We have officially entered the high holiday season in the U.S.A, and the west in general.; with Halloween, Thanksgiving Day, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s Day. Holidays mean food, presents, food, alcohol, food, discomfort, food, resolutions; or this has been the pattern in my past. Nowadays I am more into a healthy defensive mode, and think about foods I can make that will allow my spouse and I to join in the general celebrations, while we keep in mind that there are pitfalls lining the holiday pathway. I know my concerns, and I suspect you know yours. There is one particular brand of fruit cake I always had at Christmas, though I doubt now I would really like it all that much, especially since one slice has more carbs than I eat in a month now–and I never ate just one slice.
I have been making some things we like a lot getting ready for our upcoming Thanksgiving. I made a sugar-free cranberry sauce, and a cranberry relish; these freeze well, and this is the rare time in the year that I can find organic cranberries, so it’s stock up time. I have made and bought some very low carb bread which will be part of a stuffing and a bread pudding, both helping to keep to my new ketogenic diet. Turkey is a must, since I love it fresh roasted and in all the many ways it can be used as left overs, plus those bones make up several pints of healthy bone broth. Celery, turnip, kohlrabi, onion, get roasted and used in small amounts, but they keep well.
For dessert I have a wonderful pumpkin chiffon pie recipe I make with no sugar, only a few stevia drops, and a chocolate mousse, my maple walnut butter treats, all with the same stevia treatment; along with flax crackers and a plethora of incredible cheeses for starters. So we are set to have a good time. I find people enjoy what we bring to the gatherings as much as the SAD foods, and it takes us out of the idea that we are deprived, since clearly we are not with this bit of planning.
Festivals and celebrations are inextricably linked with food, but food should not dominate our lives; still, for those of us who are sugaraholics, there must be attention paid to the holiday and other celebration pitfalls. We have no need at all, or excuse, to give in to the treats if we have our own safe and delicious alternatives.
Yours in celebration,
Nan aka Sugarbaby
Sugaraholics 