Posted on December 5th, 2016

With Christmas just around the corner you are probably already thinking about just how much unhealthy food will be served when you have been trying so hard to eat well! You may be feeling excited to indulge on foods that you haven’t had for a long time or you may even feel overwhelmed by the amount of work that needs to be done to put together Christmas celebrations.

I have put together some healthy suggestions that are easy to incorporate into your cooking:

Fruits – fruit is such a great way to add sweetness into any meal and is very versatile.

• Caramelise bananas in a fry pan with a little oil/grass fed butter to top on pancakes or cold desserts.
• Add some orange segments or pomegranate seeds to salads.
• Poach some pears with a little vanilla powder and serve with whipped coconut cream or natural yoghurt.
• Top desserts with fresh berries or blend berries with some coconut water for a refreshing drink. Could even add a sneaky shot of vodka/Bacardi.
• Blend up some frozen bananas to make ‘nice-cream’ and top with some nuts/seeds and some melted dark chocolate.

Cream – try using coconut cream when a recipe calls for cream to take away some of the heaviness cream can put on your digestive system. Place a can of coconut cream in fridge overnight and in the morning scoop of the thick cream and whip to thick peaks to serve with desserts. You could also use natural yoghurt as a replacement for cream on desserts. Coconut cream also makes a tasty chocolate mousse, rice pudding or goes nicely in trifle.

Sugar – try using more natural sugars such as; xylitol, stevia, raw honey, rice malt syrup or coconut sugar/syrup. These sugars have a lower GI rating meaning that they will not cause such a dramatic rise to your blood sugar levels. Be mindful that these are still sugars and need to be consumed in moderation.

Flour – try using wholemeal spelt or rye, buckwheat, millet, amaranth or quinoa flour when a recipe calls for wheat flour. There flours are more wholesome, contain many essential nutrients and will keep you feeling full for a lot longer.

Butter – when a recipe calls for butter at least use grass fed butter or try using equal quantities of coconut oil.

Happy Cooking!