Onceuponatime Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 I want to move away from more sugary treats like cookies and cakes, but I still want to make some special nibbles. Do you have any things like that that you make or serve around the fall/winter holidays? All contributions are welcome. ETA: I'm doing this for myself because I'm finding it increasingly difficult to tolerate sugary or sweetened foods. I get a kind of woozy feeling pretty quickly now. I still want to enjoy eating some foods that I wouldn't normally have. It would be a plus if the rest of my family would enjoy it to. Other than that, I don't have any real dietary concerns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 I want to move away from more sugary treats like cookies and cakes, but I still want to make some special nibbles. Do you have any things like that that you make or serve around the fall/winter holidays? All contributions are welcome. This is a very simple appetizer that is somehow more than the sum of its parts. I've posted it here before. Sauté approx. 12 oz. of sliced mushrooms in a few tablespoons of butter. I use baby bellas. You can add some garlic if you want. When they are cooked down, add 8 oz of cream cheese and heat gently until melted. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with crackers. You can serve this in a mini crockpot or over a little chafing dish. It clumps up as it cools. It is really delicious and so simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Peregrine Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 This is a very simple appetizer that is somehow more than the sum of its parts. I've posted it here before. Sauté approx. 12 oz. of sliced mushrooms in a few tablespoons of butter. I use baby bellas. You can add some garlic if you want. When they are cooked down, add 8 oz of cream cheese and heat gently until melted. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with crackers. You can serve this in a mini crockpot or over a little chafing dish. It clumps up as it cools. It is really delicious and so simple. Oh my. Insomnia and now I'm hungry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted October 15, 2014 Author Share Posted October 15, 2014 We tried to find healthy ideas online and I wasn't impressed with many lol. There was a banana with chocolate chip eyes/mouth (ghost). I have seen Halloween pretzels (at least, individually wrapped. I think they were bats?). Is pumpkin bread too much of a sweet? I love pumpkin bread. I love pumpkin bread too, but it does have a lot of sugar. I looked too, and realized that the holidays have almost no fun sugarless or low sugar special foods that aren't part of a main meal. So far I've found cheese straws, dips, spreads, and spiced nuts. That seems to sum up the usual possibilities. I think I might try some unique yeast breads with unusual ingredients. It might be easier to international. hmmm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Depending on your motivation for doing this, there are coconut and almond flour based recipes. Alldayidreamboutfood has some great ones (scones, ginger bundt cake, Boston cream pie, lemon cream cake, etc). I find that small pieces are quite filling as they are full of fiber and more dense than wheat flour recipes. Paleo baked goods will use dates to sweeten, but that's still sugar. I use erythritol and stevia Pinterest has crudite platters arranged like a Christmas tree We do cheese fondue sometimes with veggies, apples, etc. during the holidays. Nice cheese platter During the winter we like to pull out bowls of in-shell pistachios, and then bags of nuts and a nutcracker. For some reason my kids love using our little manual twist-style nutcracker. Eating them that way is also a natural way to not overdo the quantity. Crab dip with veggies Smoked salmon, cream cheese, dill and/or capers on cucumber rounds (salt and drain on paper towels) Almonds heated up with good butter like kerrygold and then add different spices or seasonings like rosemary. Really buttery warm almonds are quite good :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 We love summer sausage and good cheese. I usually add olives and crackers to the plate, but the crackers are usually the last to be eaten. It's a nice indulgence for people who count calories, and a diet friendly plate for people who are low carb. (W/O the crackers) We live on the border of Wisconsin and get really good cheese for a bargain price so that helps. And we find summer sausage in several tasty flavors. It's a yummy treat! We eat it year round as a snack plate when we miss dinner or just need a substantial snack, but it makes a pretty party plate. We also make our own Chex mix- my mom has been making this recipe since I was a kid in the 60's. I grew up calling it monkey food - but it's just a more seasoned and more buttery version of Chex mix. But these days we don't eat as much as we want because it's loaded with carbs, a half pound of butter, and way way way too much salty seasoning. Celery salt, onion salt, garlic salt! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 We always make sausage balls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlmiraGulch Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 We always make sausage balls. We always make either sausage balls, or sausage stars. If we do the latter, I leave out the olives and red pepper (personal preference). Another favorite are bacon wrapped dates. Tons of recipes online. My favorite is when the dates are stuffed with blue cheese, but my kids like them stuffed with almonds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 I like to make crescent rolls stuffed with brie, a drizzle of honey, and walnuts. I think there's a recipe on Pinterest (of course there is!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wendy not in HI Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 We made stuffed mushrooms on Sunday. Yum! It was basically a combination of two recipes above - sausage, cream cheese, mushrooms... http://www.jimmydean.com/recipes/appetizers/stuffed-mushrooms In an effort to keep it low carb, I did not add the breadcrumbs. I did add a little almond flour. They were so good! We also love bacon wrapped dates. There is an almond inside of the date. I would probably love bacon wrapped anything. I might try bacon wrapped stuffed peppers (with the sausage stuffing above). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamanthaCarter Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Maybe try several homemade cracker recipes, I know there are a few on the King Arthur site. Also, I've tried these with success. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/278744 I used olive oil, and thought that 100% olive oil was overwhelming, unless you have a fabulous olive oil, in which case you wouldn't want to use it up on crackers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Peregrine Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Bacon- wrapped apricots are yummy, too. With a sage leaf and a drizzle of maple syrup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Oh, another one we like is bacon-wrapped smoked oysters. Snip some strips of bacon in half, wrap around good smoked oysters (Crown Prince brand or a better brand is much preferred. I've used a less expensive variety and they were far less yummy), secure with a toothpick and bake until the bacon is cooked. You can add a small piece of date to that if you'd like (a whole date would be too much sugar for me). Another option would be a light brushing with maple syrup when they first come out of the oven. I don't do that, but if you can handle that bit of extra sugar, it would amplify it all. We find that a nice little thing to have by the fire with a glass of wine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 I think you could great reduce the sugar/syrup in Ina Garten's Chipotle and Rosemary Roasted Nuts: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/chipotle-and-rosemary-roasted-nuts-recipe2.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammi K Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Savory, spicy roasted nuts (I use pecans because I don't like walnuts) Sausage balls Spinach nuggets (we liked these so much, I now just make the recipe in a 9x13 dish and serve it as a dinner side. Mac and Cheese mini muffins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Strawberry Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Popcorn! I like to do both sweet and savory popcorns for the holiday, but like you, I don't handle sugar well. I have 2 or 3 books like this on my Kindle. http://www.amazon.com/30-Perfect-Popcorn-Recipes-Gourmet-ebook/dp/B007ZHV4E2/ref=sr_1_22?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1413392005&sr=1-22&keywords=popcorn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Pan de jamón is delicious and not very sweet. Here's a link to the official recipe: http://blog.cookingchanneltv.com/2013/12/22/venezuelan-pan-de-jamon-christmas-ham-bread/ I make mini versions with Pillsbury crescent dough, sliced ham (from the deli counter), raisins and olives. They're as easy as pigs in the blanket and really good. If you want something even more special, you can use prosciutto and soak the raisins in rum before you use them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 shrimp cocktail warm crab dip jalapeno poppers - bacon wrapped! really good cheese - you can find a cheese to go with almost anything! love stuffed mushrooms! nuts! my kids too like shelling their own. messy, but fun and slow. love seasoned nut mixtures too. popcorn - we pop ours in bacon grease black bean dip or mexican layered dip. carby but not sweet. buffalo chx dip with corn chips and celery scallops are good wrapped in bacon too. love sausage balls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Stuffed mushrooms? That is what I associate with my mom's friends Christmas parties. Mushroom caps stuffed with some sort of cream cheese/sausage filling. Yum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hikin' Mama Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Jalapeno poppers.This is how we do them. You will need 16 largish jalapenos, 1 block Philadelphia cream cheese (must be Philadelphia, must be full fat), 1 pound thinly sliced bacon. Cut the cream cheese into 16 strips. Cut a piece of each jalapeno from stem to tip out of the pepper and scoop out seeds. Don't cut off the stem. Stuff pepper with cream cheese strip, put piece of pepper back on it and wrap a piece a bacon all around it. These are best cooked on the grill or the smoker, but you can also bake them in the oven, probably at 350 for 30-60 minutes. I'm not sure how long it takes, but the peppers must be soft and the bacon crispy. I'm sure it takes at least 30 minutes. If you are grilling them, they need to be turned occasionally. We LOVE these! We first had them at a party thrown by Mexican friends and I made them again the very next day. We make these often when we have people over and they are always a big hit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Melt some chocolate. Mix in coconut oil and honey. Roll in powdered sugar. Freeze before serving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Greek Layered Dip is yummy, too. It is really flexible but I layer cream cheese, flavored with green onions or garlic but plain is fine Hummus Feta Tomatoes Kalamata olives Red onions unpeeled cucumbers Oh, and drizzle some good olive oil on top before serving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Stuffing mushrooms with boursin cheese is really easy. Adding that since there are a lot of stuffed mushroom suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hikin' Mama Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Oh and another one we love. Spread a layer of hummus in the bottom of a flat dish. Sprinkle chopped feta over the hummus. Sprinkle craisins over that. Scoop it out with cucumber slices. Sounds kind of weird, but it is oh so good! Also yummy with corn chips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.