Holiday Goodies (without the guilt)

*This is a repost from last year but as I start baking some of my favourite treats listed below, I thought I would share again...enjoy!

So many of the goodies that we're bombarded with this time of year are loaded with sugar. And don't you find that they are everywhere, calling out for you to eat them?!  

Here are a few tips to help you keep your sugar consumption down as you enter the holiday season:

• Bake with whole foods as much as you can - Good choices are dates, applesauce, stevia, maple syrup and coconut palm sugar.  All of these have a much lower gycemic index than processed white or brown sugar.
• Bring treats you've baked (with the above ingredients) with you to holiday events as a contribution to the meal.  Then you can enjoy some decadence too without diving in to all the other sugar bombs.
• Make your treats in smaller sizes.  I find this very helpful with portion control.
• Keep them in your freezer between events.  As the saying goes, "out of sight, out of mind".  Not entirely of course, but I do find it helps me eat less if ithe yumminess isn't staring at me on the counter.

Some of the sugar-free, gluten-free, dairy-free baking out there fits the stereotype, it's awful.  Really awful.  But it truly doesn't have to be!  As I get ready to start baking in our home, here are a few of the favourite recipes that I'll be making.  I promise, they are super tasty and not "weird"!

• Egg-free macaroons (haven't them yet, but these peppermint chocolate macaroons look delicious too!)
• Lemon poppyseed cookies (use festive holiday cookie cutters)
• Ginger shortbread cookies
• Chocolate almond fudge (I sprinkle chopped goji berries on top)
• Gingerbread chews
• Merry orbs

Happy baking and be sure to share any of your favourite recipes here too!