Holidays are approaching fast and you might be already feeling like eating more of all those special Christmas sweets and other things that are being offered all over. Hey, what is Christmas without cookies, the smell of cinnamon and your mom and/or grandmother spoiling you with their delicious cooking!
Everyone cheats a little more during the holidays and this is okay! Just do not reach that stuffed state where you are thinking “How did I get to not being able to move because my belly is so full?!”. Try to do your best and keep the cheat… month… in some boundaries.
Here are a few things you should be reminding yourself when cooking or choosing what to eat, etc:
- Do not forget to drink plenty of water, especially when you are drinking alcohol
- Try to avoid binge drinking. Enjoy your drink more by taking it slowly.
- You have the right to SAY NO to your grandmother when she is offering you 2nd or 3rd plate of food (politely of course).
- Holidays are not a reason to stop exercising for mid December to mid January. There are plenty of fun sport activities you can do in the winter, such as ice skating, skiing and snowboarding. Such sports burn a lot of energy and you get to get a loooooot of fun!
- If you like cooking, try to cook in a healthier way. Below you can find a recipe for delicious sweets from the Dutch cuisine that you can meet as “pepernoten” and “kruidnoten”.
“Pepernoten” Recipe
Ingredients:
200 gr spelled flour
75 gr biological honey
60 gr coconut oil
2 tsp “speculaarkruiden” – this is a grind mix of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, peppercorn and cardamom seeds (if you cannot find the mix, experiment, make it according to your taste)
3 sp water
a pinch of Himalayan or Celtic salt
Preheat the oven to 160 degrees.
Put in a large bowl the spelled flour, honey, coconut, spices and salt. Mix well and make a ball out of it. While kneading add the water slowly. Knead a smooth dough.
Form into small stone-like shapes and place on a baking sheet with parchment paper. Leave enough space between the sweets and press each one slightly.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the middle of the oven.
Be careful while baking. The best is to bake them first for 15 minutes and then check how it goes.
If you like very sweet, you can add 25 to 50 grams of extra honey.
Enjoy healthy and sweet holidays!
