one green planet
one green planet

It’s almost Hanukkah and that means eight days and nights of festivities and food. However, the traditional dishes eaten at Hanukkah are not the healthiest. The holiday celebrates the victory of the Maccabees over the Syrian Greeks. When the Maccabees rededicated the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, they only had enough oil to burn for one day but a miracle occurred and the oil burned for 8 days. Fried foods such as latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts) became the traditional fare for Hanukkah because they are cooked in oil and remind us of the great miracle that happened there.

It is also customary to eat cheesy foods on Hanukkah. This is based on the Book of Judith in which a woman helped conquer an Assyrian warrior by feeding him salty cheese which made him thirsty, and wine to make him drunk. After he was drunk, she beheaded him with his sword. Talk about a hangover! In honor of Judith’s bravery, cheese, and dairy foods became part of the traditional dishes of Hanukkah.

So how do we honor the great traditions of the holiday without revolting against our bodies and our health? Well, it doesn’t take a miracle to make some small changes in the way we eat which could lead to some big changes in how we feel.

1. Swap out the dairy

Dairy products can be replaced with plant-based versions. Try dairy-free sour cream and nut-based or tapioca-based cheeses. So much progress has been made in this area. Vegan sour creams and cream cheeses are rich and creamy while vegan cheeses come in many flavors and melt! There are numerous types of dairy-free kinds of milk available: soy, rice, almond, coconut, and hemp. They are delicious and contain less fat and calories than dairy milk. Of course, you can buy these vegan products or you can make them yourself. Try making this Vegan Coconut Sour Cream, Cashew Coconut Cream Cheese, and Garlic Herb Avocado Cashew Cream Cheese. Want to make your vegan milk? Learn How to Make Homemade Unsweetened Coconut Milk, How to Make the Ultimate Homemade Cashew Milk, How to Milk an Almond, and How to Make Peanut Milk. If you’re ready to join the trend of making your vegan cheese, we are here to help. Check out These 10 Vegan Cheeses Will Make You Quit Dairy Forever for the recipes.

2. Who needs eggs?

Most recipes say to use eggs as a binder but they are not necessary for making delicious latkes or other dishes. Eggs can be easily replaced. To replace 1 large egg:

a.  Use an egg replacer according to the package directions

b.  Use 4 tablespoons of pureed silken tofu plus 1 teaspoon baking powder

c.  Use 4 tablespoons of unsweetened fruit puree plus 1 teaspoon baking powder

d.  Use 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed or chia seeds mixed with 3 tablespoons of warm water and let sit until thickened.

For more tips, read How to Cook and Bake Without Eggs and How to Replace Eggs in All Your Favorite Foods.

3. Limit the amount of oil and frying

Just because Hanukkah celebrates the miracle of oil, doesn’t mean we have to consume vats of it. Instead of deep-frying, we can pan-fry foods or use natural cooking oil sprays. Or we could even bake latkes and doughnuts instead of frying them. Yes, you read that right – I said bake instead of fry! Nothing in the Hanukkah story mentions frying foods. Baking still uses oil and just like the miracle of that time, we should try to make one day’s worth of oil last eight nights! It’s possible to make baked latkes like these Vegan Latkes with Gluten-Free and Baked Variations. Try these Easy Baked Doughnuts, Baked Blueberry Doughnuts, and Pumpkin Spice Doughnut Holes for healthier baked treats.

4. When you do use oil, choose healthy oils

While all oils have the same calories per tablespoon, they are not all equally healthy. Blended oils, shortenings made with partially hydrogenated oils and chemically extracted oils are not healthy. Polyunsaturated oils, such as corn oil or soybean oil, contain too many omega-6 fatty acids, which people should limit in their diets.

Instead, we should choose oils that are high in omega-3 fatty acids, monounsaturated and oleic acids. Choose coconut oils, cold-pressed olive oils, and expeller-pressed organic canola oils over the refined blends. Read about the 10 Amazing Benefits of Coconut Oil and How to Infuse Your Own Olive Oil with Herbs and Spices. For the best advice, check out The Best Plant-Based Oils for Cooking, Baking, and Dressing Making, and Learn to Fry Food the Right Way by Following These Tips.

5. Swap out white potatoes for sweet potatoes

When making dishes such as latkes, choose sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes. While both types of potatoes have nutritional value, sweet potatoes have higher values of Vitamin A and beta carotene. Sweet potatoes are rich in carotenoids that help the body respond to insulin. They are also lower on the glycemic index scale and an excellent source of Vitamin C. To see how delicious they can be, try making these Sweet Potato Latkes with Chutney Sour Cream, Curried Apple, Onion, and White Bean Topping.

6. Or just skip the potatoes and be creative

Who says latkes have to be made with just potatoes? You can cut down on the amount of potatoes you use by adding other shredded vegetables such as zucchini, carrots, or yellow squash. Or you can leave out the potatoes altogether and make latkes out of zucchini, parsnips, or my new favorite, Brussels sprouts. The way I see it, the healthier my latkes are, the more of them I can eat! Try these Harvest Latkes that are made with potatoes and rutabagas.

7. Whole grains and Macca-beets

Include healthier choices in your other holiday dishes. If you make noodle kugel or any other pasta dish, choose whole-grain pasta like whole wheat, brown rice, or quinoa pasta. You can also use vegetables and beans as noodles. Switch Up Your Pasta Game – How to Use Spiralized Veggies as Noodles and How to Make Bean Pastas will tell you how. Ditch the refined white flour and go for the protein and fiber-rich choices of whole-grain flour like whole wheat, chickpea, brown rice, amaranth, or teff. Swap out the white rice for healthier whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, and bulgur. Your Guide for Cooking Perfect Whole Grains will make it foolproof.

Entrees can also be made healthier. Why celebrate a holiday by clogging your arteries and intestines with meat dishes? This is the perfect time of year to get beautiful and delicious root and winter vegetables like beets, parsnips, celery root, turnips, kale, pumpkin, and squashes galore! Make these colorful and healthy foods the stars of your Hanukkah table. This is a good time to try cooking with these 10 Under-Appreciated Veggies You Should Be Eating.

8. When going for the gelt, go for the gold

What’s Hanukkah without gelt, the chocolate coins used when playing dreidel, or for that matter, chocolate dreidels? Not fun, that’s what but guess what? Chocolate is healthy…when you choose the right one. Instead of milk chocolate, indulge (in moderation) with dark chocolate. Flavanols, which are more prevalent in dark chocolate, have antioxidant effects that reduce cell damage implicated in heart disease. Dark chocolate has been shown to lower blood pressure and improve vascular function, possibly reducing the risks of diabetes, stroke, and heart attack. Choose dark chocolate with a cocoa content of 65 percent or higher but limit how much you eat because it still has significant calories (up to 450 calories for 3 ounces). Learn How to Make Homemade Raw Dark Chocolate and then make this No-Bake Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Pie, Mayim Bialik’s Secret Dark Chocolate Cookies, and this Special Dark Chocolate Vegan Cake.

As you can see, making small changes can add up to a lot of health benefits. Try making one change for each night of Hanukkah. It will be the best gift you could give to yourself and your loved ones.

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