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     Happy New Year Everyone! 
    How is your stomach feeling?  Your weight?
   Beginning before Christmas with holiday parties, then Christmas Day itself, our family's holiday diet has included food from a birthday, an anniversary, another birthday and now there is tonight and tomorrow, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day!  I don't know about you, but I am in a candy, cakes and other treats coma!  

     I am feeling more motivated than ever before to start the New Year out right and to begin eating in a more healthy way and getting more exercise!  So, why not start out tonight and steer away from the sweets and serve some healthier party alternatives?  I began by going through recipes right here on the blog that would be great party food with a healthier twist.  I found some that I had forgotten all about and I am so excited to make them again and share them with you! Will you join me in celebrating a healthier New Year? Click on the pics to find these recipes! 

    These Crab Stuffed Potato Appetizers were such a hit when I made them!  How could I have forgotten them?

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    Oh Man!  Shrimp, Pineapple, Avocado, Cilantro...You can't go wrong! 

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    Mini versions of these would be awesome at a party! 

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These are to die for! I may be stretching the healthy part here with so much cheese in these babies.  But, they are made with yuca starch rather than wheat flour, so that could be considered healthier for some! 

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This Salsa is so good, you want to eat it by the spoonful without any chips!  But, there are healthier chip alternatives out there, so let's find some! 

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     Add the fresh veggie and fruit platters and I don't think anyone is going to feel deprived at your New Year's Party tonight! 
Have a Happy, Healthy and Safe New Year! 

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The recipe I am sharing today comes from my sister in law Korina. I honestly don't think I ever had ginger soft cookies before she married my brother and made them at Christmas. I had never thought of ginger cookies being soft, but, they are SO delicious!!! I asked if I could share the recipe here with you, and she said I could! This is our last recipe before Christmas and these cookies will be a hit at any holiday gathering you might be having. Fair warning, the recipe as is right now is already multiplied by 4. This makes A LOT of cookies, so don't double it unless you want to have enough cookies to feed everyone at the Sermon on the Mount.

We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! Thank you for being part of this blog with us! Merry Christmas!

Korina's Gingersoft Cookies

For this recipe, you will need:

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    JUST TWO DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS! If you need something quick and easy to add to the Christmas platter, here are some 3 Ingredient Jam Thumbprints.  I made mine with Orange Cranberry Marmalade and they are delicious!  
      We have published a series of 3 Ingredient Cake Mix Cookies for our subscribers to have access to.  (Here is the post)  But, today we wanted to share these as a little Christmas Gift to you.  Any of those cookie varieties would be perfect on a Christmas platter, but these little thumbprints are extra special to me.  I have shared my regular thumbprint cookie recipe with you in the past, but these are a great alternative when time is short. 
      I originally made these cookies with a gluten-free cake mix.  But, if you make it with a regular mix, it will work just as well.  You may need to adjust the amount of pudding that you use in the mix because of the difference in texture. Here are more tips:
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      These cookies will make a pretty and tasty addition to any cookie tray. Here is the recipe. 

     When I was a young mother, I would work so hard to do everything during the holidays to help my family feel the true meaning of Christmas.  I wanted them to know why we celebrated and I also wanted them to feel the magic of the season.  We watched every Christmas special, we drove around and looked at lights, we did acts of service for others, we sang carols, we read about the birth of the Savior, we went and saw Santa, we put up the tree and decorated it, we got gifts for each other and had fun secrets.  I baked and made candy and decorated the house like crazy.  I loved it! My kids loved it!  But, now that my children are all adults, it has been quite a transition to not being the one that everyone looks to to make Christmas special.  I have grandchildren and their families have their own traditions that they are creating and plus other grandparents to be involved with.  This year, I had decide to take a look at what really puts me in the Christmas Spirit and to concentrate on those things. Here is what I have realized about myself:

    It took me a while to come up with what I could make this year.  But, as you know, I have been loving the buffalo plaid decor this year and I actually had purchased a Christmas Tree from Walmart for my table.  I decided that I needed more of them and wouldn't it be great to use a cinnamon stick as the trunk and a wood slice as the base.  I thought how great to give a little tree with my plates of goodies!  So, I whipped some up and here is how I did it: 

Coordinating plaid flannel fabric
Cinnamon sticks
Fiber fill
Wood slices
Sewing Machine
Thread

* I used the tree that I already had as a guide to make a pattern.  But, I also made smaller ones and then cut out two pieces for each tree.  Then, with right sides together, stitch around each tree, leaving the bottom open a few inches in the center. 
​* Trim the seams and points of the branches and then flip the tree right-side out. 
* Stuff Fiber fill into the corners at the top of the tree.  Wrap a cinnamon stick with fiber fill around the top portion and push it up through the opening at the bottom.  Then, fill around it with more fiber fill, especially shoving it into the corners.  
* When it is nicely stuffed, stitch the bottom closed with a whip stitich across and going around the trunk.  
Tip:  When choosing a cinnamon stick, try to get one with a nice round end so that it will fit neatly in a whole the size you have a drill bit for.
* Drill a hole through your wood slice and glue the cinnamon stick in it for your tree to stand.   

How Merry!  

What gets you into the Christmas Spirit?  I would love to hear from you! 
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