Real Food Holiday Party Review

Last night was Real Food Tulsa's Holiday Meetup. There were around 30 people in attendance and the raw food tasting was wonderful. The dishes were (in the order they appear in the slideshow); Five Spice Punch, Christmas Kale Salad, Maksim's Marinated Cabbage Salad, Orange Fennel Salad, Tabbouleh with Soaked Bulgur Wheat, Cranberry Relish, Almond Sage Stuffing, Marinated Swiss Chard w/ Fresh Cranberries, Mushroom Alfredo w/ Kelp Noodles, Key Lime Tarletts & Strawberry Crepes w/ Macadamia Nut Cheese, Maple Pecan Chocolate Squares, Carrot Cake, Pumpkin Cheesecake, and Coconut Cacao Truffles. We also had a number of other scrumptious dishes like a Vibrant Garden Broccoli Salad and a Peach Cheesecake that was consciously created to feature a number of local ingredients.

After we finished our meal, a panel of raw food professionals took the stage and answered health and raw food related questions from the crowd. Our panel of experts included; Betsy Catrett, an Alissa Cohen Certified Instructor, Scott Bolin & Alisa Miller, both are Hallelujah Acres Health Ministers, yours truly, and we also received additional help from Jona Eastman, who is a certified holistic health counselor in Tulsa. There were some really great, thought provoking questions & answers and it seemed that everyone left with new motivation and inspiration.

Also, if you're in the Tulsa area and you're interested in being part of our local Living Foods Co-op, Renew, please call Joyce Tanner who can get you hooked up with fresh, organic, affordable produce. You can reach Joyce at (918) 230-4842 for more details.

Through this week I'll be sharing some of my personal favorite recipes from the meetup. I'd like to start with the fun and festive punch we served. This was a big hit and I re-created this recipe through inspiration from my friend, Karen Knowler.

Five Spice Holiday Punch

Ingredients:
- 6 apples
- 8 oranges
- 1 lemon
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
- 1/2 cup agave nectar
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp five spice
- a bottle of sparkling mineral water
- slices of citrus and a handful of frozen cranberries for garnish

Juice the apples, oranges, lemon and cranberries and then pour into a blender. Add in the spices and blend until thoroughly mixed. Serve in festive glasses with a ratio of 2/3 punch to 1/3 sparkling mineral water and finish with sliced fruit & a few cranberries floating on top.