Some of you may remember reading this post last year, as I wrote it for another site that had asked me to contribute. This year, I decided to tweak it and post it for you here!
I am always so tempted to make food compromises at Christmastime. There are extra events going on, making it harder to put healthy meals on the table. Plus, there are sweets and holiday goodies at all of the parties and get togethers. SO MUCH SUGAR…and it always looks so pretty. Ah, frosting and sprinkles. Why must you tempt me so?
So, what should we do? Avoid all parties and shun all forms of sugary goodness? Or throw caution to the wind, dump a whole container of sprinkles directly into the frosting bowl, grab a spoon and get down to business?
Sugar bonks our immune system right on the head, so the motivation to stay healthy is helping me reach for carrots instead of fudge. But I also know that if I avoid sugar completely, I’m likely to eat the entire pan of fudge later. Allowing treats is okay – sometimes.
But here’s what I’ve decided: The treat has got to taste really, really good. I’m not wasting my sugar intake on a tasteless, dry cookie or a three day old donut. Any treat I indulge in needs to be fresh and gooey. There needs to be chocolate involved. Or cream cheese. Or both.
And here’s another way I compromise during busy times like this. I’m not making every single bite of our food from scratch. Even during what usually tends to be a busy Christmas season, my family still prefers to eat three (to seven meals) a day. I find that buying baby carrots or pre-made whole grain English muffins helps save my sanity. MOST of the time, I cut our carrot sticks, and bake all of our bread. Right now, I feel good if I’ve remembered to give my kids vegetables in the first place. If I need to spend just a little bit more for some healthy convenience during these next few weeks, so be it.
It’s all a part of keeping Christmas time simple this year.
I think we need to cut ourselves some slack. When we work almost constantly to save money and make food from scratch, that buys us a little bit of “chill out time” during those weeks when you can’t tell your comings from your goings and your Christmas lights are tangled up around the tail of your frustrated cat.
The moral of the story is this:
Try not to eat much sugar, and when you do indulge in a treat, make sure it’s the kind that makes you faint from deliciousness. Also, when your son’s birthday falls a few days before Christmas, go ahead and buy “take and bake” pizzas for the party because making a homemade crust might make you say things you’ll regret.
Yes indeed, I’ll be buying pizzas for my son’s birthday next week. Guilt free.
It’s okay, I’ll make whole wheat organic crust again in January.
When do you make compromises? What compromises have you had to make during this season?
Jessica says
Sprinkles and colored frosting. My kids really want to make cut out cookies again this year. I have really been trying to cut out food dye’s from our diets. Any help on what to use to dye the homemade frosting with that wont change the flavor on the cookie?
Kim says
I was wondering the same thing. I used raspberry juice to color some of my frosting but it was more pink than red and had a slight raspberry flavor to it, still good though. I found this website, not sure how they actually work, but it may be worth trying a tiny bit of frosting with some of them: http://community.stretcher.com/forums/t/2620.aspx
mml says
India Tree natural decorating colors- Love them! They also make
sprinkles. Let’s do organic – also has decorating things.
Laura says
This post on homemade playdough offers some good ways to color playdough naturally, and I think it should work with frosting too: https://www.heavenlyhomemakers.com/homemade-playdough-mix :)
talia bartoe says
I usually only bake once a week, but it’s Christmas and I wanted to make cookies with my daughter. Also, I love to throw soup into the crockpot, even if I can’t make a salad to go with it.
Nora@ The Dollar Hollering Homemaker says
Two weeks ago, I had a wicked migraine. It lasted three days and I depended on a rotisserie chicken and bakery made sourdough bread. This week we have a guest coming and I picked up conventional lunch meat/sliced cheese, baby carrots, chips and frozen fries. I try and follow the 80% rule as we eat real 80% of the time and I try not to stress out the other 20% of the time. Plus I can’t always afford to feed other people organic/real food. Our $200 monthly budget just won’t streach that far:(
Meredith says
I’ll be going the take and bake pizza route for my youngest’s birthday on christmas eve as well. We are also taking some type of treat up to the NICU that cared for him.
Barbara says
Well said! I’ve been volunteering to take veggie trays to every party/event we’ve already attended this season and to the ones we still need to attend. This also helps us get veggies into our bodies even if I didn’t peel the carrots myself :)
Do you have a Kroger near you? I have friends who say they have a great organic pizza. I haven’t tried them, but I think I need to pick one up, because I have a few days through the end of the year that I won’t be able to cook and I will get frustrated if I wait till the last minute to decide on something and hubby drives through Mc-you-know-what . . . yuk.
Laura says
No Kroger near by. :( I miss that store.
suzanne says
I love that you posted this. I was just thinking about how I have decided to give myself some slack and buy some convenience items (english muffins and baby carrots included!). We will have a house full for over a week so I cannot expect myself to have all that food prepared ahead of time, nor do I want to be in the kitchen during their entire visit! This month is so busy – it is one place that can give – and I know we will be back to ‘scratch’ next month! Thanks for reminding me that is ok!
Jennifer says
You are awesome Laura! I love reading about how you make almost everything from scratch, but I also love reading about how you sometimes buy already made food, because then I know you are a real human being :)
I am learning to make more from scratch, it is definitely a journey for me. But some times of the year are just so busy, and I truly believe it is better for kids to eat junk and have a relaxed mama, than to eat super healthy food and have a mom who is stressed out and overworked. Food is just one part of what makes us healthy!
Michelle @ Changed By The Maker says
So well said! And I couldn’t agree more! Thanks for the reminder that it’s possible to be moderate during this busy time of the year!
Lenetta says
I do remember this, but i needed a reminder! Yes, if i’m going to indulge, it’s gotta be GOOD! I actually decided to give up sweets for advent and except for the 2.5 days i “took off” for the funeral and the bowl of cereal i just had (wicked stress-induced cycle this month-shocker!), i’m doing pretty well!
Katie A. says
I love this post. I’ve limited my sugar intake to one day a week. You better believe if I have to wait six days to eat sweets that I’m going to make sure they taste good when I do indulge.
We usually do the take and bake pizza for my son’s Christmas Eve birthday. This year he requested shrimp instead. So I have processed and breaded shrimp in my freezer. I can’t make everything from scratch and keep sane this time of year. For my sanity it is important to be flexible. Plus I’m not sure I even know how to cook shrimp :)
Faith says
thanks for the encouragement Laura! I agree, and I am actually going to be celebrating our youngest daughter’s birthday this Friday and we are planning on buying pizza’s too. It would be nice to make 4-6 homemade ones, but I am going to be making a healthy cake (minus the store-bought icing since I am trying to decorate it for the first time!), so that is my compromise :)…and I agree about the treats. I try not to eat them unless they are super yummy because its just not worth it otherwise! Hope your family has a Merry Christmas! Ya’ll are a huge blessing to me and my family. We are making the cream cheese chicken for dinner tonight. It is just one of the MANY recipes of yours that we use at our house. Please keep them coming!
5KMom says
Thank you! :)
[email protected] says
Thank you for putting my feelings into words so eloquently! I try to avoid sugar as much as possible, but I have to have some healthy items to quench our cravings. I did buy a gingerbread kit from Bountiful Baskets that contained white sugar, but all whole ingredients other than that. No hydrogenated fat or chemical preservatives like most the kits have. It was a compromise for me, but they were the best tasting gingerbread cookies I’ve ever had. So I’m glad my gamble paid off and I could make it into a fun craft for the kids too! Thanks for making good health choices seem so much more practical!
Stacy says
I can always count on you to keep it real. :-) So now I don’t feel bad about the organic salad dressings that I just bought…just too busy to make it all myself right now. I have to choose my battles. Great post!
julia says
I’ve come back up out of a deathly pit into restored health. I did it without pharmaceuticals, and with the help of three nutritionists. My current nutritionist says that our bodies need sweet stuff. But not the refined stuff that pulls down our immune systems. We need to eat things like dates (yummy) and dark chocolate made with healthy sugars (e.g., bananas, dates, raisins, honey, agave, turbinado). She gave me this absolutely scrumptious recipe for date treats called Ginger Nymphs. And other recipes. You’re welcome to visit our family blog (TexasSkies.blogspot.com) and learn about healthy alternative sweets. (Be sure and leave a comment!)
Abigail says
I love this “rule”! It’s fun to broaden your horizons, try a few gourmet or homemade treats, and leave the true junk alone. More satisfying, and usually less harmful. Yay!
Ang says
Hi Jessica – try adding a little juice from tinned beetroot to icing for a nice pink colour (no you can’t taste it!) and carrot juice will give you yellow – I was hoping for orange but the yellow was good enough. Cocoa for brown, berries for pale purple, tiny bit of liquefied spinach for green. Just don’t tell people what it is and they will never know. I’m sure there are others but I haven’t tried any more. Ang from angathome.com