Healthy alternatives to your fave Christmas canapés

Aaahhhh Christmas! An excuse to buy that ridiculously big, family-sized tin of chocolates, liquor-infused butters and creams, and gigantic bags of crisps and crackers.

It’s so difficult to walk through the supermarket at this time of year and not be tempted by the festive bargains lining the seasonal shelves. After all, who knows when the neighbours might pop by for pre-Christmas drinks? Then there’s Boxing Day to think of. And it’s always worth throwing a couple of extras in the trolley, just in case uncles, aunties, nieces and nephews turn up.

But the truth is, once the big day is over, we’re often stuck with far too many leftovers and feel compelled to finish them before starting our January detox.

So many of us use this time of year to take a break from being overly health-conscious, or as an excuse to treat ourselves. But there’s nothing worse than the ‘post-Christmas blues.’ Having to go back to work and feeling frustrated at trying to squeeze into those size 12 jeans, which didn’t seem to be quite so tight before the festive break.

Healthy, tasty Christmas treats are entirely possible. It’s just a case of making a little more time and putting some extra thought into homemade canapés. Buying raw ingredients and taking the time to make these delicious treats yourself will ensure they’re not laden with refined sugar and artificial flavourings. It also means you can make as much or as little as you want, to save you from being swamped with unwanted, post-Christmas leftovers.

Savoury starters

If you’re looking to impress your guests with a little tray of beautifully presented pre-dinner savouries, why not try cutting squares of rye bread and topping them with goats cheese and smoked salmon, or roasted beetroot. Add a sprinkling of fresh chives and a twist or two of black pepper for pretty little canapés that taste as wonderful as they look.

Chocolate Christmas balls

I love these because they are so simple to make and taste slightly of alcohol! The process of roasting raw cacao gives it a boozy flavour. If you’re a sucker for sweet treats on Christmas Day, give these little beauties a try. Infused with cloves, cinnamon, ginger and cardamom to give them a true Christmas spiced flavor. They also store brilliantly in the freezer, so are perfect for treating unexpected guests.

Roast your nuts

My favourite festive snack has always been those huge bags of mixed nuts you can buy at this time of year. I’m more of a savoury than sweet person, but I love the combination of honey and salt. But the problem with shop-bought honey-roast nuts is that they’re often made using sugar and palm oil. So why not try stirring melted coconut oil and manuka honey through a bowl of mixed nuts before roasting them in the oven? You can also add some Chinese five-spice seasoning for a delicious, sweet flavour.

Cinnamon biscuits

My family is Dutch, so we always celebrate Christmas twice a year! Dutch Christmas falls on December 5th and usually involves eating lots of marzipan and speculaas. Speculaas is a delicious cookie made using cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. I love baking these because the house smells incredible. Try substituting coconut oil for butter, and honey instead of sugar. I make mine using ground almonds, which gives them a lovely, crumbly, sweet, gluten-free texture.

After dinner mints

What is it with Christmas that makes us want to break out the after-dinner chocolate mints? At no other time of year are these deemed necessary at a dinner party, but for some reason they’re compulsory at Christmas. The shop-bought versions are sugar laden and often contain added glucose syrup. I love to make my own chocolates with raw cacao powder, coconut oil, manuka honey and natural peppermint oil. Warm all the ingredients gently in a bowl over a pan of boiling water, then pour into a silicone freezer mould to set.