Holiday Gingerbread Cookies

Who says you can’t have a healthy diet that includes treats?

The secret is to use real foods, wholesome ingredients, and watch your sugar. Sugar comes in all forms, like glucose (simple sugar), fructose (fruit sugar), and lactose (milk sugar), to name a few. All sugars will cause problems when taken in excess. These may include obesity, hypoglycemia, mood swings and even immune deficiency. That’s because sugar suppresses our immune system. Remember this when you feel a cold or flu coming on.

The worst thing we can do when we are sick is consume sugar. Of course, some sugars are more harmful than others. Refined white sugar and high-fructose corn syrup are two that we should all stay away from.  High-fructose corn syrup is used commonly in processed foods. Bake your own sweets to avoid this offender. Replace white sugar with natural sources like honey, agave nectar, pure maple syrup and stevia. Stevia is a natural sweetener that is sold in liquid or powder form. If you are going to use stevia, be sure to use it sparingly. It is much sweeter than sugar. Don’t get stevia confused with aspartame, sucralose or other artificial sweeteners. These are not natural foods and not a healthy alternative. My personal favourite substitutes are honey and maple syrup.

Here is one of my own holiday recipes.

Holiday Gingerbread Cookies

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Who says you can’t have a healthy diet that includes treats?

The secret is to use real foods, wholesome ingredients, and watch your sugar. Sugar comes in all forms, like glucose (simple sugar), fructose (fruit sugar), and lactose (milk sugar), to name a few. All sugars will cause problems when taken in excess. These may include obesity, hypoglycemia, mood swings and even immune deficiency.  That’s because sugar suppresses our immune system. Remember this when you feel a cold or flu coming on.

• Author: Karen Stoyles
• Prep Time: 20 minutes + 2 hours
• Cook Time: 6-8 minutes
• Total Time: 0 hours

Ingredients

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½ cup organic butter (softened)

1/3 cup pure maple syrup

1 free-range egg

½ cup organic molasses

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

¼ cup freshly grated ginger

3 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp cinnamon

¾ tsp baking soda

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Instructions

1. Blend butter and maple syrup.
2. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add molasses and grated ginger.
3. Stir until evenly distributed.
4. In a separate bowl, combine remaining dry ingredients, then add to wet ingredients, stirring just until blended. Separate mixture into two portions and chill for 2 hours before rolling.
5. Preheat oven to 375 F.
6. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one portion to just over 1/8 inch thick.
7. Cut out desired shape and place on parchment-lined baking sheet.
8. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes until edges are firm.
9. Decorate with icing sugar when cookies are cool.
10. Or for a more natural cookie, decorate with nuts and/or seeds before baking. Be sure to push them into the dough to set.
11. Enjoy!