Lauren Wysocki, Community Health Programs Manager
Favorite Holiday Dish: Green Bean Casserole
Why I Love It: It’s my dad and I’s favorite holiday dish and it’s usually the dish with the most leftovers. More for us!
Healthy or Budget Friendly Tip: I like to add some color and balance to the dish by adding some pomegranate seeds, dried cranberries or nuts like pecan or almond slivers to the dish.
Kristyn Bopp, Nutrition Resource Manager
Favorite Holiday Dish: Monkey Bread!! Monkey bread is a warm, pull-apart pastry that’s usually baked in a bundt pan and served as a sweet, sticky, shareable treat. It’s made from small pieces of biscuit dough that are rolled into balls, coated in melted butter, cinnamon, and sugar, and then layered into the pan before baking.
Why I Love It: Monkey Bread has been a Christmas morning tradition for as long as I can remember. My mom made it for my sisters and me, and now I make it for my own children. It’s quick, easy, and always a fun breakfast treat that the kids look forward to every year.
Healthy or Budget-Friendly Tip: Monkey bread is usually a sweet treat, but there are easy ways to make it a little healthier or give it a fun twist. I usually add chopped fruit, like apples, to the bottom of the pan before you bake it. The fruit adds flavor, color, and a small boost of nutrition. You can also make a savory monkey bread. Just press a little cheese or chopped veggies into each dough piece. Instead of rolling the dough in sugar and butter, mix garlic with melted butter. Bake it, add a cup of tomato sauce on the side, and you’ve got Pizza Monkey bread.
Lily Magnotta, JSY Nutrition Educator
Favorite Holiday Dish: Glazed ham with brown sugar and mustard
Why I Love It: Glazed ham is a holiday tradition for my family. The only time of the year we eat baked ham is around Christmas time. It feels extra special when we eat it because we don’t make it all year round. It is my favorite dish to eat and pair with mashed potatoes or my mom’s homemade mac and cheese! I also love to eat roasted brussels or garlicky green beans on the side. The sweet and salty flavor of glazed ham makes my mouth water!
Healthy or Budget-Friendly Tip: You can trim any visible excess fat from the ham and use a lighter glaze with more mustard and less sweetener to reduce saturated fat and added sugars while keeping flavor.
Caroline Moran, Dietetic intern
Favorite Holiday Dish: Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Butternut Squash Salad
Why I Love It: I have brought this dish to several parties, and it is always a huge crowd pleaser! This is especially great to bring if there are limited vegetable dishes, and I have even gotten a few people who dislike brussels sprouts to enjoy this recipe 🙂
Budget-Friendly Tip: Use frozen brussels sprouts and butternut squash for a wallet-friendly alternative. They taste just as good, especially when roasted! I would recommend setting your oven to a higher temperature (400F) and be flexible with cooking times—they might need a few extra minutes in the oven.
Claudia Fountain, JSY Nutrition Educator
Favorite Holiday Dish: Orange Drop Cookies with Glaze
Why I Love It: These cookies come straight from my grandma’s recipe box and have been on our holiday table for as long as I can remember. They’re soft, bright, and full of real orange flavor, which makes them stand out from most citrus desserts that tend to be lemon-based. They feel nostalgic, cozy, and are truly a family tradition.
Healthy or Budget-Friendly Tip: Fresh oranges provide natural sweetness and real citrus flavor, so added sugar in the glaze can be reduced by half without losing taste. Using one orange for both zest and juice makes the recipe affordable and reduces food waste.
Sam Monks, Director of Health and Nutrition
Favorite Holiday Dish: Pierogi (Polish Dumpling)
Why I Love It: Growing up, I used to make pierogi with my babcia (grandma) and aunts in the days leading up to Christmas Eve dinner. They’re a staple in Polish culture, and the Christmas pierogi are my favorite—filled with sauerkraut and wild mushrooms, they’re full of tradition, flavor, and memories.
Budget-Friendly Tip: Boil the pierogi and top with caramelized onions for extra flavor and reduced fat.
Ashleigh Whyte, Nutrition Outreach and Education Coordinator
Favorite Holiday Dish: Jamaican Black Cake
Why I Love It: It is a traditional cake, and celebration staple dessert, typically eaten in the holiday season. It makes me feel connected to my culture
Healthy or Budget-Friendly Tip: Without taking away the cultural significance of the traditional staple dessert, one way to make this recipe more budget friendly, use less expensive varieties of dried fruits, such as raisins and cherries.
