Seasonal December Foods and Recipes

Whilst the weather may be getting bleeker, the good news is your food doesn’t need to. December certainly allows you to eat the rainbow with seasonal foods ranging from garnet beets to saffron orange clementines.

December is full of seasonal greens:

• Brussel sprouts

• Celery

• Leeks

• Mint

• Cress

Whether you are entertaining on Boxing Day, serving a champagne mojito to making the most out of the leftover brussels with a brussel sprout remoulade Christmas is a great reason to share your love for food with family and friends. If you love to eat seasonally you can include some of the seasonal greens by dressing up your Christmas Eve canapes with some cress or serving a heart warming leek or celery soup.

If you are looking for a hearty bowl of soup for either entertaining at a dinner party or hiding away on a cold winters day, some of the seasonal foods for December including lemons, beets, mushrooms and celery can make some fantastic soup options:

• Lemon Chicken Chickpea Soup

• Easy Beetroot Soup

• Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup

• Celery Soup

For me, December is a great opportunity for a big family roast dinner and delicious homemade puddings including pies and crumbles. Fruits that are in season during December include apples, pears, quinces and clementines. My recent blog shared all the health benefits of using a slow cooker, did you know you can make desserts in a slow cooker too? If you are looking to wow your dinner guests this December and want to reduce the washing up try this slow cooker poached cinnamon and vanilla quinces.

My Nutritionist top tip for seasonal cooking this December is to pick 2-3 fruit and vegetables you haven’t tried before or for a while and add new recipes to your collection. If you are entertaining family and friends, make sure you try the recipe before you cook for others to help reduce the stress!

Written by Jade Mottley - Human Nutrition MSc & Sport Science BSc

References

1. https://food.unl.edu/article/healthy-bites/healthy-meals-using-slow-cooker

2. https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/slow-cookers-and-how-use-them

3. https://www.bda.uk.com/resource/are-we-achieving-5-a-day.html

4. https://www.wildnutrition.com/blogs/recipes/slowly-does-it-the-benefits-of-slow-cooking?currency=GBP