Healthy Holiday Treats

Do you want to enjoy your holiday treats and maintain your healthy eating habits too? Here are a few of my favorite recipes:

Apple Pancakes
3/4 cup kamut or spelt flour
1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon Celtic sea salt (not the same as sea salt. Be sure it is finely-ground)
1 cup soy, rice or almond milk
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
one apple, sliced

Mix all ingredients (except apples) together. Cook by scoopfuls in an oiled frying pan. While the first side is cooking, gently push the apple slices into the batter. When golden brown, flip and cook the other side. Serve immediately.

Vegan Berry Gelatin
Typically jello is made from gelatin (which is an animal product). This gelatin recipe is made with mineral-rich agar, which is a type of seaweed. So, now you can have your minerals and your gelatin too.

4 cups fresh or frozen berries
1/4 cup agar flakes (available in most health food stores)
2 cups of raspberry or apple juice
1/3 cup arrowroot
2 Tablespoons of maple syrup (optional)

In a pot, mix together the juice and agar with a whisk. Bring to a boil on high heat, whisking the entire time. When the juice starts boiling, turn to medium heat and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes to dissolve the agar. In a separate bowl, mix the maple syrup and arrowroot together until well blended. If you opt not to use the maple syrup mix the arrowroot with 2 Tablespoons of water. Pour the maple syrup-arrowroot mixture into the pot. Whisk until thick (approximately one minute). Remove from heat, add the berries and pour into individual glass or ceramic serving cups. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours to set.

Thumbprints
Full of fiber and minerals, these decadent cookies taste great and are nutritious too. If that weren’t enough, they are simple to make too.

1 cup of almonds
1 cup rolled oats
1-1/4 cups of oat, kamut, spelt or rice flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup cold-pressed walnut oil
1/2 cup unsweetened raspberry or strawberry jam

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grind almonds and oats to a fine meal in a food processor. Add flour, cinnamon, maple syrup and oil. Mix in food processor until well combined. Oil a cookie sheet. Form dough into walnut-sized balls. Place on cookie sheet. Press an indentation in the centre of each ball with your thumb. Fill the indentation with jam. Continue until all dough has been used. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden. Makes approximately 24 cookies.

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Megan M.

11:06AM PST on Dec 27, 2011

Thumbprints are one of my favorites - YAY!!! Usually my favs end up on the BAD list! Glad I'm making some good choices!

send a green star

Mindy S.

4:06PM PST on Dec 23, 2011

Wow, I definitely gotta try these sometime!

holly m.

5:50AM PDT on Jul 24, 2011

KOOL

Chou G.

6:18PM PDT on Jun 17, 2010

Oooooh la la! These sound amazing! I just ate dinner, but now I'm hungry again. :) Apple pancakes...dreamy expression of bliss ... Anyhoo, thanks for the vegan berry gelatin recipe, quite helpful. I avoid things with gelatin in them as much as possible, but sometimes you wouldn't believe what it is in! Now I know a substitute for recipes which I find that need it, but I can't make because of the gelatin. (Did all that yabbering-on make sense?) Thanks again!

Martin N.

11:44AM PDT on Apr 12, 2010

mmm I get really hungry just by reading this...

Elaine D.

4:37PM PDT on Mar 22, 2010

they really sound good.

Pauline C.

12:14AM PDT on Mar 17, 2010

Sorry, I don't intend to be offensive being that I am not a vegan. However, the question crosses my mind of how your ingredients hold together in the baking process?

Judith C.

2:10PM PDT on Mar 14, 2010

thanks for post

Past Member .

9:21AM PST on Mar 9, 2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQ31Ljd9T_Y

unbelievable....

Lenee L.

1:01PM PST on Mar 1, 2010

yummmmmmmmmmmmm!!