Coconut Cupcakes

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?