Liz’s Healthy Table Podcast Episode #85: Real Simple Holidays with Jenna Helwig

Are you busy making new plans for Thanksgiving and the holidays? How are you celebrating this year? Are you making your usual sweet potato casserole side dish to bring to your mother-in-law’s house, or are sticking closer to home this year for a smaller, more intimate gathering? If you’re like me, you’ll be home making the entire meal from scratch. Help!! How’s that stress meter of yours doing!? My guest Jenna Helwig is here to the rescue with real simple advice for adding ease, flavor, and a dash of good health to your holiday menu … no matter what it looks like this year.

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Jenna Helwig is the Food Director at Real Simple magazine and the author of four cookbooks; her fifth is coming out next year. She’s also the founder of an NYC-based personal chef services company called Rosaberry. When it comes to simplicity in the kitchen, Jenna’s got us covered. On today’s show, we share lots of recipe inspiration, including Maple Sweet Potatoes with Spicy Pecan Praline and a Vanilla Sweet Potato Cheesecake dessert that I’m planning to make for Thanksgiving. Jenna has advice for staying grounded and grateful during the holidays, along with tips for streamlining your holiday dinner to-do list. And if you love mashed potatoes, don’t miss Jenna’s easy hacks for adding fun, new flavors to your old favorites. Thanksgiving may look a little different this year, but Jenna is here to help us cope and cook delicious meals with confidence. 

“We should look at these holidays during the pandemic as opportunities to be more intentional and mindful in how we celebrate.“ 

– Jenna Helwig

Jenna and I dug into the November issue of Real Simple magazine.

Recipes discussed on the show:

Maple Sweet Potatoes with Spicy Pecan Praline
Photo taken by Victor Protasio
Recipe developed by Ananda Eidelstein at Real Simple

Vanilla Sweet Potato Cheesecake
Photo taken by Victor Protasio
Recipe developed by Ananda Eidelstein at Real Simple

Jenna’s most recent cookbook: The Multi-Cooker Baby Food Cookbook

Show Highlights:

• Get to know Jenna, including her life in Brooklyn as she raises a teenager, her love of cookbooks, and her passion for the New York Yankees. Don’t worry, Jenna: I’ll still be your friend 😉
• Jenna’s books, blog, and her work at Real Simple and Rosaberry
• A glimpse at a typical day in Jenna’s life
• Plans for Thanksgiving at Jenna’s house
• Maple Sweet Potatoes with Spicy Pecan Praline features roasted sweet potatoes and shallots topped with candied pecans and lime zest
• Jenna demystifies the under-appreciated shallot
• Vanilla Sweet Potato Cheesecake, which is made with cream cheese, eggs, vanilla, sweet potato, and a pie crust
• Five ways to add better nutrition and flavor to mashed potatoes: swirl in chimichurri or pesto; drizzle with pumpkin seed oil and top with pepitas; add Greek yogurt; blend with cauliflower; add roasted garlic
• Jenna’s tips for streamlining Thanksgiving: “Realize that not every dish has to be over the top, and make dishes ahead when possible.”
• Why pumpkin pie is Jenna’s go-to Thanksgiving dessert
• Tips for pursuing positivity during the holidays: practice password therapy and list thankfulness in threes
• How Jenna balances holiday indulgences with healthy hacks
• How we can take opportunities to be more intentional in the ways we celebrate holidays

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My email: [email protected]