3 Easy Scale Recipes For Guests Over The Holidays

Tis’ the season for cooking food and feeding family and friends. Healthy meal planning feels tricky this time of year. Don’t fret, it’s not impossible. Joining a meal planning service, like DishQuo, can help.

If you’re hosting holiday guests this year, don’t completely abandon your healthy meal plan.  Instead, when you scale recipes,  you stay on track with your goals and your guests are well fed.

Here are 3 easy to scale DishQuo recipes. Each one is a healthy kid-friendly recipe, assuring guests of all ages in your home will enjoy it.

Grab & Go Easy Breakfast Cookies

These seasonal cookies are nutrient-dense and versatile. Cook a huge batch and freeze weeks ahead of your guests’ arrival. Defrost the night before, and lay them out as people awake on their own. Pair with fresh fruit salad, coffee, and tea. These kid-friendly vegan cookies are great for snacks, eating on the go, and traveling on long car rides.

High in fiber, one cookie has 11 grams of fiber, almost half of an adult’s daily needs.  Sweetened with banana, nutty, and a dash of salt, these cookies hit the taste buds just right. Walnuts and chia seeds contain Omega 3 fatty acids, a brainpower superfood. Batch bake several of these and watch them disappear.

Preparation Time: 8 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 23 minutes

Category: Breakfast, Vegan, Vegetarian, Pork-Free, Kid-Friendly

Serving: 1 serving

Ingredients:

• • • • • • 1/2 banana
          • 1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
          • 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
          • 1/2 tbsp chia seeds
          • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
          • 1/4 tsp salt
          • 1/8 cup  chopped almonds

Directions

• • • • • • Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
          • Mash the banana and place it into a medium-sized bowl.
          • Add in the remaining ingredients and mix well.
          • Scoop and divide into several equal portions.
          • Place the cookie dough into a baking sheet lined with parchment.
          • Let it stand for 5 minutes.
          • Bake for 15 minutes at 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
          • Remove and let it cool before serving.
          • You may place the cookies in a tight jar once cooled down.

Wild Rice with Mushrooms

Craft delicious holiday side dishes everyone enjoys. Wild rice with mushrooms is simple, vegan and kid-friendly. Mushroom pairs well with several main courses including chicken, beef, and turkey.

This healthy side dish is an easy-to-scale recipe. You’ll need a small number of ingredients, including budget-friendly rice. It’s easy on the cleanup, as everything cooks in one pot.

Additionally, fresh garlic in this dish may keep you and your guests healthy and cold-free. In this double-blind, placebo-controlled study, consuming garlic, reduced colds by 63%. (1)

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Total time: 30 minutes

Category: Lunch, Pork-Free, Vegan

Serving: 1

Ingredients

• • • • • • 1 ½ tbsp olive oil
          • 2 garlic cloves, minced
          • 4 cups sliced button mushrooms
          • 1/4 cup organic wild rice, rinsed
          • 1 cup vegetable broth
          • ¼ tsp salt
          • ½  tsp ground black pepper
          • ¼ cup scallions, thinly sliced

Directions   

1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. Heat a large pot over medium heat; add oil and minced garlic.
               2. Add the sliced mushrooms and sauté for 2 minutes.
               3. Add vegetable broth and bring it to a boil.
               4. Add the rice, salt, and pepper and reduce to a simmer.
               5. Cover, and cook until the rice absorbs all the water; about 15 minutes. Once done, fluff rice with a fork and add the green onions.
               6. Season with salt and ground black pepper to taste.
               7. Transfer the rice to a serving bowl and serve.

Pinto Bean Stew

 Cooking for the holiday meal is the star event. But let’s not forget about feeding our guests the day or two before. Heat up this veggie-loaded, hearty pinto bean stew. Multiplying this large pot stew recipe is an easy way to feed many mouths. Cook it ahead, freeze and defrost before guests arrive from a long day of traveling.

Keep this pot of stew warm on the stove over low heat. Just stir occasionally and feed people as they arrive and get hungry. Your guests can easily serve themselves. Now you’re free to prepare future meals or simply enjoy their company.

 Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Total time: 30 minutes

Serving: 1

Category: Lunch, Vegan, Vegetarian

Ingredients

• • • • • 1 tbsp olive oil
        • 2 garlic cloves, minced
        • 1 celery stalk, chopped
        • 4 oz whole carrots, diced
        • ½ cup sweet onion, chopped
        • 1 tbsp tomato paste
        • 8 oz canned diced tomatoes
        • 3 cups vegetable broth
        • ¼  tsp ground black pepper
        • ¼  tsp salt
        • 6 oz canned pinto beans, drained
        • 1 tsp dried oregano
        • ¼ tsp smoked paprika

Directions

1. 1. 1. 1. 1. Heat oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the minced garlic, celery, carrots, and onions. Sauté for 3 minutes.
            2. Add the tomato paste, dried oregano, smoked paprika, and canned tomatoes and cook for another 2 minutes.
            3. Add vegetable broth, pinto beans, salt, and ground black pepper to the pot and bring to a rolling boil.
            4. Reduce the heat to simmer for 15 minutes.
            5. Season with salt and ground black pepper to taste.
            6. Once done, ladle into a serving bowl and serve.

Scaling healthy recipes is easy when you have a great plan to start with.  DishQuo meal planning app saves time planning your meals and making your grocery lists for you.  Get your first two weeks free when you sign up.

References

• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11697022/