Good morning. If you’re spending all your energy hosting and/or cooking for family, we’ve got your back with simple recipe ideas to tide you over between time-intensive and heavy holiday meals.

RECIPE BREAKDOWN🤯

Two healthy meals for surviving the holidays

This time of year everyone is telling you what to make for the holidays, but equally as important for your stomach is what are you going to eat around those holiday meals.

If you’re looking for a few ideas on the lighter side to tide you over between feasts, here are two types of meals to consider:

1) Handheld wraps

Components

• Wrap, tortilla, or flatbread of choice

• Sauces/condiments of choice: yogurt, hummus, hot sauce, etc

• Fresh veg: greens, onions, tomatoes, cucumners, etc

• Protein: ground meat, grilled protein, etc

Check out this Spiced Lamb Wrap example:

2) Simple stir-fries

Components

• Protein: Chicken, lean pork, steak, or tofu

• Aromatics: ginger, scallions, or garlic

• Sauce: soy sauce & a sprinkle of sugar + starch slurry as needed

• Optionally serve over rice or add in greens like peppers or bok choy.

Check out this Chicken & Ginger Stir Fry example:

RECIPE RECOMMENDATIONS ✅

Other healthy meals…

If you need more ideas for healthy meals to eat around the holidays, here is a bigger collection of some of our favorites:

FOOD TRENDS 🚀

Tapas style dining

Are we doing it wrong it the states?

Americans have bar hopping, but Spaniards have tapas: a culture of ordering bites at multiple establishments in one night.

Can this ever happen in the US? Right now, it seems counter-cultural incompatible with US dining customs:

• Generally, you’re expected to order a full meal worth at a single restaurant. Not ordering enough (say sitting down and ordering a single small appetizer for a group of four) could be seen as inappropriate.

• In the States, people are accustomed to eating one thing for a meal, albeit a larger portion.

To contrast this eating style with a night in San Sebastian, a group of friends might hit 3-6 food establishments, and order pinxtos, a single type of food at each: anchovies at one, fried croquetas at another, sauteed mushrooms next, then garlic shrimp, on to a favorite jamón stop, then finish the night for churros.

Variety and small quantity, sampling and snacking, are how that goes. This requires, of course, a street dense with purveyors, within walking distance, and with quick service specializing in a single or curated menu of foods. And a business model that is okay with turnover and smaller bills.

This is beginning to happen as U.S. cities become more walkable and come closer to replicating the European model (Spain is famous for this type of eating, but you could do the same in France, Italy, and Portugal, among others):

• In Portland’s Hawthorne neighborhood, a walkable section of Division street has encouraged establishments to add bistro street seating and open their doors for casual drop-ins, for instance.

So do Europeans have it figured out? Should this style of eating become more accepted in the States?

READER Q&A 🧠

Beignets vs zeppoles

Answer: Americans known of beignets, but Europeans are often just as familiar with zeppoles, a similar fried dough dessert. They are both delicious, but with some key differences—

Beignets are:

• French in origin, but popularized by way of New Orleans

• Usually shaped like small square pillows that puff up during frying.

• Served with a simple dusting of powdered sugar

Zeppole are:

• An Italian treat (ciao, bella!)

• Typically round, and smaller, similar in size to doughnut holes

• Can be filled with custard, jelly, or cannoli cream

Both start with a similar, enriched fry dough. Beignets are usually cut & shaped before frying to get that iconic form, while zeppoles are often just spooned or piped directly into the oil. They are both worth making at home, but zeppole’s less exact shape makes them easier to execute.

Have a culinary question? Reply to send it in for a chance to be featured and get your question answered.

WINNING READER SUBMISSION 🏆

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This week’s dinner winner is Cameron S., who made cooked Ethan’s Sunday Roasted Chicken with Peruvian-inspired green sauce to perfection. Well done!

Reply with your best home-cooked food photos for a chance to win & be featured!

EXTRA HELPINGS 🍽️

A read: How Many People Does it Take to Make a Potato Pizza

In a minute or less: Viral Paris Olympics Muffins

What we’re watching: Sommolier Tries 12 Non-Alcoholic Beverages

Food science: Food reactions 101: Dehydration

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