Monday, December 19, 2022

A Child's Christmas in the Midwest

 


Welcome to the last week before Christmas!!!

As a child, I counted down the days until Christmas...how could there be so many??? Could we survive the wait?

And then suddenly it arrived. Somewhere between visiting Santa at Rike's Department Store downtown, baking cookies with my mom, an evening of decorating those cookies with my brother (and maybe a few cousins,) and wrapping presents, Christmas came!

Christmas 1961

The Christmas Eve service, candles glowing, Silver Bells playing on the radio, the excitement of finally hanging our stockings, and reluctantly heading to bed...it was magic.

Do you remember that same magic? That same Christmas feeling?

Christmas sometime around 1965

But things changed when I became an adult. I realized that Christmas isn't just ribbons and bows and toys and Christmas cookies...Christmas came to mean A LOT MORE. 

That Christmas giddiness of my childhood was as sweet as sugar, and just as fragile. But as an adult, that sugary sweetness was slowly replaced by lasting, pure AWE.

This Jesus whose birth we celebrate at Christmas was born to glorify the Father, and born to wear the thorns for me...


Another thing that has changed in these grown-up Christmases is that I'm eating a LOT less sugar these days, and I've slowly been adjusting my favorite Christmas treats to sugar-free treats.

It isn't as horrible as it sounds!

My go-to fudge recipes these days come from a website called "My Montana Kitchen," and they are no-guilt delicious!

They all start with a basic recipe - Sugar-Free Sweetened Condensed Milk.

Yes, sugar-free condensed milk. The recipe uses cream, butter, and a stevia/erythritol sweetener blend (aka "Gentle Sweet" from Trim Healthy Mama, or you can use the recipe found on the My Montana Kitchen website.) The recipe takes time, but it's worth it. I have to keep myself from making it too often...it's that delicious!

Here's the link to that recipe: Sugar-Free Keto Sweetened Condensed Milk

Once you have that basic recipe, you can use the sweetened condensed milk in all sort of recipes, and my favorite is chocolate fudge. Here's the link to the fudge recipes: 5 Sugar-Free Fudge Recipes

Eating mostly sugar-free has been an easy transition with recipes like these. I still make the regular fudge for family and friends...but that's okay. I get the sugar-free version all to myself!


Wishing you a blessed Christmas from our family to yours!

May your days be merry and bright, and may all your Christmases be white.



9 comments:

  1. Happy Monday, everyone! And it's a cold Monday! Brrrr!
    I've set up a hot chocolate bar to chase the chill away. Have a cup of cocoa and enjoy the music.
    Merry Christmas!

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  2. Happy Monday, Jan! Hand over the sugar-free fudge and no one will get hurt!!! :)

    I'm trying to remember if I've made the sugar-free condensed milk before. I know I've seen the recipe, but I'm not sure I've tackled making it. I have made some yummy sugar-free desserts before. I really need to get back on track with more sugar-free options. Merry Christmas, my friend!

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    Replies
    1. That sweetened condensed milk is good all by itself! One time I added a few drops of caramel flavoring which gave it a richer taste and a pleasing caramel color.

      That batch almost didn't make it to fudge-land! It's a no-guilt sweet treat all on its own!

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  3. My Christmas memories are very similar, Jan. I especially have fond memories of Christmas Eve with my grandparents. Such a magical time.

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    Replies
    1. Childhood is a magical time, isn't it? Merry Christmas, Sandy!

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  4. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  5. I am having trouble being able to subscribe to the blog. Can anyone give me some guidance? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hmm... We'll look into it, Melissa.
      Merry Christmas!

      Delete

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