When it comes to the holidays, all the lovely cocktails are difficult to resist. This year say “make mine fruity”. Here are some healthy low-cal recipes to keep you on track with your commitment of avoiding the holiday “heft”. These mocktails can be enjoyed by young and old as they are alcohol-free.

Put any of these holiday drinks in a special mug, flute, or glass. This will make you and your drink feel extra special. Sip slowly—savoring the flavor of the drink.

TREE TRIMMING FRUITY EGG NOG

Purchase no or low-fat eggnog
Drizzle with your favorite FruitFast Liquid Fruit Supplement
Sprinkle with nutmeg
Serve in a festive mug

FESTIVE MOCK MIMOSA

1 /2 ounce your favorite FruitFast Juice Concentrate, or
1 Tbsp FruitFast Liquid Fruit Supplement (your choice)
1 glass sparkling spumante or cider. I used St. Julian Mixed Berry Spumante combined with FruitFast Liquid Fruit Supplement.
Try combining sparkling cider or grape with pomegranate; or white grape with Cherry.
Pour juice concentrate into a champagne flute. Stir and enjoy!!!

VERY CHERRY OLD-FASHIONED

2 ounces FruitFast Montmorency Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate
4 ounces sparkling water or mineral water
Combine ingredients in an old fashioned glass, with 3-4 ice cubes.
Stir with festive stir stick.

Part three of our healthy sides are these two alternatives to traditional stuffing. The first recipe uses couscous instead of bread stuffing. The second is a low calorie bread stuffing. In both cases, cook stuffing separately from the turkey and save additional fat and calories.

COUSCOUS STUFFING WITH DRIED FRUIT

This is an excellent accompaniment to turkey or other bird.

1 Tbsp butter
1 /2 cup onions, finely diced
1 /2 cup carrots, finely diced
1-1 /2 cup low-sodium chicken stock
1 /2 cup finely chopped FruitFast Dried Cherries or Dried Blueberries
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 /4 tsp each salt & pepper
Pinch of cinnamon
1 cup couscous
1 cup pistachios, chopped
Fresh parsley for garnish

Melt the butter in large saucepan. Add onions and carrots; cook until soft. Stir in chicken stock, fruit, lemon juice and spices. Bring to a boil; add couscous. Remove from heat, cover and let stand about 5 minutes.

Fluff with a fork and add pistachios. Garnish with parsley.

BREAD STUFFING WITH DRIED TART CHERRIES
This recipe is modified from a recipe found on the Mayo Clinic web page. Their version uses fresh cranberries. We substitute dried fruit for the cranberries.
Ingredients:

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
10 slices whole-wheat bread, toasted and cut into cubes
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 tsp dried tarragon
1/2 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup FruitFast Dried Tart Cherries
1 cup whole water chestnuts
1 cup chopped apple

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly coat a 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
In a large skillet, heat the chicken broth over medium heat. Add the celery and onion and sauté until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
In a large bowl, combine the bread cubes, parsley, tarragon, paprika, nutmeg, dried cherries, water chestnuts and chopped apples. Add the onion and celery mixture. Stir to mix evenly.
Spoon stuffing into the prepared baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 more minutes. Serve immediately.
For more moisture in this recipe, add more chicken broth or water.

Company was coming for dinner last Sunday and we planned on a simple grilled meal with vegetables, salad and dessert.  I wanted something I could prepare ahead of time so I went to my recipe archives.   I had clipped this salad recipe from dayrecipe.com, while surfing the internet and had plans of making it someday.   It had a great combination of ingredients, could be made two hours ahead, and came with rave reviews.  This exquisite salad recipe originally came from a restaurant in Charlotte, North Carolina.  They list it as a Fall Salad, but it certainly can be enjoyed year-round.

We found it well worth the prep time.

INGREDIENTS:

1 -1 /4 cups FruitFast dried tart cherries
1 /2 cup tawny port
5 ounces pancetta or bacon, chopped
2 shallots, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 /3 cup olive oil
1 /4 cup red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
15.5-ounce log soft fresh goat cheese (cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices)
15-ounce bag mixed salad greens (I combined baby romaine and baby arugula)
1 /2 cup pine nuts, toasted

DIRECTIONS:
Combine cherries and Port in heavy small saucepan. Bring to simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat; let stand until cherries swell, about 15 minutes.
Sauté pancetta in heavy large skillet over medium-low heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Add shallots and garlic; cook 2 minutes. Add oil, then vinegar and sugar; stir until sugar dissolves. Stir in cherry mixture. Season with salt and pepper. I prepared the dressing two hours ahead of time.   Combine salad greens and pine nuts in bowl and set aside.  Place goat cheese slices on a rimmed baking sheet or baking dish.  Just prior to serving, preheat the oven to 350°F, place goat cheese in the oven and bake until warm, about 10 minutes.  Re-heat the dressing to warm (do not bring to boil or get the dressing too hot); pour over salad; toss to blend. Top with goat cheese and serve.

Yield:  Four servings

National Cherry Festival, the highlight of Traverse City’s summer is here again. This week we celebrate the 82nd year of this tradition. It began in 1926 as the “Blessing of the Blossoms Festival” to promote the region and the cherry business. In 1931 the state legislature passed a resolution making it a national celebration and it was renamed the National Cherry Festival, and this summer celebration has taken place every year with the exception of the WWII era (1942-1948) when the festival was suspended.
The highlight of the festival is the Cherry Royale Parade which draws over 300,000 attendees. It is the largest parade in the Midwest. During this week it is all about cherries and we here at FruitFast and Brownwood Acres are all about cherries. This week I will be bringing you some great recipes that will, of course, be “all about cherries”.
My favorite memories of summer in Traverse City have always been the Cherry Festival. I look forward to the parades, ice cream socials, and all the other events that turn this quiet little town into a crazy frenzy of activity for seven days. Another favorite memory is the cookies my brother would make for us, the simple “No Bake Cookie”. Many people enjoy this recipe. I do not know where it originated, but it is by far a family favorite. This twist gives the cookie an upbeat taste, while adding a little fruit for good measure.

Cherry Chocolate No Bake Cookies
2 cups sugar
1 stick butter
1 /2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups oatmeal (1 minute quick oats)
3/4 cups dried cherries
Wax paper

It is best to have all ingredients measured out and prepared to go as this cookie sets quickly.
Combine the sugar, butter, cocoa and milk in a saucepan. Stir to melt the butter and incorporate all ingredients. Bring mixture to a boil; remove the saucepan from the stove. Stir in the peanut butter and stir until melted. Add vanilla and dried cherries; stir to blend. Fold in oatmeal, one cup at a time. Stir until covered with chocolate mixture. Drop by large spoonful onto wax paper. Let cool. Watch these disappear, they will soon become your family favorite.

Yield: 24-30 cookies