At this time of year, we’re inundated with supermarket shelves stuffed full of sweets and cakes and puddings, and television adverts for all manner of delicious sauces and pickles and biscuits. If you’re not a child, high on everybody’s Christmas best is the Christmas fare. And let’s face it, after toys then Christmas cake, chocolates, and puddings come a close second for most children. No need to be a stuffed turkey After Christmas lunch and a festive tea comes the feeling of being stuffed more than the turkey, and being unable to move the rest of the holiday period. If you want to avoid this, you’ll need to avoid the sugar sweetened foods that manufacturers want us to buy. Designed to make you want more, not realising when you’ve eaten enough, these foods are enormously bad for your waistline. Of course, sufferers of diabetes also have a huge problem every Christmas. There’s all this wonderful food around, yet they have to be super careful. If you’re prepared to put a little effort into Christmas – and who isn’t? – then it doesn’t have to be this way. You don’t need to sit in front of the television like a stuffed turkey, or be extra careful of what you eat. By using natural sweeteners, such as Xylitol or Stevia, in your cooking and baking, you’ll avoid all the unnecessary and still give you and your guests a great Christmas spread – and they won’t even know! Why use Stevia and Xylitol in your cooking It’s not just the fact that Stevia and Xylitol don’t have the addictive properties of added sugars, but consider this: they contain no carbohydrates, no calories, and have a zero glycaemic index. Research has concluded that Stevia is fantastic at helping to improve blood sugar levels as well as tolerance to glucose. Perhaps the best bit is, though, that both Xylitol and Stevia taste great and come in various forms making them both ideal for using as a sugar substitute in all baking. So Stevia and Xylitol are great for cooking, but what should I cook for Christmas? There doesn’t ever seem to be many Christmas recipes where sugars are replaced by natural sweeteners, does there - which is why we’ve hunted and found some of the best possible to make your Christmas table a real cracker. After a great plate of entrees, who could resist the Sweet Stevia Spicy Xmas Ham Glaze Recipe, perfect for that traditional Christmas ham adorning any plate? Then, how about a fantastic Raisin Rum Ice Cream, before settling down for an evening of games and entertainment while snacking on some Christmas Chocolate Snowflakes or a fantastic Christmas cake? Fantastic food; and not an unnecessary calorie in sight. Your food will be a hit, and when using Stevia or Xylitol there won’t be the awful trouser popping feeling after. So be warned, they’ll want to come back next year, too!
