Tips For Healthy, Tasty, And Low Cost Holiday Cooking

One of the best parts of the holidays is the food. In fact, I really don't like most of the rest of the season--things are cold, and I always end up spending too much money. Thankfully, the food helps to even things out.

If you're considering ways to make your holiday cuisine a little more festive, here are a few ideas to help you out while keeping your cooking cheap and nutritious.

Keep The Spices Flowing - A big part of Holiday cuisine is using the right spices and keeping them on hand while you're cooking or baking. Cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg are absolutely essential for holiday cooking. You may also be able to use minty spices like thyme, sage, and savory to bring a Christmas-y feel to meats and fish dishes.

You'll save money by buying in bulk, and if you're ever out of ideas for your spices you can experiment a bit. Keep your spice rack well organized and try to get a taste for what each spice brings to a dish; you'll find yourself creating new masterpieces in no time.

Tasty Does Not Mean Fattening - Some of my favorite holiday dishes are also extremely healthy. For instance, try using sweet potatoes to complement a dish, or cook sweet potato chips. Cut your sweet potatoes as thinly as possible and lay them on parchment paper on a cookie tray. Bake for about an hour at 200 degrees, then turn them over and bake for another forty minutes. Add a little cinnamon and you'll have a great, cheap, lo-fat snack.

Look For Holiday Deals - Grocery stores have Black Friday sales, too, because they sometimes overstock on certain items when anticipating a huge Thanksgiving rush. This year, capitalize by looking for deals at your local store. In particular, you'll want to look for cheap
meats that you can freeze and prepare in the coming weeks. Try picking up a roast or two, as roasts are great seasonal cooking that can be spiced up with pineapple or holiday spices. They're low-needs dishes that you can easily cook for several days' worth of food for yourself or your family, and they keep their seasonal flare.

Try to stay away from things like store-bought cookies. They're expensive at Christmas, and you can do much better by experimenting at home. If you haven't baked before, start with a simple cookie or bread recipe and go from there. A great idea for low-calorie, high-taste holiday treats is to cut the sugar called for in a recipe by half and add twice of the flavoring. This works particularly well when making a cake or other sugary treat.

What are some of your favorite tips for holiday cooking? Post below.