Less Sweet Holiday Treats

About author / Pamela Chester

Mom of two; graduate French Culinary Institute; kids cooking program instructor; Master's degree in food studies. Creates kid friendly foods and loves her slow cooker.

It seems like this time of year, it’s hard to keep kids away from all the sweet goodies. From candy canes to sugar cookies and chocolate galore, it’s a never-ending parade of sugar for both adults and kids. So far this week in my house, we have indulged in mini donuts, two different kinds of cookies, some sea salt caramels (my new favorites), some free candy given out at the Christmas parade, and more than a few cups of hot cocoa. We normally have fruit for dessert but I know that will soon change with all the holiday events and gatherings. It’s enough to make my teeth hurt just thinking about all that sugar. No wonder I scheduled dental appointments for all of us in the beginning of the New Year!

I never realized how true that old tale is that sugar can make kids hyperactive – that is until I had a child of my own to witness the aftermath of a big dose of sweet stuff. It was just this Halloween that I discovered what a lot of sugar can do to a little one. My son was literally bouncing off the walls and running up and down the length of the house after discovering that he favored Kit Kats and M&M’s over any other Halloween candy (or any other food for that matter). It took him an hour-plus to fall asleep when he usually falls asleep within minutes of putting him to bed.

All year long, we work hard to set up healthy eating habits for ourselves and our kids, stingily doling out the sweet stuff and limiting sugary snacks and cereal, and then the holidays hit and all those rules seem to get tossed out the window. It sometimes seems impossible to stick to a diet, or even a moderate healthy eating plan, when so many holiday treats are flying at you from every direction.

So I started thinking, is there any way to lighten up on the sugar a little? Not to take it away entirely, for sweet treats are as essential to the holiday season as colorful lights, snowmen, and the big jolly man in the red suit; but to see if there is a chance of eliminating a little here and there. So below I share with you a few ideas for limiting sugar during this sweet season.

You can reduce or eliminate sugar in many holiday baking recipes. Try making your favorite cookie batch with ¼ to ½ cup less sugar and see how you like it. You can eliminate plain white sugar entirely and substitute the same ratio of the granulated variety of Splenda, the no calorie sweetener. There is also Splenda sugar blend and brown sugar blend, which contain half of the amount of calories as the regular types of sugar.

Then there are natural sugar substitutes, such as agave syrup, stevia, and good old honey. These are generally tricky to bake with, but can be used in place of sugar or artificial sweetener in coffee, tea, and hot cocoa recipes.

You can also try to mix in a few healthier recipes, just so your family doesn’t forget about healthy eating during the holiday season. My favorite way to serve a wholesome and easy dessert is fresh cut fruit with lowfat vanilla yogurt. A dressy alternative is to layer fruit such as berries, yogurt and granola in a trifle dish for a pretty holiday dessert or brunch dish. My sister-in-law brought this Layered Berry Trifle to my son’s birthday party last year and it was a huge hit - One of the first things to go!

Serves/Makes: 12

• 3 cups halved fresh strawberries
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1 pint fresh raspberries
• OR
• 1 package (10 ounce size) frozen raspberries, thawed
• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• OR
• 2 packages (10 ounce size) frozen blueberries, thawed
• 1 container (32 ounce size) fat free or low-fat vanilla yogurt
• 4 cups granola