Healthy Christmas Treats

Christmas can be a wonderful time of year, celebrations with the family for whatever the season may mean to you, delicious food, snug evenings in around the fire place playing games as well as a little bit of magic for the little ones too.

Christmas can however cause a lot of unnecessary stress especially when doing the supermarket runs. We seem to be bombarded with junk food and sugary treats at every aisle, mainly aimed at children. Not only do these foods on a regular basis harm the health of growing children, they can also increase stress levels as the body fights the toxins, saturated fats and refined sugars.

This is not to say we cant enjoy some chocolate, sweets or other festive goodies out there. However just notice the wide range of variety of more wholesome brands available. If you are counting the pennies, wonderful homemade treats can be great fun to make involving the children too.

A few healthier Christmas snack options (some of which can also be used as stocking fillers)...

• Tangerines, Satsumas, Mandarins...what a better way to bring in one of their 5 a day!
• Homemade carob treats (simply melt a bar, mix with dried fruit and nuts and leave to cool before cutting into chunks). This can be wrapped in little bags as a tasty stocking filler.

• The same mixture can be made with added orange rind and rolled into a ball shape when cool enough to handle. Wrap in foil and add to stockings as a tasty chocolate snowball.
• Use the previous carob mixture and mix with a little desiccated coconut, rolling into small truffle shape balls and coating with more coconut. Mini snowballs!
• Check out your local health food shop for tasty sweets free from sugar, gelatin, artificial colours and preservatives...and yes they taste great!
• Melt a carob bar into a lovely rich thick sauce and allow kids to dip their tangerine segments  or nuts into the sauce.
• Dried fruit and nuts in mini bags.
• Mini packets of raisins.
• Fruit leathers, fruit snack bars.
• Homemade popcorn with a few drops of umeboshi seasoning...kids will love this!
• Vegetable sticks and tortilla chips with dips (avocado, hummus, beetroot...)
• Kids non alcoholic mulled wine: red grape juice, orange juice and a few mulled wine spices.
• Roasted chestnuts in the oven.
• Sweet potato wedges
• Sweet potato and apple cake. The touch of cinnamon makes this cake a perfect festive treat.

Fruity Pancakes

Want to start the weekend with a fun breakfast for all the family? Buckwheat pancakes are perfect for those with wheat or gluten intolerance's. You can use 100% buckwheat flour or even better soak buckwheat wholegrain overnight and simply blend with some rice milk and use as a great pancake batter - 100% wholegrain with more long lasting energy compared to refined wheat flour.

A simple topping of strawberries marinated in rice syrup and a tiny pinch of sea salt (helps to bring out natural sweetness of the fruit) works a treat as well as Carobella spread (found in most health food shops)

YUM!

Simply Delicious!

Last weekend saw another great seminar at 'La Escuela de Alimentacion Natural y Energetica' in Barcelona. Here is a great recipe idea by David Marcos, one of the Teacher Training students.

Simply core, peel and half some apples and cook by pan frying or steaming. Mix carob sauce with raisins and chopped nuts and place in the centre of each apple half. Decorate with an agar agar glaze, chopped nuts and strawberries.

YUM!



Yum Yum Yum

Add some fun in the kitchen and get your children involved!

Why not melt a few spoons of carob spread with a little water and your children can dip strawberries or other fruit into the delicious sauce. Carob spread (naturally sweetened versions available) can be found in health food shops and is great if you find your children become hyper with regular chocolate, as unlike chocolate it does not contain any stimulants.

YUM!