Christmas Treats (that aren’t sweet!)

We took last Friday off in blogging in respect of, and to pray for those affected by the school shooting. While we are picking back up again today, we continue to pray and think about all touched by this tragedy.

One of the things that I love most about the Holidays is the sweet treats I make for my family. Gingerbread, hot chocolate, and fudge are some traditional ones we try to do every year. But the thing I hate about the Holidays can be the sweets too. Not that I am some Nazi about sweets, I just personally find that I don’t feel well if I eat too many, even naturally-sweetened homemade baked goods. And while I try to be a moderate about sweets with my kids, I notice when that fine line has been crossed into the “candy land” sugar load. I know that I have readers who avoid eating too much sugar too.

But the question I posed to myself is, why does “special food” have to always be sweet food? There are so many delicious foods that aren’t the least bit sweet. In fact, so many of our food traditions center not on the pie, but on the turkey, or chowder or other savory main dish. As adults, we can thoroughly enjoy a delicious meal without a cake (as wonderful as cakes are). As parents, we can also try to make food fun for our children, even if it doesn’t have sugar in it.

Here are some of my non-sweet Christmas ideas.

Grinch or Elf food: We have a handful of movies we like to watch each Christmas season, and last year we decided to add Elf to the list. But if you have a movie night that includes a green Grinch or green clothed elves, then making a platter of “green” food to be enjoyed while watching the movie can be fun!

Why not make a green elf juice or smoothie? (The above juice was a cucumber, apple, cilantro, lime, and kale juice). Or what about Grinch Guacamole? There are a lot of naturally green foods (cabbage, lettuce, kale, broccoli, cucumber, celery etc.) that you can adapt to this idea.

Christmas Tree Vegetable Platter: This was born from one of my pinterest pins. (Gotta love pinterest!). The other day we were going to to a small Christmas party, and my daughter wanted to bring this along to share with her friends. We thought it was pretty cute, and served it alongside some balsamic salad dressing (hummus, or a blue cheese dressing would work too!) (I snapped the above picture in insufficient lighting, so sorry about the lack of quality! We were going to a party and I only had a second!)

Holiday Soup: We often had clam chowder Christmas Eve growing up, which was a rich, delicious, nutritious meal that felt special without being sweet! My oldest also has a “birthday soup” which we make for her every birthday. It was her favorite as a toddler and I always make it for her on her birthday. Special food doesn’t have to be sweet food! Sometimes it is also simply the tradition of having that dish on that special day that makes it special too. Don’t discount tradition. And since soups are so nutritious, easily feed a crowd, and are often frugal too, they are a good choice (and are perfect for cold weather).

Extra Effort Meals: For many of us simple food rules the day (and simple food can rock too!), but the holiday season can be a good opportunity to put a little extra time into making special foods. Like making homemade beef tallow French fries and grass-fed burgers, or tempura and udon soup, or sushi, or whatever speaks love to you or your family. While we certainly don’t want to make any birthday or holiday simply about making food, food can also speak loads of love to those we celebrate the season with. Making food memories for our children, don’t just have to be sugary sweets to be sweet in mind. Making sushi, making salad rolls, making rice balls, equals almost as much fun in this family as making a platter of cookies (can you tell my husband is half Asian?). While we will have a traditional ham feast on Christmas day with extended family, creating more simple, but special meals other days of the holiday are fun too.

Chestnuts: If you haven’t roasted or boiled your own chestnuts, do so now. I LOVE chestnuts. I adore them. I would eat them everyday if I could.  I bet a lot of people on paleo diets would enjoy them as well (those who eat potatoes, and some starches). I give instructions for roasting them here, but we also enjoy them boiled. And besides, chestnuts just reek of Christmastime.

Nuts: But making roasted nuts of all kinds (peanuts, walnuts, almond, etc.) is a wonderful holiday treat. Add a bit of rosemary or other herbs, unrefined salt, and high-quality oil and roast, and you have a great treat. There are so many different flavor profiles and seasoning directions you can go with this!

Popcorn: One of our favorite snacks is homemade popcorn (we own a stovetop popper and love it). We like it with grass-fed melted butter, unrefined salt, and brewer’s yeast. So good! And, once again, there are a lot of different ways you can flavor popcorn. For a while I was sprinkling mine with an herb mix that contained rosemary and oregano. Super delicious.

So there are some of my ideas. I’d love to hear your ideas for sugar-free treats for Christmas too!

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KimiHarris

I love beautiful and simple food that is nourishing to the body and the soul. I wrote Fresh: Nourishing Salads for All Seasons and Ladled: Nourishing Soups for All Seasons as another outlet of sharing this love of mine. I also love sharing practical tips on how to make a real food diet work on a real life budget. Find me online elsewhere by clicking on the icons below!

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