The High Holy Days are filled with wonderful gatherings of family, friends and, typically, an abundance of rich, heavy foods.
Whether you have dietary restrictions, or are vegan or vegetarian, you can still honor the holiday meal by eating in a way that feels healthy without compromising flavor and tradition.
Growing up, board-certified nutritionist Dawn Lerman always looked forward to the Jewish holidays, as they were pretty much the only times they had real food in the house or ate together as a family.
“My ad man dad, who often tipped the scale at 450 pounds, only wanted to eat food that had a marketing promise of weight loss attached to it,” Lerman, author of “My Fat Dad: A Memoir of Food, Love and Family, With Recipes.” “My mom, a feminist, was allergic to anything that was domestic.”
During the holidays Lerman and her mother would cook together, recreating her maternal grandmother Beauty’s old-world recipes
Over the years, Lerman tweaked her grandmother’s recipes, adding a modern flare, while incorporating her dad’s rotating diets and the dietary restrictions of her family and friends.
If you are looking for a delicious satisfying appetizer bursting with antioxidants to brighten your holiday table, Lerman’s sweet potato hummus is bursting with flavor and texture.
“Because of its high protein and fiber content, it will also help control your appetite,” Lerman said. “My dad named it the caviar of hummus, exclaiming that it was almost illegal for something so nutritious to be this delicious.”
Sweet Potato Hummus
1 large sweet potato (about 9 ounces)
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
5 Tbsp olive oil (plus additional, as needed, for thinning)
2 Tbsp tahini
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp kosher salt
Pinch of nutmeg
Position the baking rack in the middle and heat the oven to 425°F.
Wrap the sweet potato in foil and bake in a shallow baking pan, until it can be easily pierced with a knife, about 45 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow the potato to cool completely.
Peel the skin off the sweet potato and transfer to a food processor fitted with a blade.
Add the chickpeas, olive oil, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, coriander, cumin, salt and nutmeg, and process until smooth.
If the hummus is too thick, add a little extra olive oil or water and process until the desired consistency is reached. I like it a little on the chunky side.
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Stuffed cabbage is the ultimate comfort food, and is perfect for a holiday or any meal.
“It is filled with protein and rice that is slowly braised in a sweet and sour sauce,” Lerman said. “My version uses ground turkey and cauliflower rice, retaining all the tradition while making it a bit more heart healthy.”
In the recipe are swaps that are easy to incorporate, for anyone who is vegetarian or grain-free.
Beauty’s Stuffed Cabbage
1 medium head cabbage
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 tsp garlic, minced or chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil or coconut oil
1 cup of sauteed riced cauliflower (you can also use white rice, brown rice or quinoa)
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey (for a vegetarian version, substitute Beyond Meat, lentils or sauteed tofu)
14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
10 tsp tomato paste
1/4 cup brown sugar, or sugar of choice (I like monk fruit sugar)
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Leaving the outer leaves on, wash and core the head of cabbage as best you can. Place it, cored side down, in a large pot of water containing about 3 inches of water.
Bring the pot to a boil to steam the cabbage. After the water comes to a boil, peel off the two outer leaves and set aside (do not use these for rolling)
In the meantime, in a frying pan, sauté garlic and onion in olive oil. Cool.
Sauté the riced cauliflower. Cool.
In a medium-sized bowl, mix the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and brown sugar together.
In a larger bowl, combine the protein with the rice, the onion and garlic mixture and 1/2 cup of the tomato mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Stir to blend.
To assemble the cabbage rolls: Take a cabbage leaf, add 1/3 cup meat mixture to the middle of the leaf, fold the bottom up, sides in and top over and place, folded-side down, in a baking dish.
Continue rolling until all the protein is gone. Pour tomato mixture over the rolls. Bake for one hour, covered.
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“Eating pumpkin during the High Holy Days symbolizes abundance for the year to come,” Lerman said. “Baked with cinnamon and sugar, it infuses the kugel with a caramel flavor.”
Lerman adapted her grandmother Beauty’s recipe and her vegan daughter adapted it further.
Pumpkin Kugel with a Pecan Topping
8 oz baby shell noodles (you can use gluten free)
1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter, melted, plus a little more for greasing the pan (you can substitute coconut oil)
1/4 cup of pumpkin
8 oz cottage cheese or cashew cheese
3 oz cream cheese or vegan cream cheese
3 eggs, beaten (or use an egg substitute)
4 oz of yogurt (you can also use coconut or cashew yogurt)
1 cup milk of your choice (dairy, almond, oat)
1/2 cup sugar of your choice (coconut sugar works well)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins
Chopped pecans
Toppings (optional):
A little extra cinnamon and sugar to sprinkle on top of the raw kugel
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Parboil the shells in salted water for about 4 minutes. Strain the shells and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter or coconut oil, pumpkin puree, cottage cheese, cream cheese, beaten eggs, sour cream, milk, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon.
With an electric mixer, beat until well combined. Then fold in the shells, raisins, apples, and lemon juice.
Pour into a greased, approximately 9 × 13-inch baking dish. You can sprinkle the optional toppings on top, if desired.
Bake until the custard is set and the top is golden brown, about 60 minutes. Cool and slice.
Wishing you a Happy and Healthy New Year!