Without Guilt: Light Christmas Cookies for Your International Pleasure

Fitness
Fitness Expert
The countdown is on for Christmas Day, and the impact of the calorie bomb moves unavoidably closer! For many it is hard to resist the sight of that Christmas cake, the mountains of marzipan and the cholesterol stricken gingerbread men. But after looking into some Christmas recipes we have found ways to keep your Christmas treats light and still mouth watering delicious.



Many would like to refrain from the traditional roast and sweet treats, but after all the calories are counted it is still easy and economical to cook and bake a variety of reduced-fat foods at Christmas. Like the line from the popular Christmas carol, from the "apple, walnut and almond core" it is better to go with apples, oranges, mandarins and nuts, to keep you happy, healthy, and the scale at a good number. With a few simple tips you can defuse these calorie rich sweets and rely on healthier cooking and baking: instead of the traditional white flour use whole meal, instead of sugar rely on a fruit sugar source or honey, and replace butter with low-fat margarine. Even the traditional recipe Vanillekipferl from Austria tastes great with our health food choices.



In Denmark we find the hearty Christmas treat of traditional rice pudding "Ris à Lamande”. It’s an annual tradition as well that the person who gets a whole almond hidden in his or her pudding will receive a gift. The dairy dessert sahnelastige will be calorie wise if you use reduced-fat milk and whipped cream instead of the pudding with sweet chocolate sauce, and garnish with fresh fruit.



In Russia, Christmas is directed by the Julian calendar and is conducted by the Orthodox Church on January sixth. But, the Russian Christmas makes it easier for your food temptations. It is more of a tradition in Russian and Eastern European cities and towns to eat out on Christmas, but the base of a typical Russian Christmas meal is Borscht, and beetroot. The red beet is full of calcium and magnesium, and other important vitamins and minerals. One of our recipes is a beetroot salad with chopped walnuts. The salad has a high fat content, but the nuts are polyunsaturated fatty acids which are important for the heart and muscles.



Over the Christmas holidays in Greece, people generally celebrate from the 24th of December to the 6th of January. As like most southern European countries nuts and almonds are well known Christmas goodies in Greece. The most popular are Melomakarona with walnuts and cinnamon, which no Greek pastry can be made without. They use olive oil in place of butter or margarine known to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart attack.



RECIPE 1: Vanillekipferl



Ingredients:



250 grams whole meal

200 g margarine

100 g of finely ground almonds

50 g honey

2 egg yolks

1 vanilla pod

Powdered sugar



Directions:



Mix flour with egg yolks, honey, (which makes a vanilla pod) and finely ground almonds.

In a small bowl mix butter and add to mix.

Smooth dough, and cool for one hour.

Then roll the dough into small roles and bend slightly at each end.

Bake at 200 degrees for ten minutes on an ungreased baking sheet.

Finally, add icing sugar and cool.





RECIPE 2: Ris a Lamandé



Danish Christmas dessert: Ris à Lamandé (serves 6)

Preparation time: 30 minutes



Ingredients:



¾ liters reduced-fat milk

90 g rice pudding

60 g sugar

1 tablespoon sherry

90 g peeled and chopped almonds and peeled whole almonds

400 ml reduced-fat whipped cream



Directions:



Prepare milk rice and allow to cool

Add sugar, sherry, chopped almonds and whole almonds to rice pudding

Add whipped cream and beat in with the rice pudding mix

Add fresh fruit



RECIPE 3: Red-beet salad



Ingredients:



2-3 Beet roots

2 garlic cloves

6 to 8 walnuts

4 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and black pepper



Directions:



Cook beet root until softened

Remove beet root and let cool

Crush garlic, add olive oil, and stir

Add walnuts to beet root and mix everything

Add a dash of salt and pepper



RECIPE 4: Melomakarona



Ingredients:



For the dough (40 servings):



2 cups olive oil

3 / 4 cup orange juice

1 / 4 cup cognac

3 / 4 cup sugar

7-8 cups sifted flour

2 teaspoons (deleted) baking powder

1 teaspoon (deleted) sodium

500 grams chopped walnuts

Cinnamon





For the syrup:



2 cups honey

2 cups sugar

2 cups water





Add olive oil, orange juice, brandy and sugar in a medium sized bowl and whip

In another bowl mix sifted flour, baking powder and sodium

Add a portion of the chopped nuts to dry mixture

Add dry mix to whipped mix, and knead

Make dough into golf ball sized rounds

Bake at 180 degrees for about half an hour in center of oven



Syrup:



Put all syrup ingredients in a pot and cook for about five minutes

Remove Melomakarona from the oven, and cool for ten minutes

Add syrup, chopped walnuts and sprinkled cinnamon to the pastry to each pastry



At fitness.com, we hope you enjoy these special holiday treats! Merry Christmas!


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