Summer flew by, which means that with fall here before we knew it the holiday season is right around the corner. 

The holidays are an awesome time with family, but I know they can feel like a scary time if you feel like you just got your routine in a good place. How can you relax and enjoy yourself without feeling like holiday gatherings will mess up all your progress?! Don’t worry,  I can help you with that!

These seven recipes are just a handful out of the Fall/Winter edition of my Nourish cookbook, and they are all macro-friendly and protein conscious. Plus, they’re super delicious, so you won’t feel like you’re missing out on those yummy and cozy holiday meals.

 

CHEESY BEAN DIP

Everyone in my family loves this super yummy dip, and it’s such a great addition to any family party, neighborhood barbecue, or, let’s be honest, really any day at home. It’s so quick to pull together, and you can easily stay within your macro limit for the day. 

14C/ 9P / 7F

Ingredients: 

• 1 - 16 oz can of refried beans
• ¼ cup of water
• ½ cup of half & half
• 1 cup of reduced-fat Mexican Blend cheese
• 1 - 4 oz can of green chilies 
• ½ tsp of garlic powder
• ½ tsp of cumin
• 1 tbsp of chopped cilantro

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and stir to combine over medium heat until heated through and the cheese is melted.
2. Add up to an additional 1/4 c water if you’d like a thinner consistency.
3. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

LASAGNA SOUP

This lasagna soup always makes me feel cozy on a cool fall day at home. If you’re a carb lover, this is a great way to hit your macros and fuel your body with a good amount of protein while still enjoying pasta. 

29C / 25P / 11F

Serves 8

Ingredients: 

• 1 lb. turkey sausage
• 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
• 1 chopped onion
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 2 tsp oregano
• ½ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 6 cups of bone broth
• 1 - 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 8 oz uncooked fusilli 
• ½ cup of fresh chopped basil
• 8 oz ricotta cheese
• 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
• ½ tsp salt

Directions:

1. Heat a soup pot over medium high heat and spray the bottom with cooking spray.
2. Cook the sausage in the bottom of your soup pot with Italian seasoning.
3. Add onions and saute until softened, about 5 minutes.
4. Add garlic, oregano, and optional red pepper flakes and sauté for 1 minute.
5. Add tomato paste and stir for about 5 minutes or until paste turns a rusty brown.
6. Add broth and tomatoes with juice and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, covered.
7. Add the pasta and increase heat to medium high and boil about 10 minutes or until the pasta is done cooking.
8. While pasta is cooking, make cheese mixture. Combine ricotta, mozzarella, salt, and pepper in a bowl and stir to mix well.
9. When pasta is finished cooking, Stir in basil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat.
10. Place 1/4 cup of cheese mixture in the bottom of each bowl and ladle a generous 1 cup of soup over top. And top with fresh basil

SWEET POTATO STREET FRIES

These sweet potato street fries are perfect for a game day curled up on the couch or a summer barbecue with your friends and family. This recipe is so freaking good. I’m obsessed with Spitz’ loaded sweet potato fries, but it kills my macros. So this is a macro-friendly version and you can eat 1/4th of the pan! (Side note: you don’t have to use the chicken marinade. You can always just do grilled chicken, but the marinade makes it even more flavorful.)

475 Cal

Macros for 1/4th of pan (that’s a ton!) you could even do 8 servings and still be full and split the macros in half.

38C / 43P / 17F

Serves 4

Ingredients: 

(Marinade)

• ½ cup sliced red onion

• 2 tsp oregano
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• ¾ tsp pepper
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 ¼ lbs thawed chicken breast

• 4 ½ cup (12 oz) waffle sweet potato fries
• ½ sliced red onion
• ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
• ½ cup banana peppers 
• ¼ cup sliced kalamata olives
• ½ cup diced tomatoes
• ¼ cup classic hummus 
• ½ cup roasted chickpeas

(Lemon Aioli)

• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 juiced lemon
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• ¼ tsp paprika

Directions:

1. Combine all marinade ingredients in a large ziplock bag and mix well. Add chicken and marinate for at least 3 hours in the refrigerator.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cook fries according to instructions for 20 minutes or until crispy.
3. While fries are baking, cook chicken in either the Instant Pot or in a skillet.
4. While chicken is cooking, prepare aioli sauce. Add all aioli ingredients to a blender or small bowl and blend or whisk until smooth.
5. Once fries are cooked, evenly distribute the chicken and toppings over fries and drizzle with aioli.

PECAN PIE BITES

Need a dessert for Thanksgiving that is delicious and won’t ruin your macros? I ate six of these in one sitting. They are so freaking good and they are in the Fall / Winter edition of my cookbook Nourish on my website www.bodybybree.com. My kids also love these so much!

199 Cal

Macros for 2

22C / 3P / 12F

Serves 12

Ingredients:

(Crust)

• 1 ½ cup old-fashioned oats
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup coconut sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 cup butter, cut into small cubes
• 1 tbsp 2% milk 

(Filling)

• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• ½ cup chopped pecans
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla 
• ½ tsp salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 24 mini muffin tin with cooking spray.
2. Add oats, flour, sugar and salt to a food processor or blender and process until oats are finely ground. Add butter pieces and process until the butter is just combined (pea size crumbles). Add 1 Tbsp of milk at a time and process. You should be able to squeeze it between your fingers and have it stick together. If it’s too dry add up to 1 more Tbsp of milk.
3. Scoop 1 Tbsp of dough into each muffin cup and firmly press the dough into the bottom and up the sides.
4. Bake crusts for 15 minutes.
5. While the crust is baking, make your filling. Add all filling ingredients to a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
6. Remove the crust from the oven and gently use the back side of a small spoon to press the crusts back down (bottom and sides) as they will have puffed up some.
7. Add a little over 1/2 Tbsp of filling to each crust and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the filling is set.
8. Remove from oven. Let cool for 10 minutes in the muffin tin and then use the edge of a knife to pop out and transfer to a cooling rack to completely cool.

BEEF WELLINGTON

Trust me on this one… It’s a family tradition and so yummy! I love making this for special occasions and holidays, and knowing this is macro-friendly takes some of the pressure out of holidays if you’re trying to stay within your macro intake. 

Macros 25C 18P 24F

Serves 16

Serving Size: 1 Wellington packet, 1 Tbsp sauce

Prep: 12 hrs Cook: 30 min

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs chuck roast
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1 Lipton onion soup mix
• 1 onion, diced
• 8 oz sliced mushrooms
• 8 slices Swiss cheese
• 4 sheets Pepperidge Farm puff pastry, thawed
• 1 egg, beaten

(Bearnaise Sauce)

• 1 Knorr Bearnaise sauce mix
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup 2% milk

Directions:

1. Prepare roast the night before you want to eat this dinner. Place roast in a slow cooker. Use a fork to stab holes in the roast and put minced garlic inside the holes. Salt and pepper the roast to taste. Sprinkle the onion soup packet (dry) on top of the roast. Add onion and mushrooms. Pour 2 c water (or enough to barely cover the roast) over everything. Cover and cook on low overnight for 12 hours. In the morning shred the roast and let it soak up the liquid while refrigerating. Add a little more water if it’s dry.
2. Preheat oven to 350. Cut pastry sheets into 4 squares so you have 16 squares total.
3. Place 1/2 slice of cheese on each square. When the meat has cooled, drain and top each cheese with a 2 oz roast. Bring the corners of the pastry together and pinch together well to seal the edges. Turn the Wellington packet over so the sealed edges are on the bottom. Brush each pocket lightly with egg. Bake for 30 minutes.
4. Prepare Bearnaise sauce according to package directions using butter and milk.

 

SWEET POTATO

Need a delicious sweet potato casserole recipe for Thanksgiving that is flavorful and you won’t even know it’s macro-friendly? This is it, and if you purchased Nourish, this is in the cookbook (plus many more of my delicious go-to's). 

Serves 12

In MFP:

Original: 39C 10F 4P

GF (same as original)

DF: 39C 9F 4P

GFDF (same as DF)

Ingredients:

(Filling)

• 4 large sweet potatoes
• 2 Tbsp butter (for DF sub Miyoko's European Style Vegan Butter)
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• ¼ cup 2% milk (for DF, sub almond milk)
• ½ cup egg whites
• ½ tsp vanilla
• ½ tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp cinnamon

(Crumble Topping)

• ¾ cup pecans, finely chopped
• ⅓ cup all-purpose flour / GF if needed
• ½ cup coconut sugar
• 4.5 Tbsp melted butter (for DF, sub Miyoko's European Style Vegan Butter)

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Peel and chop your sweet potatoes into medium size pieces. Once water is boiling, add sweet potatoes and boil for about 15 minutes - or until fork tender. Drain potatoes and add to a large bowl. (You can also prep these in the Instant by doing a high-pressure manual cook for 8 minutes with quick release.)
2. Add butter, maple syrup, milk, egg whites, vanilla, sea salt, and cinnamon to cooked potatoes. Use an immersion or hand-held blender for a smoother consistency. For a lumpier texture, you can use a potato masher to mix.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9x13 casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
4. Add all crumble ingredients to a food processor and pulse until combined (5-7 pulses - you still want chunks) or add all ingredients to a small bowl and mix until combined.
5. Distribute the sweet potato mixture into a dish and smooth out the top. Evenly sprinkle crumble topping over the sweet potato mixture.
6. Place in the oven and bake for 35 minutes or until the topping is golden brown. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

FALL SALAD

This salad is so easy to make and a hearty and healthy choice, whether you need a meal to take on the go, or you’re just sticking close to home for the day. Some salads can feel like they’re just not quite as filling as you need them to be, but with the addition of the chicken and the farro, this salad becomes a full meal packed with protein. 

308 Cal

Macros

27C / 24P / 11F

Serves 6

Ingredients: 

• 4 cups arugula 
• 1 ¼ cooked farro 
• 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
• ¼ cup feta cheese
• 5 baby beets, steamed and cut into ½” pieces 
• 18 oz diced cooked chicken

(Dressing)

• ½ cup chopped fresh mint
• ½ cup chopped fresh basil
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 lemon, juiced and zested 
• ¼ tsp salt

Directions

1. Combine all dressing ingredients and whisk until well blended. Set aside.
2. Add all salad ingredients except chicken to a large bowl and toss well.
3. Stir dressing and pour over salad, tossing to spread evenly.
4. Divide salad into 6 servings and add 3 oz chicken per serving.

I hope these recipes help you get through the holiday season! Remember you can grab my Fall/Winter Nourish cookbook if you need more healthy, delicious meals to help you stay on track. Treat yourself a little, but don’t lose sight of your goals!