Healthier Holiday Snacks and Desserts
December is a special month to be with family and it is a time where children are attending many festivities. They will have holiday parties at school, family and friend gatherings and any afterschool programs they attend will have their own little holiday celebrations. Let’s not forget the fun holiday activities like making a gingerbread house with cookies and lots of candy or helping make special holiday snacks to give to neighbors and friends! Tis’ the season where kids see lots of snacks, cookies and desserts at almost every turn.
You will undoubtedly be asked to bring holiday treats to make these events special for the kids. With everything you have on your plate, it is easy to go for the common holiday favorites: candy, deep fried potato pancakes, soofganiot (doughnuts), Yule log cake, and decorated sugar cookies in the shapes of reindeers or dreidels. You may want to come up with some healthier alternatives but who has time? Not to worry. We are moms too and are here to help. With a few changes you can make almost any holiday snack a little healthier. This month, we thought it would be helpful to give you some holiday snack and dessert ideas that are delicious, fun and healthier.
Healthy Holiday Snacks and Desserts High in Fiber
Adding fiber to holiday treats is a great way to add a healthy blast to your recipes. Fiber has a variety of health benefits for the whole family. It keeps your digestive tract working good and it is good for your heart! It also makes you feel full and less likely to overeat.
Here are some tips on how to add fiber to your seasonal snacks and desserts:
- ✰ You can substitute white flour for 100% whole wheat baking flour. If you think your kids might not like it, then start with using half white flour and half whole wheat flour. Your kids won’t even notice and you have instantly made it more healthy!
- ✰ Crackers and cheese are a tasty snacks. Replace white crackers with whole wheat, multi-grain, or sprouted wheat and you have added a ton of healthy fiber to the snack. (Replace the cheese for low fat and double the healthiness!)
- ✰ Making cupcakes from a boxed recipe (me too!) just pour a cup of bran or oatmeal in the mix and you have added fiber easily. It's filled with vitamins, minerals and fiber. You may need to experiment with the amount.
- ✰ Fruits and veggies are great sources of fiber. Add sliced pear to salads, offer pomegranates as after-school snacks, and bring in a tray of grapes and sliced persimmons to a class party.
- ✰ Bring in bean dip (check the label to make sure it is low in fat) and salsa with some 100% whole grain chips or baked chips. Beans are a great source of fiber!
Healthy Appetizers for Holiday Parties
Holiday celebrations are often centered around high fat appetizers. We often don’t have time for trying to find alternatives so we grab the nearest party tray from the grocery store or make a platter of fatty treats. Who has time to try to juggle holiday shopping and preparations with thinking of healthier alternatives? Maybe your thinking that kids won’t eat anything else or the family will be disappointed.. We are here to help.
Here is a list of some healthy snacks and appetizers tips and ideas that are sure to be party favorites and be healthier!
- ✰ It sounds simple, but include at least one healthy food item in your appetizer like fruit, vegetables or 100% whole grains.
- ✰ Cut the fat in half! Switch from whole fat to lower fat versions for your creams, mayonnaise, cheeses, meats and milk products.
- ✰ Change dips from cream, fat or mayonnaise to dips made from low fat yogurt, beans or hummus.
- ✰ Have the kids help find red and green fruits and vegetables that you can shape into a holiday scene!
- ✰ Make healthy sandwiches with lean turkey and low fat cheese and use cookie cutters to make holiday shapes.
- ✰ Try using fruit butters to jazz up your crackers or whole wheat bread. Natural fruit butters are lower in calories (as low as 20 calories for 1 tablespoon) but tasty and sweet.
- ✰ Recipes that call for deep frying, try baking it instead. You will lower the amount of fat and still have all the flavor.
Healthier holiday Cookies, cakes and dessert ideas
Kids (and parents) love desserts. Who doesn’t? It’s one of the foods we all look forward to and make room for. But it doesn’t have to be only sugar and fat! There are plenty of little ways you can modify your recipe to make it healthier without losing the sweet taste.
Here are some tips for creating healthier holiday desserts:
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- ✰ Sugar is one of the key ingredients in most desserts. (Okay, it is the key ingredient in desserts). But you can keep your desserts sweet with some healthier options. Agave and stevia are low calorie options.
- ✰ Some sites may recommend substituting sugar with “sugar substitutes” like saccharin, aspartame, or sucralose, (the pink, the blue, the yellow). But these sugar substitutes are not natural, have chemicals and there are plenty of research questioning the safety of some of these sugars. These are not good options for kids. It is better to use real sugar and lessen the amount (start with ¼ less than the recipe calls for) instead of substituting unnatural chemical sweetners. Avoid these sugar substitutes.
- ✰ Some recipes call for lard or shortening to make the dough or crust. These fats can be full of saturated fats or trans fats, neither of these are good for the heart. Look for unsalted low fat butter or low fat margarine. Check the food label to be sure it says “no trans fats” and is low in saturated fats. Yes, they are still fats but much healthier option for the heart.
- ✰ Try using lessening the amount of butter or margarine. You can often get away with ¼ less then recommended amount without changing the taste of the recipe. But of course, you will have to try it and see.
- ✰ Try adding some fresh fruit to your cakes and cupcake recipes. You can mix it into the mix or decorate the top of it. Now it has some vitamins and nutrients!
- ✰ You can also add some walnuts or almonds to spice up your holiday recipe and some healthy fats, vitamins and minerals.
We know that holiday snacks and desserts are a normal part of the celebration. We don’t say “Don’t eat that” because we know that is not realistic or practical. Instead, try some of our suggestions so that kids will enjoy the holiday treats with a healthier option.
From the staff at Nourish Interactive, have a healthy, happy holiday with many magical moments. May 2010 be full of laughter, hope, and daily servings of fruits and vegetables.
Written on: December 2009
Last updated: December 2009
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