Easy Holiday Entertaining

By The Soyfoods Council

This year, as you celebrate the season, add a touch of creativity to the festivities, by offering easy, better-for-you foods, to family and friends. The Soyfoods Council shares simple recipes for holiday entertaining, that include versatile, affordable soyfoods.

Dips with chips and deceptively easy desserts, minimize time spent in the kitchen. Soy is a high-quality, complete plant protein, that provides all nine essential amino acids needed for nutrition. Here are a few suggestions featuring soyfoods, like tofu, edamame, soy cream cheese and soymilk.

Offer a trio of easy dips to complement fresh vegetables, chips, crackers, breadsticks or pretzels. For example, Tofu Ranch Dip, Edamame Garbanzo Bean Hummus and Sundried Tomato Tofu Dip, have wide appeal.

Make an easy soy-rich spin on traditional ranch dip in a food processor. Simply combine a package of silken tofu with soybean oil and lemon juice. The dip is seasoned with garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, black pepper and salt.

Hummus goes green, when you make it in a blender with a package of cooked, shelled edamame (fresh green soybeans), 3/4 cup canned garbanzo beans (drained), lemon juice, soybean oil and onion powder; add salt and pepper to taste.

Soy cream cheese and silken tofu work together, to create a new iteration of Sundried Tomato Dip. Blend tofu with soy cream cheese and a package of ranch seasoning dressing mix. For a totally plantbased dip, use packaged dairy-free ranch dressing mix (available online at Amazon.com). Add 1/3 cup of drained, chopped marinated sundried tomatoes, and season the dip with dried minced onion and garlic powder.

Easy-does-it desserts include after-dinner drinks, like Hot Chocolate (simply heat chocolate soymilk) and D.I.Y Soy Irish Crème Liqueur, made with 1 cup each of soymilk, and dairy half-and-half, a 14-oz. can of sweetened condensed milk, 3/4 cup Irish whiskey and 1/3 cup rum. Add one Tablespoon of chocolate syrup and a teaspoon of vanilla to flavor.

Serve these sweet beverages with a one-pan dessert, like Mixed Berry Delight, made with drained, waterpacked firm tofu, cream cheese, frozen berries, sugar, cornstarch and whipped topping. This nobake dessert has a graham cracker crust.

For more dessert ideas and full recipes, visit thesoyfoodscouncil. com for irresistible cookie recipes, including Toffee Cookies and Fudge Drop Cookies.