The holidays can be a wonderful mix of comfort, nostalgia and, let’s be honest, temptation. It can also bring stress, especially if we’re navigating specific nutrition needs or simply trying to feel our best. This isn’t about giving up traditions or being “good.” It’s about having more options, more curiosity and more ways to make food both joyful and nutritious.
That’s exactly what drives Carolyn Ketchum, founder of the blog: All day I dream about food, one of the most extensive low-carb baking resources online. A self-taught baker and food blogger of more than 15 years, Carolyn started experimenting with recipes after developing gestational diabetes when she was pregnant with her youngest child. Her diagnosis led her toward a lower-carb lifestyle.
“I’ve always loved to bake, and I didn’t want to give it up,” said Carolyn. “I started playing with almond flour, coconut flour, alternative sweeteners and just figuring out what works and what definitely DZ’t ɴǰ.”
Carolyn joined me on my podcast to share some of her favorite holiday baking and gift-giving tips. You can hear our full interview on my FUELED Wellness + Nutrition podcast, just search ‘holiday baking’. Here are the highlights:
Start Early and Freeze Smart
One of Carolyn’s biggest stress-saving tips is to plan ahead. “I start early because I love cookie swaps, and I especially love having a mix of a bunch of different options,” she said. “If you wait until three days before Christmas, you’ll just be grumpy you committed to it.
She prefers to focus on sturdy, freezer-friendly cookies, like low-carb biscotti, shortbread or slice-and-bake doughs. “Freezing stops the staling process,” she added. “Fridges tend to make them go stale faster.”
Choose the Right Gluten-Free Flours
In Carolyn’s world, gluten free isn’t about restriction. It’s about better ingredients. “Go with a good-quality almond flour. I prefer a fine almond flour versus almond meal. The texture of fine almond flour is smoother, and the color is lighter and prettier in baked goods. Also, almond flour adds a good bit of moisture to baked goods,” she said. “Coconut flour, on the other hand, is very dry, so I use just a little to add structure.” The result? Cookies and cakes that look and taste like the real thing, minus the starchy carbs.
Learn How Sweeteners Behave
“Almond flour DZ’t act like wheat flour, and zero-sugar plant-based sweeteners don’t act like real sugar,” Carolyn said. That means following a tested recipe at first. Erythritol-based sweeteners (like Swerve) give crispness, while allulose makes cookies soft and chewy.
Repurpose Our Mess-Ups
A cake that sank? Cookies that crumbled? Carolyn repurposes them into other baked goods, like cake pops or truffles. “Please don’t throw mistakes away,” she said. “Pulse dry cookies into crumbs, mix with a bit of cream cheese, roll into balls and dip into a low-carb chocolate. Boom — instant truffles.”
Gift with Love (and Function)
You don’t need to spend a fortune to give a thoughtful gift. Mason jars filled with little cookies or truffles are simple, pretty and easy to personalize with a recipe card and a ribbon. For savory treats, think cheese straws, rosemary-Parmesan crackers or even Carolyn’s fan-favorite spinach squares (made with frozen spinach, coconut flour, eggs and cheese).
Carolyn has built a vast library of meticulously tested recipes and authored a dozen recipe books so far, including “The Protein Advantage Cookbook” and “The Ultimate Guide to Keto Baking,” a full-color reference guide that breaks down the science of swapping flours, fats and sweeteners. Recipes filled with Carolyn’s signature blend of playfulness and precision are also available on her website, . You can search the site by flavor, ingredient or occasion.
She said all baking is all about curiosity, not perfection, and that’s true for low-carb recipes too. “Be kind to yourself,” Carolyn said. “Start with a recipe that’s already been tested. Then, once you get a feel for the ingredients, play around with it. Add your own flavors, experiment and have fun.”
The holidays don’t have to be about guilt, pressure or foods that are “off-limits.” Whether you’re giving gifts from your kitchen or reworking a favorite recipe, it’s all in the spirit of creativity, connection and care.
As Carolyn reminds us, “There’s always a way to make the things you love and enjoy in a healthier way.”
For Carolyn’s low-carb recipes — everything from peppermint biscotti to focaccia — visit or pick up “The Ultimate Guide to Keto Baking.”
Molly Kimball, RD, CSSD, is a registered dietitian with Ochsner Health and founder of Ochsner’s Eat Fit nonprofit initiative. For more wellness content, tune in to Molly’s podcast, FUELED Wellness + Nutrition, and follow @MollykimballRD and @EatFitOchsner on social media. Email nutrition@ochsner.org to connect with Molly or schedule a consult with her team.
