Free From & Festive: Christmas Future

In just one week it will be Christmas eve! It's all very exciting, but what if you don't like the traditional Christmas fare? If you're bored by Brussels sprouts or fed up with fruit cake, is the appeal of mountains of festive food all that appealing? 

Worry no longer! We have some great ideas to re-work some old not-so-favourites into wonderful morsels that everyone will fight over (in a harmonious, festive, kind of way).

Gluten Free Notebooks food hero, Claire has taken gingerbread and mellowed the fiery ginger taste with chocolate in her gluten-free double-chocolate-chip gingerbread cake with brandy buttercream icing. Who needs Christmas cake when this is on the menu?! 

If cakes doesn't tickle your festive fancy any more than dried fruit and marzipan, why not try Hazel's Christmas Tickler at Chatty Daisy Days? Bursting with cranberry and orange, this dessert is a wonderful alternative for rich and stodgy puddings.

Sickened by sprouts? Not for long! Debra at The Awkward Eater has come up with a recipe for sprout bhajis that is sure to convert even the most dyed-in-the-wool sprout sceptic. Turning these much-maligned vegetables into a spicy, crunch bhaji is a master stroke that we should all salute, come Boxing Day.

Am I the only one who can't stand parsnips? Their sweetly starchy qualities failed to win me over until I paired them with chestnuts over on Domestic Sluttery. The smokiness of the chestnuts seem to temper the too-sweet nature of the parsnip to leave you with a silky smooth starter that is Christmas in a bowl.

We hope that our Free From & Festive series has solved your Christmas dilemmas past, present and future and that you all have a very merry and gluten free time next week.