Healthy Paleoista Holiday Tip of the Day: Create a New Tradition in the Kitchen

If you’re feeling torn because of the dilemma that many a Paleo parent faces at this time of year is troubling you: how to handle the traditional cookie bake-a-thon or gingerbread house making day, now that you’ve implemented such healthy eating habits into your household. Do you just kick it to the curb and tell the kids you’re sorry, but now they’ve simply got to snack on broccoli instead? I may not be a parent, but I’ve worked with enough of them to know that the ridiculous strategy above won’t exactly fly. There are a few options. One, depending on the reasons you and your family are Paleo, you may actually still end up doing the traditional baking day, if no one in the family has a diagnosed illness which would prohibit them from eating the foods typically found during such an occasion.  You may decide that this special occasion is fitting of bending the rules and that making more Paleo-ish versions of the standards is the way to go. On the other hand, if your child or family member has celiac disease, is autistic, or has galactosemia,  for example, it’s of utmost importance to not deviate, and to avoid gluten and dairy, respectively at all costs, so here’s where your creativity really must shine.  For instance, rather than focus on baking cookies, you might opt to spend the afternoon making batches of  holiday spiced nuts to package in mason jars and give as gifts to family and friends.  Check out this post from Christmas past (oh, bad pun) on that very topic! If the kids are really  little, it’s even easier as you can simply begin a new tradition of whatever healthy food prep you wish and they’ll never know the difference since spending time with you is what counts more than anything else!