Everyday Nutrition: 12 Days of Holiday Baking

Sunday, December 26, 2010

12 Days of Holiday Baking

I spend a lot of the year creating and perfecting healthy items to share with family and friends. During the holiday season however all of my nutritional know-how gets put on the back burner and I use just as much sugar, butter and salt as everyone else. This doesn't mean that I condone holiday weight gain it just goes to show you that within moderation holiday treats can be part of any diet plan.

This season presented me with an abundance of holiday parties and events that allowed me to use my culinary skills to treats my friends and family with a variety of yummy goodies. I started on December 1st shopping, organizing and strategizing my plan and here is how it all worked out.

Day 1: Infused Vodkas.

A good friend of mine shared her limoncello recipe with me and from there the idea of infusing vodka took off! The process had to be started early since the goal of using them for Christmas presents meant that I had to start infusing at least 30 days head. The process itself was very easy. 1.) open a bottle of vodka and pour a little out 2.) put infusion items in the bottle 3.) Store in a dark place for 2-4 weeks 4.) Strain through cheese cloth and put into pretty bottles.

This years infusions included: Apple Cinnamon, Pumpkin Spice, Cranberry Apple, Ginger, Jalapeno and Blackberry Vanilla. then in a similar process I made Limoncello, "Lime"cello, Irish Cream and vanilla extract.

Day 2: Glogg (Swedish Mulled Wine)

Day 3: Brownie Trees and Chocolate Mint Cream Filled cupcakes

Day 4: Pumpkin Butterscotch Muffins
Mini Pumpkin Butterscotch Muffins

Day 5: Pepparkova (Swedish Gingersnaps)

Day 6: Coconut Caramel Candy

Mix 1 cup Coconut, 1 cup of White Chocolate Chips, 1 cup of peanuts and 24 unwrapped caramels in a microwave safe bowl until melted, press into a buttered pan and then cut into squares once cooled. Done and delicious!

Day 7: Pettit Four Truffles

Day 8: Sugar Cookies with Rolled Fondant

Day 9: Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies- I often make "regular recipes" gluten free by substituting corn meal for flour in my regular recipes!

Day 10: White Chocolate Covered Oreos

Day 11: Pumpkin Peanut Butter Puppy Treats

Don't forget the dogs!

Day 12: Chocolate Oatmeal Bars

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

1 comment:

Amanda (co-chair)January 3, 2011 at 9:28 AM
Have to say that your infused vodkas look pretty official! I'm going to have to track down your bottle source...

I will definitely be using some of these recipes- and stepping up my dessert presentation after seeing your amazing pictures!
-Amanda
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Welcome!

My name is Kristin and I am a Registered Dietitian living in the heart of Chicago.

Everyday Nutrition is a blog set out to show how nutrition can be easy, fun, creative and most importantly part of everyday. Some posts will be nutrition and health focused where as others may be more indulgent to show that in moderation any food can be part of a healthy lifestyle.

I have worked in a variety of settings including home health care, women, infant and children's nutrition, diabetic wellness, rehabilitation as well as community health promotion.

I feel that nutrition is one of the most important components of a healthy lifestyle, but in addition to nourishing our bodies food has to make us happy, fit our budget and must be adaptable to daily changes we may face.

I like to think of myself as a realistic Dietitian and strongly believe in the following:

1.) There are no "bad" foods. Eat in moderation and don't deny yourself. Eat healthy 80% of the time and splurge the other 20%, not only will it help you stick to a healthy eating plan but you deserve it!

2.) The more visually stimulating your meals are the more you will enjoy them. A low-fat item will taste better if it looks appealing so add some creativity into your meals and save calories while eating healthy.

3.) Save money where you can so that you can afford healthy foods or match sales with coupons to pay less for those foods. I hear patients say all the time that healthy foods are expensive but it is possible to make healthy foods part of any budget.

4.) Eating is a numbers game, keep your "calories in" and "calories out" the same and you set yourself up for weight stability over time. Know that you will be eating a larger dinner? Make sure to hit the gym in the morning or scale down breakfast and lunch portions to compensate.

5.) Nutrition does not have to be difficult! Eat a balance of foods, avoid high calorie high sugar items and make sure to have a large glass of water at each meal, it can be that simple. I often tell patients to eat as their mother taught them growing up, going back to basics helps ground us in good health.

Thanks for stopping by and please check back soon for updates!

Link Descriptions:

RECIPES:

This section is dedicated to everything cooking! It includes sections such as:
- Once Upon a Dinner Party; Things That I Learned From Friends (Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian, Lactose Intolerance)
- Products that I LOVE (Pumpkin, Squash, Fiber One)
- Hidden Nutrition
- Treats for our puppy friends
- Splurge, no calorie counting here!
- Fun with Food
- Try something new

HOW TO CALCULATE CALORIE NEEDS:

Provides instructions to figure out how many calories you need to eat each day to satisfy your health and wellness goals.

300 CALORIE MEALS/100 CALORIE SNACKS:

So now that you know how many calories you need daily you can start planning meals! Start with three 300 calorie meals and add 100 calories to each meal or snack to until you reach your total caloric needs.

HEALTH AND NUTRITION INFORMATION:

New health and nutrition topics discussed each month.

HEALTHY SUPER COUPONING:

Super couponing (the science of combining coupons with local sales) has been increasing in popularity over the last few years. While there are a lot of unhealthy items in these sales it is important to note that it is possible to stick with good choices and save money, let me show you how!

WHAT DOES A DIETITIAN EAT?

Ever wonder what a Dietitian eats? Find out here! I will truthfully blog days throughout the month as to what I ate.

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Sunday, December 26, 2010

12 Days of Holiday Baking

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