 more minutes
• Slit sweet potatoes down the middle and scoop out some flesh
• Mash with half the goats cheese. Season, and spoon back into cavity
• Top sweet potatoes with remaining goats cheese, grapes, onion and rosemary bits

Buttery Shredded Brussel Sprouts

Serves 4
Ingredients

• 20ml canola oil
• 300g Brussel sprouts, finely shredded
• 5ml lemon zest
• 50g pecan nuts, toasted
• 100g Pecorino cheese, grated
• Pinch of salt and pepper

Method

• Heat oil in a large frying pan and fry Brussel sprouts until wilted
• Toss through remaining ingredients and serve

Ricotta, Walnut and Butternut Salad

Serves 1
Salad ingredients

• 150 g butternut cubes, roasted
• 125 ml ricotta, crumbled
• 30 g walnuts, toasted
• 2 gem lettuce, shredded
• 1 bulb fennel, finely sliced

Dressing ingredients

• 5ml olive oil
• 15ml balsamic vinegar

Method

• Toss salad ingredients together
• Whisk oil and vinegar together
• Dress and season salad just before serving

Need more inspiration? Check out more diabetes-friendly recipes or our free cookbook. Don’t forget to take a pic if you make any of these healthy festive recipes for your Christmas feast, and share it with us on Facebook! We’d love to see…