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Banishing the Baking Blues

 

ornament
 


I love to bake and I especially love to bake at the holidays. Baking cookies and other treats has a strong association with a “happy, successful” holiday season for me. It brings back fond childhood memories, and I have 3 small children that I enjoy baking with and for now. This time of year it is so fun to be in the kitchen with my children creating cookie masterpieces! However I also struggle with having baked goods in the house during the holidays as I could easily eat a lot of calories in baked goods several times a day. This has been a dilemma for me until I found some recipes for baking things that are not meant to be eaten. Revolutionary! I like doing crafts, and so do my children, so this is a win-win for us. So, if you are like me and like to bake at the holidays, but can’t afford to be eating all those calories, you can give the following recipes a try:

 

“Salt Dough Ornaments” (can be formed into some other decoration if you don’t need ornaments for a tree this time of year). This is sort of like baking but is inedible and can be used for decorating. I’ve added food coloring to the dough to eliminate the need for painting the final product: http://christmas.yourway.net/christmas-salt-dough-ornaments/

“Gifts in a Jar,” which I think of as kind of “faux” baking. You assemble ingredients in a jar and you give them to someone else to bake with a recipe card. You still get to be in the kitchen and make a gift for someone but you don’t have extra baked goods left over to tempt you. Here is a site that has some examples: http://christmas.yourway.net/gift-guide-gifts-in-a-jar-recipes-ideas/

The following were also posted on the HMRdiet Facebook page:

CRAFT dough ornaments: 4 cups all-purpose flour + 1 cup salt + 1.5 cups water. Combine and knead for 10 minutes. Roll out on a lightly floured surface. Cut into desired shapes and make holes for ribbon or wire to hang. Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 30 min. and allow to cool. Paint with acrylic or poster paints. When dry, spray with polyurethane to preserve.

Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments: Combine 1 cup ground cinnamon + 1 Tbsp ground cloves + 1 Tbsp ground nutmeg in a bowl. Mix in 3/4 cup applesauce and 2 Tbsp white glue. Work the mixture with hands 2-3 minutes, to form a ball. Lightly dust a surface with cinnamon, and roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters, and make a hole for hanging. Dry in a slow oven at 200 degrees for several hours or air dry in a sunny spot for 4-5 days.

I do all of the above with my children so I feel like I am still creating fun, childhood memories of being in the kitchen together, without setting the precedent of needing to have cookies or gingerbread houses to make a holiday great (and not having baked goods in the house that lead to my weight gain).
 

 

making ornaments



What other non-food recipes or craft projects have you tried to keep the holidays festive?
 

 

by PeggyKerans on 12/14/2011 | Share Story With a Friend

tags: Weight-Loss, Diet Tools, motivation, mood, strategies, kids, mommy blog, holidays

About the Author

Peggy Kerans

Peggy has worked at HMR since 1997 in a number of departments. She is a woman that wears many hats, and juggles a hectic family life with her husband and 3 small children. She likes to cook, do crafts, be a positive role model for her family and keep things fun.

Comments (10) Post a comment
You are too crafty! What a great idea with the ornaments. I'll have to try this next year with the younger kids. Great way to keep the sweets out of my kitchen!
by Chrissy78 on 12/20/2011
Lots of great ideas here! I would never have thought of the dog treats but I bet those will be appreciated. I'm still trying to clean up all the glitter that seems to multiply daily but we are enjoying making decorations this time of year!
by PeggyKerans on 12/15/2011
I work part time as a preschool teacher and I made the cinnamon/applesauce ornaments with the 4/5 year old group last week. The smell was wonderful! The children really enjoyed kneading and rolling out the dough and were proud of their ornaments which will last for several years if packed carefully (the ones on my own tree are 4 years old, and still smell delightful). Note to anyone trying them out for the first time this year, while they are air drying they will need to be turn over several times to speed up the drying process. Happy baking!
by PatriciaRNfit on 12/15/2011
At my house my kids look forward to baking goodies to share and have been asking what we are making for everyone this year. This caused me quite a bit of anxiety to say the least. Well, the next day I got an e-mail of holiday recipes that included homemade dog treats. You roll them out and cut with cookie cutters just like cookies. Problem solved. I definitely WON'T be tempted to eat these. And all the friends & family have dogs and will love these.
by LoriGettingHealthy on 12/14/2011
Great ideas, Peggy! I am a big fan of the cinnamon/applesauce ornaments. They smell wonderful! Attach some ribbon, twine, or raffia and they can also be used to give a little primitive country flare to trim packages with. Merry Christmas all!
by Rubyslippers on 12/14/2011
These are awesome ideas Peggy...you're right REVOLUTIONARY! I struggle with the same thing - having baked goods in the house, I am definitely going to try the gifts in a jar idea. thanks so much!
by jennyb on 12/14/2011
Oh dear, didn't realize Mich444 was signed in when I made my post about Mom's butterscotch haystack cookies. Sorry, M. But you get the idea.
by NoPudgePatty on 12/14/2011
The moment I realized that the holiday season would, in fact, continue without my mother's butterscotch haystack cookies, I released myself from what I saw as my obligation to bake during the holidays. And guess what? 'Seems folks are just as happy to have me, unstressed and healthy, as they would a plate of cookies.
by Mich4444 on 12/14/2011
Thanks! I was going to avoid the kitchen this year for baking, but I always wanted to know how to make the dough ornaments!!
by HealthierKaren on 12/14/2011
Peggy, what a great idea. I remember the salt dough cookies from when I was a kid (yes, I tried to eat one or two of them). This is just a great way to have some fun in the kitchen with the kids and not feel guilty about the potential holiday weight gain. Thanks for the post.
by ivandrago on 12/14/2011