Sweet Holiday Treats!

During the holiday season sweet treats are everywhere presenting some real challenges to our willpower. We all know it's important to eat sweets in moderation and to be wise in choosing what we use to sweeten our foods. Refined sweeteners are stripped of their life force energy and their vitamins and minerals. They deliver quick energy but when eaten in excess will contribute to unhappiness and disease. Natural sweeteners made from whole foods are a much better choice. This year make your holidays more healthful by replacing refined sugar with maple syrup, brown rice syrup, honey, unrefined evaporated can juice or any other whole food sweetener that suits your tastes.

Here are some of my favorite holiday treats:

Maple Spiced Pecans
1/2 tsp coconut oil
2 cups raw pecans
4 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground clove
1/8 tsp ground all spice
1/4 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Lightly grease baking sheet with coconut oil
Combine ingredients in a bowl or even better, shake in a zip lock bag
Spread onto baking sheet
Bake for 10 minutes, stir and bake another 10 minutes
Cool and serve

Maple syrup comes from the sap of maple trees and is one of the least refined sweeteners available. It is graded according to USDA standards. Compared to grade A, grade B maple syrup has a stronger flavor and higher minerals content. It's important to get real maple syrup and to read product labels because many maple syrup flavored products are actually made with corn syrup. It's also important to use organic maple syrup to avoid the formaldehyde that many companies use to process the non organic types. To use it instead of sugar, substitute 3/4 cup maple syrup for each cup of sugar while reducing the other liquid in the recipe by 1/8 cup.


Mango and Pineapple Crumble

Topping:
1/2 cup whole white wheat flour (This is not white flour. It is whole wheat flour that comes from white wheat. It is lighter in color and flavor but still but still has all the fiber and nutrition of regular whole wheat flour.)
1/3 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup evaporated cane juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup raw pecans, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut

Mix in a large bowl until mixture forms coarse meal

Fruit Filling
3 tbsp evaporated cane juice
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice
3 mangoes, peeled, pitted and cubed in 1 inch cubes (about 2 1/2 cups)
1/2 a pineapple, peeled, cored and cubed in 1 inch cubes (about 2 1/2 cups)

Mix the dry ingredients together and toss with the fruit

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Lightly oil an 8 inch square glass baking dish with coconut oil
Pour fruit mixture into pan and top with the flour oat mixture
Bake 40 minutes or until topping is brown
Serve slightly warm

Evaporated cane juice has been used for thousands of years and is made by evaporating the water from whole sugar cane juice. Although derived from the same source, evaporated cane juice does not undergo the same degree of processing that refined sugar does. Therefore, it retains more of its nutrients. It's nearly as sweet as refined sugar but also offers us a host of other subtle flavors. Use it anytime sugar is called for!

It's important to maintain a healthy relationship with the sweet things in life, receiving and enjoying their pleasant nature without overdoing it. Use your sweeteners judiciously this year to help make this holiday season your best yet.