Not that we want to come over all bah humbug, but the Christmas season and all the feasting that accompanies it can be tough on the would-be healthy eater or those following a specific diet, whether through choice or for medical reasons.
While there’s absolutely nothing wrong with some enthusiastic seasonal eating (hello, warm mince pie number two), many of us would like to navigate our way to New Year’s Day without feeling stuffed to festive excess. If in the next couple of weeks you’re hosting a canape party, heading to one or just planning on sampling a few little morsels pre-dinner, it’s worth being selective about those nibbles. A canape done well is a very good thing indeed – tasty, flavourful, leaving you wanting more – but a lacklustre offering, all soggy pastry and sorry cheese, heavy on the carbs and calories, is simply not worth it.
With that in mind, if you want to introduce a little health into your festive eating, we’ve come up with a few ideas that are full of colour and crunch, light citrus notes and careful spicing and, most importantly, take different dietary requirements into account as well.
Super-speedy, healthy party bites
These dishes take very little time to put together, and as well as tasting great, they will do you good too.
Labneh and dukkah dip with crudités
Mix two tablespoons of your best extra virgin olive oil with one tablespoon dukkah. Beat together 150 grams of labneh and 150g of natural yoghurt, decant into a serving bowl and stir in finely grated lemon zest and plenty of black pepper. Drizzle with the dukkah oil and surround with crudités: think baby carrots, courgettes and sweetcorn, cherry tomatoes, cucumber batons, mini peppers, English breakfast radishes and mangetout.
Edamame and mint rice crackers bites
Cook 250g soya beans according to pack instructions. Drain and leave to cool. Tip all but a handful of the soy beans into a blender with 60ml thick Greek yoghurt, the leaves from ½ bunch of mint and the juice of a lemon. Season and blitz well. Chill in the fridge until needed. When you are ready to serve, arrange mini rice cakes or wholegrain crackers on a platter and spread with the edamame and mint dip. Top with the reserved cooked beans, mint leaves and lemon zest.
Tricolore salad skewers
Mix together a crushed garlic clove, ¼ bunch finely chopped basil leaves and three tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a large bowl. Season the mix with some black pepper and then add in 250g mini mozzarella balls. Shake the bowl around properly to ensure the mozzarella balls are well-coated by the oil. Thread sun-blushed tomatoes on to small wooden skewers, follow with a pitted Kalamata olive, basil leaf and a mini mozzarella ball in the end. Once the skewers are all assembled, drizzle over the oil that is left over in the bottom of the bowl.
Vegan canape ideas
If you’ve taken meat, dairy and eggs (and their associated products) out of the equation, there are still plenty of canape options that will appeal to both vegans and non-vegans alike. Try roasting strips of aubergine, red peppers and courgettes with thyme and olive oil until softened, then pile on to a crostini; or seek out nutritional yeast (which provides a fantastic, slightly cheesy, umami flavour whack) and sprinkle it over freshly made popcorn, along with black pepper and smoked paprika.
You can also make a chilled tomato, melon or cucumber soup and serve in small glasses or espresso cups; and cook squares of tofu in a maple and soy glaze, then thread on to skewers with crunchy broccoli. Alternatively, turn silken tofu into a creamy dip by blitzing it with a little lemon juice and presenting with crudités, or try the courgette rosti recipe below.
Courgette rosti with vegan cream cheese and mint
Makes: 16-18
Prepare: 15 minutes plus draining
Cook: 20 minutes
Ingredients
2 courgettes, grated
¼ bunch mint, leaves picked
2 garlic cloves, crushed
4 tbsp plain flour
Zest of 1 lemon, plus lemon slices to serve
4 spring onions, finely chopped
Oil, for cooking
4 tbsp vegan cream cheese
¼ cucumber, finely diced
Put the grated courgette in a sieve suspended over a bowl. Sprinkle lightly with salt and leave to drain for 10 minutes. Squeeze the excess water from the courgettes and discard the liquid. Finely chop half the mint leaves. Put the grated courgette in a clean bowl and mix with the garlic, plain flour, lemon zest and spring onions. Season generously. Set a non-stick frying pan with a little oil over a medium-high heat. Once hot, add teaspoonfuls of the courgette mix, pressing down lightly with the back of a spoon to flatten. Cook for three minutes on each side until lightly golden. Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper and cook the remaining mix. The fritters can be made and cooked in advance, ready to be warmed through in a low oven when needed. To serve, arrange the fritters on a plate. Mix together the vegan cream cheese and remaining chopped mint, spread over the fritters and top with the diced cucumber.
Gluten-free canape ideas
The classic canape, with its bread or pastry base, is obviously off-limits when planning for a gluten-free menu. The key when dreaming up suggestions for suitable canapes, then, is to find a tasty replacement that can still act as a vehicle for an array of different toppings.
Turning a gluten-free loaf into crostini is the obvious first choice and a good one, but for something a bit more unusual, serve chunky cubes of roasted butternut squash topped with feta cheese and chilli flakes, or offer little rounds of crispy sweet potato spread with hummus and scattered with coriander leaves and pomegranate seeds.
Mini skewers can also work really well: think tiger prawns with a zippy dipping sauce or squares of warm cheddar and caramelised onion frittata. For one of the quickest and healthiest gluten-free canapes around, though, you can opt for cucumber and cream cheese topped with smoked salmon slices.
Smoked salmon, cream cheese and cucumber slices
Makes: 24
Prepare: 5 minutes
Cook: No Cook
3 UAE cucumbers
100g low-fat cream cheese
1 tbsp horseradish sauce
Zest of ½ lemon, plus extra to garnish
100g smoked salmon
Trim the ends from the cucumbers and cut into 1cm-thick slices. Mix together the cream cheese, horseradish sauce and lemon zest, then season with a generous sprinkle of black pepper. Slice the salmon into thin slivers. Dot the cucumber rounds with a small spoonful of the horseradish cream cheese and top with a piece of smoked salmon. Scatter some lemon zest and black pepper on top and serve.
Dairy-free canape ideas
If you’re following a dairy-free diet but missing the richness that comes from cheese and cream, nut cheeses are a great alternative and work particularly well in canapes. To make almond nut cheese, tip 50g slivered almonds into a blender, add 50ml olive oil and 100ml water and blitz until thick, smooth and creamy. Use as the base of a dip or combine with flaked smoked mackerel, lemon juice and diced spring onions to make dairy-free mackerel pate.
For further dairy-free inspiration, try homemade mini falafel with mango salsa, polenta chips with avocado sauce or have a go at the steak, onion and slow-roast tomato cups in the recipe below, which is not only free from dairy but low carb and rather indulgent too.
Steak, caramelised onion and slow-roast tomato lettuce cups
Makes: 20
Prepare: 10 minutes
Cook: 2 hours 10 minutes
250g cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
½ tsp caster sugar
2 tbsp olive oil
150g sirloin steak, trimmed of fat
3 Baby Gem lettuces
4 tbsp caramelised onion chutney
Salt and pepper, to taste
Preheat the oven to 140°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Tip the tomatoes into a bowl, add the caster sugar and 1 tbsp olive oil, season with salt and black pepper and mix well. Arrange the tomatoes on the tray cut side up, transfer to the oven and roast for approximately 2 hours, until the tomatoes are darkened and semi-dried. When you’re almost ready to serve, lightly brush the steak with oil and season with salt and black pepper. Set a frying pan over a medium-high
heat. Once hot, add the steak and cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until done to your liking. Remove from the pan and set aside to rest for 10 minutes, then cut into thin slices. While the steak is resting, separate the lettuces into individual leaves, then use a cookie cutter to stamp out small rounds. Arrange on a plate or platter. Put a little caramelised onion chutney in the base of each lettuce circle, add a slice of steak and a couple of roasted tomatoes and serve.
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Read more:
How to have a very vegan Christmas in the UAE
Christmas day brunches and lunches: festive feasts in Abu Dhabi and Dubai
Festive takeaway: where to order your Christmas meal in the UAE
The bio
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite travel destination: Maldives and south of France
Favourite pastime: Family and friends, meditation, discovering new cuisines
Favourite Movie: Joker (2019). I didn’t like it while I was watching it but then afterwards I loved it. I loved the psychology behind it.
Favourite Author: My father for sure
Favourite Artist: Damien Hurst
If you go...
Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs: 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor
Price, base / as tested Dh220,000 / Dh320,000
Engine 3.5L V6
Transmission 10-speed automatic
Power 421hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 678Nm @ 3,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.1L / 100km
SUNDAY'S ABU DHABI T10 MATCHES
Northern Warriors v Team Abu Dhabi, 3.30pm
Bangla Tigers v Karnataka Tuskers, 5.45pm
Qalandars v Maratha Arabians, 8pm
Afro%20salons
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The Gentlemen
Director: Guy Ritchie
Stars: Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant
Three out of five stars
Specs%3A%202024%20McLaren%20Artura%20Spider
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Stage result
1. Pascal Ackermann (GER) Bora-Hansgrohe, in 3:29.09
2. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto-Soudal
3. Rudy Barbier (FRA) Israel Start-Up Nation
4. Dylan Groenewegen (NED) Jumbo-Visma
5. Luka Mezgec (SLO) Mitchelton-Scott
6. Alberto Dainese (ITA) Sunweb
7. Jakub Mareczko (ITA) CCC
8. Max Walscheid (GER) NTT
9. José Rojas (ESP) Movistar
10. Andrea Vendrame (ITA) Ag2r La Mondiale, all at same time
MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 2
Vinicius Junior (71') Mariano (90 2')
Barcelona 0
PRO BASH
Thursday’s fixtures
6pm: Hyderabad Nawabs v Pakhtoon Warriors
10pm: Lahore Sikandars v Pakhtoon Blasters
Teams
Chennai Knights, Lahore Sikandars, Pakhtoon Blasters, Abu Dhabi Stars, Abu Dhabi Dragons, Pakhtoon Warriors and Hyderabad Nawabs.
Squad rules
All teams consist of 15-player squads that include those contracted in the diamond (3), platinum (2) and gold (2) categories, plus eight free to sign team members.
Tournament rules
The matches are of 25 over-a-side with an 8-over power play in which only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle. Teams play in a single round robin league followed by the semi-finals and final. The league toppers will feature in the semi-final eliminator.
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.0-litre, twin-turbocharged W12
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 626bhp
Torque: 900Nm
Price: Dh1,050,000
On sale: now
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20WATCH%20SE%20(second%20generation)
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Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
The Rub of Time: Bellow, Nabokov, Hitchens, Travolta, Trump and Other Pieces 1986-2016
Martin Amis,
Jonathan Cape