A fruitcake, in order to be called a true fruitcake, must contain a few basic ingredients. Who can resist a nutty fruitcake that is loaded with delicious fruit and well, for some people wine, rum, brandy or some type of alcohol? 

 

Although it is said over and over again, and we hear it on the news all the time, how Americans have this love affair with sweets. A fruitcake however does not have to be necessarily unhealthy. For instance, those who do not drink alcohol can substitute the rum or brandy for unsweetened--or some kind of diet--fruit juice, like apple juice. Proper eating is not really an art and it does not have to be difficult; if you love fruitcake the trick to making it work for you is to substitute some of the main ingredients for something else that you like. 

 

And, with all the talk about healthy eating, the question is can a fruitcake be healthy and tasty as well? There are many of us who think that, we can have our cake and eat it too! So yes, we can have a fruitcake that still taste just as great but with less of the associated health concerns.

 

When making a fruitcake to suit your lifestyle, one of the biggest changes you can make is to replace the white flour with whole wheat flour. You can also try multi-grain flour which is also an alternative, although not as healthy as the whole ingredients. While it is not recommended that you cut the white flour with whole wheat, for those who are making the transition to whole wheat, this might be a good way to gradually transition from the white flour completely.

 

Another big change in the preparation of your fruitcake will be in replacing the white sugar with an artificial sweetener. Some are actually derived from natural cane sugar and you should be able to find it in your organic food store. The difference between this type of sugar and brown sugar is that the latter still contains white sugar, only with a portion of molasses. 

 

I happen to like the very traditional and dark fruitcake which contains all the main ingredients we are so familiar with—orange zest, dried pineapple, cherries and chock-full of nuts.

 

If you are still unsure about making your fruitcake in a non-traditional way, the Internet can direct you to a wealth of information on how to make cakes for particular lifestyles. Or better yet, shop for it and have it delivered right to you door! 

 

If you have a taste for gourmet fruitcakes, try the original Christmas dark fruitcake. You will find a great selection of them in lovely gift baskets for the perfect holiday gift.