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Hungarian Christmas dishes as superfoods?
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The holidays are certainly not the easiest times to embrace healthy foods given all the yummy temptations on the Christmas table. We thought we would put together this handy little nutrition guide, so you will see that superfoods are everywhere and when you take another helping of that delicious cake, in fact, you just give some extra love to your body. It is all about the right perspective! After reading our article, you might feel a little less guilty when you spread out on the sofa nursing a food coma. After all, those three bowls of fish soup and the entire poppy seed bejgli were not in vain.
Note: This advice is not conducive to a healthy everyday diet. But then again, neither is Christmas.
Chestnut – Stronger immunity and smoother skin
Almost no one can resist the smell of roasted chestnuts (let alone the Hungarian chestnut puree with a mountain load of whipped cream on top) and the good news is: you are advised to dig in. Chestnuts are more than just tasty harbingers of the Christmas season – these sweet and buttery superfoods are packed with key vitamins and fiber. They are also a breed apart from other nuts in that they are the only kinds that contain vitamin C. Vitamin C is essential for safeguarding our immune system as well as building collagen (goodbye wrinkles!).
Chestnuts are also low in fat compared to other nuts. Hence, you can eat as much as your stomach can take in without the worry that you may not fit into your pants in January.
Poppy seed – Healthier bones and teeth
Dairy products move over, poppy seed is here to take the throne. As it turns out, milk and cheese are not the only calcium-rich foods (in fact new studies have shown that they are counterproductive when it comes to calcium absorption). One tablespoon of poppy seed contains 13 percent of your recommended daily calcium intake. Now, you do the math on how many slices of bejgli you have to polish off to cover your entire calcium needs! As a bit of extra dose of this vital nutrient has never hurt anyone, you do not have to go easy on that invitingly delicious Christmas roll.
No need to worry about the opium content of these superfoods either, you are not going to get red-flagged in a drug test. Although, now that we think of it – the more bejgli we stuff into our mouth, the happier we feel! Maybe there are some clues in it, after all.
Read also: How well do you know the Hungarian Christmas traditions? – Quiz
Fish – Anti-inflammatory protein source
There is no better way to kick off the Christmas celebration than by treating yourself to a steamy comforting bowl (or two..but even if you are deep into your third one, we will not tell anyone) of Hungarian fish soup. Many believe that fish is one of the healthiest foods on the planet, it hits so many nutritional sweet spots. One of the best sources of dietary protein, it is also rich in a bunch of anti-inflammatory vitamins and essential minerals such as iron, zinc, iodine and magnesium.
So mention of the fact that the pastries and other desserts are laden with sugar and either lard or butter? Very healthy….not. Plus most times the other dishes are usually made here with so much salt as to be inedible to those of us with refined palettes – again not healthy. There is absolutely no way that Hungarian cuisine can be called healthy. Quite the opposite hence the very high prevalence of heart disease in this country compared to say, Italy or France.
Dear Kati, the article has an obviously light tone, it wasn’t meant to be taken seriously or like a full-on nutrition advice. 🙂 Lighten up and enjoy the rest of the holidays!