Maybe you follow a bit of a restrictive diet, such as veganism, and want to enjoy Easter without feeling left out. Or perhaps you just want to try a menu that’s a little different this year. Here are five traditional Easter foods and how to put a spin on them.
1. Lose the Lamb
Avoid lamb (and your beef dishes) at your Easter feast if you want to make it a greener celebration: a report compared animal products in seven categories, which included impact on global warming, use of energy and land, and pesticides, and found that beef and lamb did the most harm when compared to other meats.
Substitute them with satisfying meals!
- Make your pasta ‘meatier’ by adding nutritious ingredients to it such as carrots, asparagus, coconut oil and peas. You can even add mushrooms to this mouth-watering recipe.
- You can make a delicious quinoa dish with a side-serving of chickpeas and asparagus covered in breadcrumbs. First you make the quinoa, then you sauté the asparagus in olive oil and lemon juice, before adding the other ingredients according to this recipe. What’s great about this is that it’s easy plus it’s a different way to serve your side veggies.
- Breads are a must at any holiday table, but get creative with them! How about tortillas for your Easter feast? The great thing is that you can fill them with a variety of different ingredients to make them yummy. You can make tortilla bread with just five ingredients: water, olive oil, baking soda, sea salt and spelt flour! Here’s the recipe.
2. Revitalize Your Potato Dish: Fresh Cream and Lemon Potatoes
Instead of mashed potato, try this tangy dish. Place potatoes in a large pot with two inches of water in it. Add a teaspoon of salt and lemon peel from one lemon. Set it to medium heat until they boil well. Then move the potatoes to a large bowl (throw out the lemon peel). Add three tablespoons of butter. You want to crush the potatoes a little but not completely mash them. Stir in chives, pepper and a cup of fresh cream.
If you’re vegan or have vegan guests, switch the fresh cream for a white bean puree. It’s really easy with this recipe.
You need:
3/4 cup water
1 garlic clove cut in half
1 teaspoon of chopped fresh sage
1 can of white beans
1/2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of pepper and salt
How to Make it:
1. Place the water and garlic into a saucepan and set it on the stove on high heat until it boils.
2. Throw in the beans and continue boiling it.
3. After a few minutes, drain the beans and garlic and place them in a food processor. Add in the oil and blend it well.
4. Add in some of the leftover liquid from the saucepan to help you achieve a creamy consistency.
5. Sprinkle the sage, pepper and salt.
This makes about one cup of puree. If you need more, increase the amount of your ingredients.
3. Satisfy with a Savoury Egg and Herb Charlotte
Although charlotte is a dessert, if you make it savoury you’ll be able to have it for brunch or dinner as a meal. This recipe makes use of white bread, cheese, artichoke hearts, onion, herbs, and eggs which just have to feature somewhere in your Easter menu.
4. Bring Out Your Colorful Salads
Easter is a time of great color so you want to bring that into your cooking. Although those leafy green salads are tasty, you want to make salads that are much more eye-catching and filled with nutrition. Throw in nuts, seeds, chunks of cheese, cranberries, sardines, or hard-boiled eggs.
5. Make a Healthy Carrot Cake
Carrot cake often features at Easter tables, which is great because it brings a dash of colour, but don’t get the store-bought variety – just because it tastes like carrots and might have crushed pecans on top, it’s often loaded with fat and sugar. Make your own wholegrain carrot cake. It makes use of delicious ingredients such as cream cheese, vanilla, Greek yogurt, ginger, and whole wheat flour.
Image credit: redpepper82 / Dollar Photo Club
