GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Grace Derocha, registered dietitian, certified diabetes educator and health coach with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan joined us on the morning to share some healthy holiday recipes.
Recipes:
Seven Layer Mediterranean Dip
Ingredients
· Hummus – homemade or store bought
· Labneh or plain Greek yogurt
· 1-2 artichoke hearts, chopped
· 2-4 tomatoes, de-seeded and chopped
· ~2 Cucumbers, de-seeded and chopped
· 1 cup Kalamata olives or black olives, de-seeded and chopped
· 2-4 roasted red peppers, chopped
· 6 oz. of feta cheese
· Parsley, chopped
Instructions
1. Layer hummus on the bottom of a square or rectangular dish.
2. Mix 2 ounces of feta cheese with 2 cups of Labneh or plain Greek yogurt. Then layer on top of hummus.
3. Then layer various chopped vegetables on top.
4. Serve with vegetables, pita chips or bread. Enjoy!
Quick Baked Pears
Ingredients
· 2 large pears
· 2 tsp. brown sugar
· 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
· 1/4 cup apple juice
· 1/2 cup dried cranberries or dried fruit mixture of your choice
· 1/4 cup low-fat granola
· Vanilla frozen yogurt or low-fat whipped cream – optional
Instructions
1. Cut in half lengthwise. Remove core and seeds, creating a hollow space. Try using a melon baller or grapefruit spoon.
2. Place pear halves, with hollowed core sides up, in a glass pie plate. Combine sugar and cinnamon with apple juice until sugar is dissolved. Carefully spoon mixture evenly and spread along each pear half.
3. Combine dried fruit and granola; mound into hollows of the pear halves. Pour the apple juice in and around pear halves. Cover dish loosely with wax paper.
4. Cook in microwave on HIGH 6-8 minutes or until the pears are tender when pierced with a knife. Let stand in the dish 5 minutes. You can also bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes at 400 degrees F. Use a large spoon to transfer the pears to serving plates.
5. Drizzle juices from pie plate over pears and serve with frozen yogurt or whipped cream. Enjoy!
