Holidays and festivities mean delectably tasty food, especially, desserts. There is nothing that can beat the sweetness of the festive season compared to a table packed with warm and mouthwatering desserts served just out of your home kitchen. While dinner is often the centerpiece, it is the cakes, pies, cookies, puddings, and tarts that have the tendency of tempting anyone, adults as well as kids.
Vacation treats are the best lure. Desserts are sweet and rich in calories, often avoided by health conscious folks, even though, they want to linger on the flavor of these mouthwatering delights, and long for the taste of these delightfully delicious goodies like anything. But, still there are methods and ways by which, you can still keep wellness in thoughts as well as indulge on your favorite desserts at the same time.
Today, I am sharing with you the preparation methods of 3 typical holiday desserts appreciated throughout the holidays, no matter if it is Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year. But, there is a twist, a healthy twist. I am giving these dessert recipes a makeover and transforming them to healthy holiday desserts, that you can enjoy without any guilt.
1. Pies
Pies are hot favorites among kids and adults, and it is true that you just can’t resist yourself if you find them on each of your holiday dessert table. Store-bought pies are full of rich fatty ingredients, and you don’t want to be ending up this festive season with a pound or 2 of weight gain. So, try making your own pies at home and cherish your guests and your family with healthy home-made equally delicious goodies this festive season.
As we know, the basic ingredients for any type of pie are flour, sugar, a little salt, and fat. So, here you can replaced the fat or oil with Greek yoghurt to eliminate the fat content as well as maintain a flaky and soft texture. If you are making fruit pies, use fruits that are rich in natural sugar content like peaches, golden delicious apples, pears, and berries. You can use natural flavoring agents like vanilla pods, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon or orange zest, or even ginger. If you like your pie to be frosted, use a blob of whipped cream to match the taste as opposed to ice cream.
2. Xmas Cookies
Christmas cookies are must for any household during Christmas season. Since they are very very Christmassy, making cookies on Christmas is a tradition followed by each family. And, since you can bake pretty large number of cookies in one go, you can stock up a pretty generous amount of Christmas biscuits to enjoy them later or whenever you or any of your family member make a round to the kitchen. If you eat a biscuit every time when you go to kitchen, you will soon realize that you are getting packed with extra pounds day by day. Attempt customizing your old cookie recipe by replacing the butter in your recipe for canola oil thereby reducing the hydrogenated fat. Other fat substitutes consist of fruit purees and also low-fat dairy items like low-fat milk or even buttermilk. Try adding some fiber content to your biscuits by exchanging out fifty percent of the all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour and also think about making cookies of smaller size, so you could have more range without overdoing. Try decorating your cookies with home-made jellies or jams, chocolate sauce or melted dark chocolate, or nuts rather than artificial icings to increase the health element. Finally, keep the cookies out of your vision to tackle your temptation and limit your consumption.
3. Cakes
X-mas cakes are another traditional dessert recipes for Christmas. No celebration is found complete, if you don’t cut the cake. Cakes are the ultimate source of sugar and fat. One of the healthy option of replacing the fat content of cakes is to use olive oil. One fine recipe that I came across while surfing for healthy dessert treats is olive oil nut cake. Try this and see if you like the taste of this cake. You can even use margarine or low-fat yoghurt in place of butter or vegetable seasoning. If you are very fond of chocolate cakes, limit the sweetness of the cake by using semi-sweet choco or unsweetened cocoa powder. Try utilizing the natural sugar content of fruits as a sweetener. You can even replace white granulated sugar with brown granulated sugar or molasses which have lesser calories as compared to refined white sugar. As far as frosting is concerned, try home-made chocolate sauce, fruit sauce, or home made jellies or jams. Apply your cake with a thin layer of whipped cream on top and then decorate it with lots of fresh fruits including kiwis, cherries, berries, pineapples, and mango slices instead of loading your cake with thick layers of creamy frosting.
Festivals and holidays are the times to relax and rejoice with your family and friends. Celebration means plenty of delectable mouthwatering treats that you just can’t hold off, but with a little thought and creativity, you can enjoy your favorite treats without any feeling of guilt or penance.
Happy Holidays ! 🙂