A Healthy Holiday
This time of year, the challenge is always finding healthy versions of old favorites. Sure, I can veganize the cookies, but it’s the candy that is always difficult -- I have never even attempted to make my own candy due to the fact that I am a complete neat freak and can’t handle stickiness -- yuck!
My daughter adores candy canes, but the ones you usually find in the stores contain all kinds of nasty colorings and tons of sugar. I found a brand that costs a bit more but has a more acceptable ingredient list (shown below). I also found sprinkles for the cookies, and lollipops and licorice for the stockings.
The lollipops taste amazing -- they aren’t what I would call healthy, but if you’re going to indulge, why not ensure that your candy at least isn’t going to kill you? And I feel like a better mom if I have options and alternatives, instead of just saying, “no we don’t eat candy.” I say no to my kids about so many other things (we don’t watch TV, we don’t eat fast food, etc.) so this way, I can feel better about saying yes.
It just goes to show that eating fun food doesn’t have to be off-limits for those of us who prefer not to eat numbers. For more information on the dangers of food colorings, see this article. If that’s a bit too heavy for casual reading, here is another site.
And here is a scrumptuous shot of my sugar cookies!
