Chanukah oh Chanukah!

Wow I can't believe it has been almost a month since I have said hello! Time is just so short these days...
Anyways, I am here to tell you how much I love love love when holidays come around, because then I get to blog all about healthy alternatives to all the unhealthy food that gets consumed by dozens of us!
Chanukah is probably the best holiday for this. From fried latkes, bakery bought, sugar filled jelly doughnuts and so much Chanukah gelt, you can get nauseous just thinking about it!
Here are some great ideas that will cut calories, get rid of harmful preservatives and help keep your kids behavior and mood's in check. (And your own too...)

1. Home made, baked jelly doughnuts with some melted chocolate sprinkled on top (made with any whole grain flour, no white stuff! See below for recipe)

2. Lightly fried (or baked) sweet potato latkes: (my husband makes potato and spinach ones.) This can be your regular old latke recipe but use blue, red or sweet potatoes instead. This will actually give your latke some nutritional value, especially if you're using sweet potatoes. Either bake, or gently fry in extra virgin olive oil on low heat to keep the oil from turning into toxins.

3. Home made Chanukah gelt:
Find the purest chocolate chips with the least ingredients, or if you are really good, you can make your own chocolate! Melt some chips in a pot with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil on low heat. Pour into chocolate molds and freeze! You can even add some raw oats or wheat germ into the mix for some fiber and whole grains!

Yum, I love making Chanukah the healthy way! It's only the second night, so start now! Make your own food from pure ingredients (as pure as you are able to,) stick with whole grains, healthy oils and no added sugars! Then you can actually feel good this Chanukah, instead of oily and over stuffed! Good luck and let me know how the recipes come out!

Recipes for doughnut:
1 flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt
1 egg (lightly beaten)
1 Cup soy/almond milk (the recipe called for 6 oz of yogurt but I modified)
1 tablespoon canola oil  (use extra virgin olive instead)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon+ 1/2 cup sugar (I literally put in a few tablespoons of sugar, not nearly 1/2 a cup)
1 jar of your favorite jelly (use all natural fruit spread without any added sugar or preservatives)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the cinnamon and 1/2 cup sugar together and set aside. In a large bowl whisk together all the dry ingredients. In another bowl stir together oil, lemon juice, sugar, egg and soy milk. Make a hole in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the hole. Gently fold everything together until combined. Place batter in a plastic baggie, seal and cut off the corner then pipe dollops of batter into a greased muffin tin. Each muffin cup should only be 1/3 to 1/2 full. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for a few moments and then flip over onto a cooling rack while still warm. Let cool slightly. Fit a pastry bag with the 1/2 round tip and fill the bag with jelly. Insert the tip into the end of each donut and pipe a squirt into each donut. Makes 12.