Taste Life Blog

Everyone loves their Valentines Day traditions, but this year, why not kick up your traditional recipes with some secret ingredients and simple tricks that will turn your holiday meal into an even more delicious, nutritious eye popping feast!

Secrets #1 is Combine Unexpected Ingredients and use intense flavors to add pizzaz without a lot of extra calories. A great way to encourage your family and guests to eat more vegetables is to add totally unexpected ingredients that really ramp up the flavor.  Having a hard time to get your family to eat Brussels sprouts? If you add bacon I bet your family will be asking for more. The other nutritious secret ingredient is California raisins which are all natural and have zero fat, cholesterol or added sugar.

Make: California Raisin Bacon Brussels Sprouts

Secret #2: Combine colors to make your recipes visually stunning. People eat with their eyes so combine colors that really pop. In the Brussels sprouts we combined the lovely bright green of the Brussels sprouts, the golden raisins and deep red of the bacon.   With these Gorgonzola Crusted Beef Tenderloin Crostinis, all it takes is a sprinkling of cheese to bring out the richness of the meat combined with the bright white color of the green onions makes your mouth water. The other secret ingredient in this recipe is I can’t Believe It’s not Butter. It adds that delicious buttery flavor but it has 70% less saturated fat than butter and no hydrogenated oil, and no trans fat.

Make: Gorgonzola-Crusted Beef Tenderloin Crostini

Secret #3 is to cut the calories in our holiday beverages without compromising on flavor.  And the best way to do that is to start with a lower calorie base.  With the stress and hustle and bustle of any holiday, it’s easy to find yourselves in need of a refreshing pick-me-up.  But many of our traditional holiday beverages are loaded with calories and they can really add up. So instead of the same old cocktails, you can make a delicious and festive cocktail using Vita Coco Coconut Water. At only 45 to 60 calories per serving it is a great way to save holiday calories. Plus, it’s jam packed with potassium, calcium, magnesium and Vitamin C.