acrux astonishing: Holiday Party Food and Drinks

I hope you enjoyed my video on How To Throw a Healthy Holiday Party! Over the next few days I am going to be sharing more details on the tips featured in the video starting with party food and cocktails.

A great party is nothing without delicious food for your guests to enjoy. Sadly, most holiday party fare tends to be rich and heavy. Nothing makes me feel lees like celebrating than being put into a food coma! Instead of the typical bloating holiday bites try some of my healthier ideas.?You want your guests merry, not miserable!

All of these recipes are easy to make and can be made either entirely or partially ahead of time. In the hours before you party you should be focusing on getting yourself gorgeous and party ready, not catering! The one exception is the guacamole which tastes and looks best when made fresh. However, as long as you have all of your ingredients ready to go it can be thrown together right before your guests walk in the door.

Black Truffle Salted Almond Bark?

Instead of traditional holiday cakes, candies and cookies try making this?Almond Bark. Dark chocolate is low in sugar and there is an added bonus of healthy fats and protein from the almonds.

Pomegranate Guacamole

I like to update guacamole for the holidays with the addition of pomegranate seeds,?one of the few fruits in season during the winter.? They are packed with antioxidants, have a wonderful sweet-tart taste, and the color is oh so holiday appropriate. I serve my guacamole inside of a romaine leaf, and as a dip for crudit?s!

Pesto Stuffed Mushrooms?

Stuffed mushroom caps are a party favorite. Most recipes call for breadcrumbs and tons of cheese. Gross! I stuff mine with a delicious dairy free pesto, which can be made days or weeks ahead of time and frozen. The day of your party just defrost the pesto, stuff the mushrooms and pop them in the oven a few minutes before your guests arrive. You may want to go easy on the garlic in your pesto when making these for a party. Nothing is worse than being caught in an intimate situation with garlic breath!

Food is great but let?s be honest, most people go to holiday parties for the drinks! Instead of a full bar I always serve a signature drink or two at my parties. Picking one or two speciality drinks saves you the time and money of offering a fully stocked bar. Everyone loves a great cocktail!

Almond Nog?

While delicious, traditional egg nog is loaded with sugar and fat. For my holiday gatherings I make Almond Nog with OMilk Almond Milk and a few extra spices. It?s a delicious alternative that is great on it?s own or for a more ?adult? beverage add a few ounces of rum!

Prosecco with Pomegranate

While festive, champagne is quite pricy. Instead, I like to toast with glasses of Prosecco. A few pomegranate seeds at the bottom of the glass make for a very merry glass of bubbly!

Rosemary Ginger Lemonade

I always make sure to have a special non-alcoholic drink on hand for any guests who are not drinkers. Drinking plain water at a party just doesn?t feel special. Adding fresh ginger to homemade stevia sweetened rosemary lemonade gives a spicy, savory twist!