
Appetizer: Spinach Caesar Salad

Ingredients:
- 1 romaine lettuce, shredded
- 4 cups (1 L) spinach rinsed, shredded
- 2 cups (500 mL) bread, shredded
- 1 cup (250 mL) grated low-fat cheese
- 1 egg
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 tsp (5 mL) Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp (15 mL) white vinegar
- Salt as per taste
- Pepper, freshly ground
- 2/3 cup (160 mL) Saffola Gold Oil
- Combine egg, garlic, Dijon mustard, vinegar, and lemon juice in a mixer and keep going until you have a smooth, running liquid. Add a touch of salt and pepper to taste. Top with Saffola Gold Oil and churn in the mixer on low speed. Set aside.
- Set the oven to 350 °F (180 °C) and allow it to preheat.
- Gather lettuce and spinach. Shred them into smaller pieces and toss them together in a salad bowl.
- Add grated low-fat cheese to the salad and lightly pour some Caesar dressing on it.
- Toss everything gently together and garnish with a final sprinkle of dressing.
- Brush a cookie sheet with Saffola Gold Oil and spread the split up bread pieces neatly on it. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown and let it rest.
Entrée: Baked Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients:
- 400 grams shiitake mushroom
- ⅓ onions, chopped
- 1 teaspoon garlic, chopped/ground into a paste
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper, crushed
- ½ basil, dried
- ¼ oregano, dried
- Low-fat cheese per taste
- Parsley or coriander for garnish
- Salt
- 1 tablespoon Saffola Gold Oil
- Rinse and clean mushrooms well.
- Chop off the bottom of the stalks and keep aside, along with the mushroom caps.
- Slice every stalk into fine little pieces.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of Saffola Gold Oil in a pan and let the chopped garlic or garlic paste simmer in it for a few seconds on low flame.
- Add chopped onions and saute the mix on a low/medium flame until lightly golden or golden.
- Next, throw in the finely chopped mushroom stalks. Stir the mix together and saute on a medium flame, until the moisture or water from the mushrooms is completely dried out.
- Now, season with crushed black pepper, dried basil, dried oregano, and salt.
- Mix well and set aside to cool down.
- Preheat the oven at 180 degrees celsius for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Using a small spoon, stuff each mushroom cap with the mixture and add some cheese.
- Brush some Saffola Gold Oil on a baking tray and place the mushroom caps on it.
- Bake at 180 degrees celsius for 15 to 20 minutes, until the mushrooms shrink and water starts to release from them.
- Let the cheese melt and allow the mushrooms to turn darker in colour.
- Serve hot and garnish with parsley or coriander.
Entrée: Sweet Potato Casserole

Ingredients:
- 4 cups sweet potato, cubed
- 2 eggs, beaten
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup low-fat milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons butter, softened
- ½ cup pecans, chopped
- Saffola Gold Oil
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
- Cover a medium frying pan with water and place the sweet potatoes in it. Cook over medium-high heat until soft, then drain and mash the potatoes.
- Take a large bowl and mix together the sweet potatoes, white sugar, eggs, salt, butter, milk and vanilla extract until smooth.
- In another bowl, mix brown sugar, flour, and butter until the mixture is coarse. Top off with the pecans.
- Add this mixture to the sweet potato mixture, and spread in a baking dish.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until the topping is slightly brown.
Dessert: Christmas Fruitcake with Chocolate

Ingredients:
- 200g dark brown soft sugar or Jaggery
- 100g unsweetend dark chocolate, chopped
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 250g raisins
- 250g blueberries
- 100g dried cranberries
- 100g dried sour cherries
- 100g mixed peel
- 200g self-raising flour
- 100g ground almonds
- 3 tbsp cocoa
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1 tbsp Saffola Gold Oil
- In a frying pan, add the Saffola Gold Oil, jaggery, chocolate, vanilla and dried fruits and heat gently until the mixture becomes a smooth sauce.
- Preheat oven to 150C.
- Spread a double layer of baking parchment in a baking tin and cover the outside of the tin with a few layers of newspaper and hold in place with a string.
- Add the flour, almonds, cocoa and spice together in a bowl.
- Beat eggs and mix into the slightly cooled chocolate mixture from the pan, followed by the flour mixture.
- Pour out into the baking tin and bake for 1.5 hrs to 1 hr 45 mins.
- Keep aside to cool and serve when ready.
References:
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319725#possible-health-benefits
https://www.bmj.com/content/346/bmj.f1378
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21666939/
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/270609#benefits
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0367326X10001358
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11520942/
https://lacanadacarecenter.com/15-health-benefits-of-sweet-potatoes-according-to-science/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11533266/
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/dark-chocolate
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/JAHA.116.005162
https://www.banglajol.info/index.php/BJMB/article/view/13428
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/05/190530101221.htm
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5946253/
https://www.ajol.info/index.php/tjpr/article/download/149912/139441