Christmas Gingerbread Recipe

by | Dec 5, 2016 | Food, Health Advice | 0 comments

Health Treats From Karen Edgington – Nutrition Enthusiast & Co-founder of Dawn Chasers Adventure Events

“This time of year can be a nightmare if you’re trying to keep on track with eating healthily. I find that people expect me to drop this “health kick” and treat myself. But there are plenty of alternative recipes for “treats” that allow us the opportunity to nourish ourselves with nutritious ingredients. This gingerbread recipe is a perfect example and it’s a seasonal treat that is great to bake with the kids too. We’ve recently made some gingerbread people, Xmas trees and stars but my daughter’s favourite was little gingerbread hearts. They were the perfect size for little people.”

Christmas Gingerbread Recipe

2 cups Spelt Flour
1 cup Ground Almonds
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 tsp Ground Ginger
1/2 tsp Allspice
1/4 cup melted unsalted Butter or Coconut Oil
1/4 cup Raw Organic Honey
10 Dates, chopped
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract (sugar free)
1 Egg

  1. Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
  2. Melt the butter/coconut oil and honey together, then leave it to cool.
  3. Add the dates, vanilla and egg to the honey mix and blitz in a blender until smooth.
  4. Add blended mixture to the dry ingredients and combine into a dough.
  5. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to about 3mm thick.
  6. Line a tray with greaseproof paper, putting the dough on this and into the fridge for about an hour.
  7. Remove dough and cut into shapes with a cutter. Lay the biscuits onto a baking tray greased with butter or coconut oil.
  8. Bake for about 15 mins at 150 degrees C or until they start to turn golden brown.
  9. Set aside and cool.

So what’s so good about them?…

The dates and raw honey are packed full of good stuff, as I mentioned in the Chocolate Avo Pots recipe a couple of weeks ago. Just be aware that they are around 40% fructose though so you still shouldn’t eat your body weight in gingerbread!!

Ground almonds give lots of satiating healthy fats, protein, fibre, vitamin E, manganese and magnesium. They also have antioxidants and can help balance blood sugar levels – so are perfect to balance the fructose a little in this recipe.

It’s a good idea to combine healthy fats, protein and fibre when you eat healthy natural sugars as this will help balance blood sugar levels. Think nut butters with banana on oatcakes, fruit with full fat Greek yoghurt or cheese and grapes.

Almonds can also help lower blood pressure and bad cholesterol, plus they keep hunger at bay and actually promote weight loss. They are a pretty impressive food!

I use spelt flour rather than the wholewheat flour that the original recipe suggested. Spelt has more soluble fibre and lower FODMAPs (a collection of poorly absorbed simple and complex sugars that are found in a variety of fruits and vegetables and also in milk and wheat) than modern wheat flour so I find it aggravates my tummy less. It is also less processed (always a good thing!) and richer in nutrients such as protein and minerals like manganese, zinc and copper.