Healthy Holiday Treats
^^ Watch the video here^^
Hello Peeps,
Are you excited for Christmas yet?? The days are ticking by. I have had my tree up for a while now. What an adventure. Check out my Instagram for some of those hilarious pictures!
I know since the holidays are getting closer, you are starting to worry more and more about staying healthy. Well I thought I would tap into some of my resources this week and give you some awesome new blogs to check out. One way to eat healthier during the holidays is to make the treats yourself using some of these amazing recipes:
Healthy grain free/ dairy free choc chip cookies.
This recipe comes from Emily Benton with Simplex Health in Philadelphia. She really knows how to balance her nutrition.
Are you craving that classic chocolate chip cookie? But you want to be a little healthier? Well this recipe has no gluten or dairy. Sign me up.
¼ cup full fat real butter
¼ cup coconut flakes
2 tablespoons honey
1 large egg, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
1½ cups almond flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ cup dark chocolate pieces (just chop up a dark chocolate bar)
¼ cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips ( dairy free)
Combine all ingredients (minus choc chips) and blend in food processor.
Manually add choc chips.
Bake in oven at 350 for 10 minutes.
Here is a great idea! When baking you cookies replace sugar with honey, coconut sugar, or agave. Swap out white flour with almond or coconut flour. Each swap gets these cookies a little bit healthier.
Did they come out warm and gooey? I can’t wait to eat.
Paleo double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
Are you paleo? Or maybe you don’t even know what that means. Well that is okay, all you have to know is that paleo generally means healthy.
One amazing recipe comes from blogger Lauren. She has a blog called Healthy Food for Living. She says that these cookies have “no flour, no refined sugar, no butter. That’s right. These are holiday cookies that you can actually feel good about eating because they’re chock full of healthy ingredients.”
Doesn’t that sound great? Well try them for yourself and see.
Lauren strives “to find a balance between the two basic food philosophies of ‘eat to live’ and live to eat’. [She] believe[s] that food should be (and is!) one of the great pleasures of leading a healthy lifestyle.”
You can view this recipe along with many other healthy cooking ideas on Healthy Food for Living. Make sure you say hi to Lauren while you are there. :) http://www.healthyfoodforliving.com/paleo-double-chocolate-peppermint-cookies/
Grandma’s Gluten Free Organic Thumbprint Cookies
How about a cookie recipe more on the organic side? Are you into all natural ingredients? I know I am.
These cookies from blogger Kaylee, on her blog Lemons and Basil, are fantastic and creative. She says, “in wanting to keep these Christmas cookies as natural as possible, rather than using the more traditional food coloring, I opted to make my own using beets and spinach.” I would never have thought to do that in a million years. She must have that knack for whipping up new amazing recipes because her blog is loaded with them.
Her recipes are “full of organic produce and whole foods, which is the way [she] strive[s] to eat about 80-85% of the time. [She] believe[s] strongly in living a balanced life and while [she] love[s] to fuel [her] body with wholesome and nutritious food, [she] also have[s] a terrible sweet tooth {hello ice cream!} and love[s] to partake in the joys of socializing with others around food, be it healthy or not.” You can check out this recipe, and many others at Lemons and Basil: http://lemonsandbasil.com/grandmas-gluten-free-organic-thumbprint-cookies-sprouts-incredible-bulk-bin-treat-exchange/
Maybe you aren’t the cooking type. Well that is okay too. Here are some other ideas on how to eat a little healthier during the holidays:
Don’t get distracted. I know it’s hard with all the catching up to do with family, but while you are yapping away, make sure you aren’t mindlessly munching away as well.
Are you Santa, or Rudolf? Before grabbing that cookie, grab a carrot first. Eat something healthy before eating something sweet. It will make you more mindful of what you are consuming.
Grab a smaller plate during that family dinner. It will cause you to recognize that you are full faster, and eat less.
Need a drink to get through the holidays? No judgment here. Alternate between those cocktails and a glass of water, so you aren’t always mindlessly sipping those sweet drinks.
Know your christmas dinner is going to be filled with amazing food that is a little unhealthy, but you want to eat all of it? Well go healthier on the days surrounding the Holidays. December and January could be your healthiest eating months (besides dinners with the whole family)
Don’t make a big hairy deal about these things people. Stay focused on what the holidays are really about. Yes! Eating amazing food and hanging out with incredible people who love you. Go forth and conquer the holidays this year. I am with you.
-SJW