Michelle Dudash, RDN, registered dietitian, chef and author of the upcoming book, The Low-Carb Mediterranean Cookbook: Quick and Easy High-Protein, Low-Sugar, Healthy-Fat Recipes for Lifelong Health, joined us today to share crave-worthy, yet easy mocktail recipes to help your Dry January efforts. Plus, they even have some health benefits.
Dry January is a movement that is now mainstream, with millions has now gone worldwide, with millions signing up, committing to going alcohol-free for 1 month, but no alcohol doesn’t have to mean switching to plain old water.
Mulled POM (1 serving)
Similar to mulled red wine, you get the same cozy spices and warmth with this drink made with POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice. And you can heat it quickly in the microwave for an easy nightcap!
Dundash’s Mulled POM is a cozy, warming drink that is ready in minutes and is her current go-to weekday nightcap!
She works with POM Wonderful to help people make healthy choices. POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice contains antioxidants, and studies show it contains four times the antioxidants as green tea and red wine!
POM also contains vitamin C and no added sugar. Every 8-ounce serving of POM is made by pressing two whole pomegranates, so you’re getting benefits from the arils, pith, and skin. Plus, it’s free of fillers and preservatives.
Ingredients:
- 8-ounces POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice
- 2 cloves
- 1 slice fresh ginger-root
- 1/2 star anise
- 2 cardamom pods
*If you don’t have one of these spices, that’s okay, as long as you have a few to infuse flavors. Alternatively, add an herbal spiced tea bag to the POM after heating, in place of the whole spices.
Directions:
Pour POM into a microwave-safe mug or Pyrex measuring cup. Add the spices.
Microwave for 2 1/2 minutes, or until hot and steamy. Remove the spices and enjoy.
Turmeric Hot Chocolate (1 serving)
This golden hot chocolate is infused with ground turmeric spice, which adds a sweet and spicy taste.
- 1 cup milk (use your favorite kind, like cow’s milk or creamy almond milk)
- 1-2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- Freshly grated nutmeg
Directions:
Heat the milk and honey in a microwave-safe mug until steamy, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the cocoa and turmeric. Garnish with nutmeg.
Bonus tips!
- Serve hot tea in a pre-warmed, proper china teacup and with a saucer.
- Add a small biscuit cookie to make it more inviting and satisfying (like Carr’s Whole Wheat Biscuit).
- Looking for cold bubbly? Support the local Circle Kombucha brand, which has 4 house flavors, plus one rotating seasonal flavor.
20-Minute (or Slow Cooker) Tikka Masala Recipe (5 servings)
Get ready for another cozy dinner idea with chef and registered dietitian Michelle Dudash, author of the upcoming The Low-Carb Mediterranean Cookbook. Today she making Chicken Tikka Masala!
Chicken Tikka Masala is very popular dish that was created out of Indian and British cuisine influence.
Typically in this dish, the chicken is marinated in yogurt and spices first, then roasted at high heat, then simmered in a rich sauce.
Dudash has created her own 20-minute version you can make at home with just a handful of simple ingredients.
Ingredients:
- Dash Dinners Tikka Masala Meal Spice Kit
- Chicken breasts or thighs
- Tomato paste
- Canned coconut cream or heavy whipping cream
- Plain yogurt
The spices in Chicken Tikka Masala are key.
Michelle makes it super easy for you to make chicken Tikka Masala with newest spice kit flavor Dash Dinners Tikka Masala.
The spices in the dish are traditional and she uses the dried form for all of the seasonings and aromatics, with ginger, turmeric, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaf, and crushed red pepper. Plus, dried onion and garlic to save you time.
Get your Dash Dinners at dashdinners.com, Joe’s Butcher Shop & Seafood Market in Carmel, and Market Wagon.
Ingredients:
- 1 pkg. Dash Dinners Tikka Masala Spice Kit
- 2 tsp. ghee or cooking oil
- 1 1/4 lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs (or breasts), cut into large chunks, patted dry
- 1 (6-oz) can tomato paste
- 1 (13.5-oz can) coconut milk
- Serve with: basmati rice, plain thick yogurt, chopped cilantro
Directions:
1. Preheat large skillet on medium-high heat. Add ghee or oil.
2. Brown the chicken on one side, about 5 minutes.
3. Add spice kit and stir, reducing heat to medium.
4. Add tomato paste and stir.
5. Pour in coconut milk, using wooden spoon or rubber spatula to scrape up browned bits from bottom of pan. Stir well to blend tomato paste completely, using whisk if needed.
6. Simmer a few more minutes, until hot. Remove bay leaf.
Nutrition Facts (spice kit per serving): 25 calories, 0 g total fat, 350 mg sodium (15%
DV), 5 g total carbohydrate (1 g fiber), 1 g protein.
For more information visit, michelledudash.com and dashdinners.com.
The Simple Goodness Sisters, Belinda and Venise, joined us today to share mocktail recipes using their line of garden-to-glass drink syrups to elevate any boring beverage to a sophisticated, next level drinking experience. Here’s more from them.
Alongside Dry January, this week serves as a reminder that we can skip the alcohol and still feel special, celebrated, satisfied. As many have been drinking their way through the quarantine this can be a reset to better habits in the new year.
What is Garden to Glass You Ask?
Rethink how you build your favorite cocktail by starting with where your ingredients are sourced. By harvesting goodness straight from the garden and keeping preservatives and chemicals out of all of the recipes, the Simple Goodness Sisters bring a Happier Hour to you. Simple Goodness Sisters introduces a line of specialty non-alcoholic cocktail syrups made to easily elevate your mocktails and cocktails right from home. Its Garden to Glass drink syrups use the best ingredients possible to make the tastiest and easiest drinks at home. Flavors include Huckleberry Spruce, Rhubarb Vanilla Bean, Berry Sage, Lemon Herb, Marionberry Mint, and Blueberry Lavender.
With their cocktail kits, make a Lemon Drop just BYOB. Or how about a holiday spritz? Level up your cocktail game with floral salt rimmers too. With these fabulous syrups, become a home botanical mixologist, and impress your family and friends by crafting fun delicious concoctions they’ll want to try themselves (hint: great gift idea!) Get creative with your syrup: drizzle over vanilla ice cream, pound cake, or even DIY popsicles!
About Simple Goodness Sisters:
The Simple Goodness Sisters are two sisters who left the corporate world to pursue their dreams of entrepreneurship. After receiving repeated requests for their secret cocktail recipes, the sisters decided to bottle their talents in a line of specialty cocktail syrups. The syrups feature herbs grown on the farm and flavor profiles that are distinctly Pacific Northwest. They use their farm roots to source hyper local ingredients from their farm friends and neighbors. As their businesses grow they hope to inspire others to grow and mix garden to glass cocktails in their own gardens and kitchens. Follow them on Instagram @simplegoodnesssisters.
Now open, the sisters are excited to announce The Simple Goodness Soda Shop.
The Soda Shop will be the booziest coffee shop you’ve ever been to, or the most family-friendly bar. The menu will feature ice cream, sundaes, shakes, Panini sandwiches with seasonal salads, homemade pickles, homemade pesto, spreads, and jams, hearty snacks, waffle sticks, and OF COURSE, #gardentoglass cocktails.