A sugar free Solstice / Christmas

We're celebrating Yule tomorrow instead of Christmas, so maybe you're wondering how you enjoy the festivities without refined sugar.

The shops are full of mince pies, chocolates, nibbly things and sauces, all chock full of sugar (not to mention the other nasties).

Here's the menu for my daughter for tomorrow - she's so excited as she chose it all herself!

Starter

Egg mayonnaise with salmon and melba toast

Main

Turkey
Roast potatoes
broccoli
carrots
mashed swede
gravy

Apple juice and fizzy water to drink

Pudding

Choice of:

Christmas pudding
Baked chocolate cheesecake
Profiteroles

Darling daughter has also been busy making cones to hang on our tree which are full of sugar-free sweets and chocolates for her to nibble on. Along with Cheese and biscuits and vegetable crisps to pick at in the evening I don't think she is going to go hungry or feel deprived; do you?

If you want any specific recipes, drop me a comment and let me know! Have a wonderful celebration yourself; let me know what you're eating; I always love to be inspired by other people's menus.

Lavender biscuits

I've been asked for this recipe several times. I've got an octogenarian friend who loves these and I make them every Christmas for her as a special treat. They remind her of her childhood when her Mum used to make anything and everything with lavender.

This biscuit recipe is fab - it uses minimal and frugal ingredients and is adaptable to your favourite flavour. You can substitute the lavender for grated lemon peel, spices, chocolate chips, vanilla - you name it, if you can dream it up, then try it!

I've listed the recipe using fructose, because that is what we use at home, but if you want to use regular sugar instead, use 2 oz caster sugar.

Ingredients

• 4 oz butter
• 1 - 1 1/2 oz fructose
• 6 0z plain flour
• 1 tbsp dried lavender
  

Method

• Cream the butter and fructose
• Stir in the flour and lavender and keep mixing until it forms a dough (You might need to use your hands for the last bit)
• Knead for a moment then roll the dough into a ball and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes
• Preheat oven to 200
• Roll out and cut into shapes
• Place on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes until just beginning to brown.
  

A decadent breakfast!

The other day, DD woke up in 'one of those moods'. It had been raining for ever, we were all fed up before the day had even begun and she needed something lovely for breakfast.

She asked me for something 'different', 'something with chocolate' she requested with big brown eyes looking into mine.

'Something like you'd give me if it was my Birthday'.

How could I resist - we all need comfort food on a grey day.

So here's what I did. I have a bit of a Mum thing about wanting her to eat fruit for breakfast as a healthy start to the day, so I layered some vanilla ice cream ( I make my own using agave syrup) and sliced banana and toasted some oats in melted butter to layer in between the fruit and ice cream.

Then I topped it off with a couple of squares of sugar free chocolate, a dusting of cocoa powder and a squirt of agave syrup.

It didn't look pretty in the glass, but my daughter's face was a pretty picture and by the time she got to the bottom, she had a lovely gooey chocolatey, vanilla cream to scoop out!