From Nana’s Famous Egg Dish to Spiced Sangria and Bourbon Pecan Pie, these are our favorite holiday recipes that we enjoy every Christmas!

‘Tis the season for all of the festive eats and drinks. We’ve been enjoying this cozy week at home cooking our favorite holiday recipes and getting ready for the Christmas weekend

While most of the time I aim to eat nourishing recipes with greens and protein and fresh wholesome ingredients (like these spa cuisine recipes), I like to live by the 80/20 perspective, allowing plenty of space for special treats. I’m also a big believer of enjoying holidays, special food, and time spent together.

We have several traditional-to-us recipes that make an appearance on our table during the holiday season year after year; like it’s tradition to have Alton Brown’s Overnight Cinnamon Rolls on Christmas morning while opening presents. From brunch casseroles to spiced sangria and Ina’s rib roast, I’m sharing our favorite holiday recipes – enjoy!

Our Favorite Holiday Recipes

Nana’s Famous Egg Dish

This egg casserole is perfect for any brunch or holiday celebrations. It freezes beautifully to make ahead, and tastes amazing with pico de gallo salsa.

Greens Beans with Goat Cheese, Almonds & Cranberries

These green beans are bright and fresh, with creamy goat cheese, orange zest, crunchy slivered almonds and sweet cranberries. The recipe is gluten-free and only takes 15 minutes from start to finish.

The Ultimate Fall & Winter Salad

This salad is a fall dream come true. It has butternut squash, spicy arugula, a tangy vinaigrette, chicken, pumpkin seeds, goat cheese. It’s perfect for any holiday gatherings or parties and makes a veggie-packed side dish. My vegetarian friends can easily omit the chicken and it’s just as delicious without it.

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Sweet, tart, and full of cranberries, apples, raisins, and spices, cranberry chutney is sure to become a must-have on the holiday table.

Cranberry Chutney

I am a HUGE fan of cranberries that is clear. But what I love is creating recipes that celebrate the tartness of the cranberries and don’t just overpower it with sugar.

There are so many ways to create that balance and this chutney does that beautifully with a combination of sugars from other fruits, spices, heat from red pepper flakes, acid, and a deeper sweet note that comes from brown sugar, not white.

I know it is a bit of a stretch to say this will replace your cranberry sauce. But give it a chance it just might. The delicious scents that come from putting everything in the pan and just letting it simmer might be even better than eating it.

Apple Cranberry Chutney

I am always curious to know how others serve cranberry chutney. Do you serve it hot or cold? It is a very important question and some have strong opinions about it. I am team it depends, just hold the canned cranberry sauce though.

If I am serving it to go on a warm savory item like pork chops, ham, or a turkey, I like to warm it up. It doesn’t make sense to put a super cold item on top of something that is best enjoyed hot.

So if I make the apple cranberry chutney the day before I plan to serve it, I reheat it on low in a saucepan. It doesn’t need to be brought to a boil or anything, just a low simmer is perfect. If I am going to serve it cold, I set it out for about an hour before serving, just enough to take the refrigerator chill off of it.

There are countless ways to serve cranberry chutney! You can use it in dips or on a sandwich. Top a crostini or spoon it on top of a puff pastry baked brie.

The options are endless for the sw

Accepting and sharing your authentic self is a huge milestone, and one that there should be no set timeline for – it’s all about your needs, and when you feel ready. Here, psychotherapist Bhavna Raithatha explores the journey of ‘coming out’ as part of the LGBTQIA+ community, at any stage of life

Coming out refers to the acknowledgement and sharing of a person’s sexual or gender affirmative identity to family, close friends, and, in time, the wider world. This journey is undertaken by thousands of people around the world every year, but it is not an easy one.

This is especially true for older individuals, who may be in their 40s, all the way up to those in their 90s and above, who grew up in times when coming out as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or identifying as queer (LGBTQIA+) was not only frowned upon by their families and wider society, but, in much of the world, was illegal and punishable by law.

For this community, coming out could have meant harassment from the law, and imprisonment, even with very little evidence, as in the case of Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, who in the 1950s was publicly humiliated through the law courts because of his association with military personnel who were gay. In some countries, it could even mean a death sentence. This is still the case in many places around the world today, and alarmingly, laws are being repealed that once were supportive of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Being LGBTQIA+ doesn’t just happen suddenly; most of us know or have an inkling that we are different from a very young age, but due to our situations, including for some a strict religious upbringing, living authentically is not always safe or possible.

We are used to hearing of people coming out in their teens and 20s, however, as society becomes a little more accepting, there is a higher incidence of people coming out in later years. Recent numbers from the Office of National Statistics indicate that 3.1% of the UK population aged over 16+ identified as LGB in 2020. Unfortunately, results for those identifying as trans aren’t available.

This could be helped, in part, by better representation in the public eye, as some well-known people who came out in later life include Wanda Sykes, Anderson Cooper, Sir Ian McKellen, and Cynthia Nixon. Seeing others pave the way can be hugely helpful to individuals on their own path, too.

But every person has a unique story, and timing for when it is right to share your true feelings can vary. Reasons for not coming out earlier can include expectations and pressure in varying degrees from family and society to follow accepted norms, or to not bring perceived shame or dishonour to the family. For many, the threat to their careers and income was the primary factor in the past. In fact, people were not allowed to serve in the Army and be LGBTQIA+ – this rule was only repealed in the year 2000.

Many in the LGBTQIA+ community have felt pressured into heteronormative lives –

If you're feeling a little out of sorts, find out how a meditative practice could help you re-connect your body and mind  

Meditation practice can help bridge the gap between our emotional response to events of the past and the emotions associated with the anticipation of the future - both of which strongly influence our present experience. Meditation practice can therefore be a tool for being mindful of our relation to the past and future, contemplating the effect this has on our wellbeing and how we can be more present in this moment, while not being negatively influenced by past and future experiences.

The term “meditation” refers to a variety of practices that focus on mind and body integration and are used to calm the mind and enhance overall wellbeing. Some types of meditation involve maintaining a mental focus on a particular sensation, such as breathing, a sound, a visual image, or a mantra, which is a repeated word or phrase. Other forms of meditation include the practice of mindfulness, which involves maintaining attention or awareness of the present moment without making judgments.

Meditation might be an ancient practice but its benefits for reducing stress, and improving overall mood, focus, sleep, and wellbeing transcend centuries. Meditation can help connect our emotions from the past and our eagerness for the future, and that’s why it teaches us how to become more present in life.

Living more mindfully, by focusing your attention on the present moment without judgement, is a wonderful way to ease stress and anxiety while creating a sense of peace and serenity within, that allows you to pause when agitated, and make more calm, productive choices.

Why not try guided meditation with Happiful?

Picture this: you finally sit down to practice some meditation, but as soon as you close your eyes, however much you try to stay focused on your breathing, your mind begins to wander - to work worries, that task you forgot to do, that problem that needs solving. Sound familiar? The good news is this is completely normal - emotions and feelings that we have suppressed throughout the day often come to the surface, sometimes overwhelmingly, in moments of calm.

It's OK if your thoughts wander - at first, they almost certainly will. Over time, you will be able to observe your thoughts when meditating, but not attach to them. Daily meditation, little and often, will allow this control over your thought patterns to come more naturally and these thoughts will disturb the peace of the present moment less and less. Our meditation journey is individual to us, and it might take some of us longer to master than others, but through practice, you will discover that the journey is the important part, not the destination.

Daily meditation can help you perform better at work. Research has found that meditation helps increase your focus and attention and improves your ability to multitask. Meditation helps clear our minds and focus on the present moment, which gives us a huge burst of energy for our tasks and goals. When you can easily concentrate on one activity at a time, your self-esteem grows, which solidifies your feeling of control over the present moment.

Peppermint Marshmallow Fudge is rich and creamy chocolate fudge, flavored with peppermint, and loaded with bites of marshmallow. A sprinkling of crushed candy canes on top makes this an altogether perfect holiday treat.

Candy Cane Fudge

My plan was to make a few batches of this candy cane fudge early and then hide them in the freezer for gifting later, but I wound up sending this off to work with my husband because I couldn’t stay out of it.

I’ve fallen in love with Five Minute Fudge recipes. The fudge turns out smooth and creamy without all of the traditional time spent stirring the pot on the stove.

With the holiday gift-giving season just up ahead, I thought it was time to make a version of my favorite chocolate fudge with a few extra festive touches.

The candy canes sprinkled on top, coupled with the bites of fluffy marshmallows, were an easy way to turn simple chocolate fudge into something full of Christmas cheer.

Marshmallow Fudge

This Peppermint Marshmallow Fudge is just right for bringing to a holiday party or gifting to friends, teachers, co-workers. . . just about everybody will love these little squares of mint chocolate fudge-y goodness. In fact, I cut them into smaller pieces than usual just to make sure there would be plenty to share.

Just the tiniest piece of this Peppermint Marshmallow Fudge satisfied me… for about an hour. Then I’d find myself back in the kitchen slicing off another teeny sliver. This is dangerously rich, sweet and tempting!

It’s a good thing it isn’t candy-making season year-round,