If you’re staying home for the holidays and not hosting or attending large gatherings, it’s still possible to enjoy a festive season. Nancy Waldeck, a chef at Cancer Wellness at Piedmont, shares her favorite tips for making the most of the holidays.

• Decorate your space. “Spend some time making your space more festive,” says Waldeck. “This doesn’t mean a great deal of time or work, but bring out a few things that make you feel like the time of year is special.”

• Connect and give back. “Helping others can mean many things, not just preparing meals or serving meals for others,” she says. “You can spend time writing cards to others or calling them to let them know that you are thinking about them.” You can also donate gifts, clothing, food or money to charitable causes in your community.

• Enjoy holiday-themed activities. “If possible, do a little mall walking to see decorations of the season or watch shows that have a holiday theme,” she says. “Pick out a special holiday book to read during the season. Seek out attractions that are special to the season, like light shows or botanical gardens.”

• Savor holiday memories. “You can also journal your memories of favorite holidays,” says Waldeck. “As time goes by, you can add to your journal as you detail what you have done year by year.”

• Make your meals extra-special. “Spend some time thinking about what meals you have had in the past that made the holidays more noteworthy,” says Waldeck. “You don’t have to recreate entire meals; instead, try to find the dish you loved best and make that for yourself.”

Herb-stuffed mushrooms

“Growing up, my family liked mushrooms as an appetizer for holidays,” says Waldeck. “I’ve taken the recipe and changed it a bit, but it’s still a favorite after all these years. If I don’t make anything else festive, I always make these stuffed mushrooms.”

Ingredients:

• 1 (8-ounce) package baby bella mushrooms

• 1 tablespoon Braggs amino acids, tamari or low-sodium soy sauce

• Olive oil spray

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 tablespoon minced red onion

• 1 garlic clove, grated or minced

• 3 tablespoons panko, rice panko or crushed rice crackers, plus more for topping

• 1 tablespoon freshly grated parmesan

• 2 tablespoons Boursin or another herb cheese

• 2 teaspoons chopped herbs, plus more for garnish

• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Step one

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Rinse the mushrooms and remove the stems. Place the mushrooms on a sheet tray, sprinkle with tamari and spray with olive oil. Slide into the oven, cap side down, and cook for 10 to 12 minutes or until the mushrooms have released liquid. Remove from the oven and when cool enough to handle, pour off the liquid.

Step two

While the mushrooms are roasting, chop the stems. Sauté the stems and the red onions together in a large saucepan with the olive oil until the mushrooms have released all their liquid. Add the garlic and cook and stir for about a minute or until fragrant.

Step three

Add the panko, Parmesan, herb cheese and herbs to the mushroom mixture. Season it with a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper. Spoon into the mushroom caps and then Slide into the preheated oven and roast for about 15 minutes or until cooked through. Garnish with herbs.

“These easy mushrooms can be served at room temperature, so you can make this recipe in two steps if it seems like a lot of work for one day,” she says. “Roast your mushroom caps the day before and take them out of the fridge. You can sauté the stems and make the filling on the day you would like to enjoy them.”

Check out more recipes and nutrition tips from Cancer Wellness experts.