Foodie Friday - Festive Holiday Drinks

This episode of Foodie Friday features festive & healthy Christmas "cocktail" recipes that will help you feel like kicking up your heels and decking the halls this holiday season (and without a hangover)!

No holiday party is truly complete without a selection of delicious drinks. Holiday libations can and should be fun and festive, but they don't HAVE to contain wine, champagne or spirits. The great thing about choosing to be conscious with your holiday drinking means that no one has to worry about who will be driving home from the party!

Holiday Fruit Punch

(from Raw For The Holidays - pg 59 )

8 oranges

6 apples

1 lemon

1 cup fresh cranberries

1/4 cup - 1 cup coconut nectar (or other sweetener of choice), to taste

1/4+ teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon 5 spice powder

1 large bottle of chilled sparkling mineral water

additional slices of citrus, fresh mint & frozen cranberries for garnish

Either juice or blend & strain the apples, oranges, lemon & cranberries. Pour the juice into the blender, adding the spices and whirl until well combined. Pour the punch into a large pitcher or small punch bowl and add sparkling water. You are looking for a ratio of about 2/3 punch to 1/3 sparkling water. Finish by adding sliced fruit, fresh mint & a few cranberries to serve.

Raspberry Pomegranate Spritzer

2 cups kombucha, coconut kefir or sparkling water

2/3 cup frozen raspberries

2 sprigs fresh mint

3 ounces fresh or bottled pomegranate juice

ice

Combine all ingredients in a small pitcher and pour over ice filled glasses to serve.

Holiday Nog

(raw & eggless)

1 cup soaked almonds (4 - 8 hrs)

1 young coconut (substitute 2 ripe bananas if you don't have a coconut)

5 soft, pitted medjool dates

2 tablespoons coconut nectar (optional)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 -2 heaping tablespoon cashew butter (optional - will make it creamier & add richness of flavor)

1 scant teaspoon rum extract (optional)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

additional water to blend (2 cups if you are using the coconut, 3 cups w/ bananas)

Blend all ingredients and strain. Serve chilled or warm and top with freshly grated nutmeg & a cinnamon stick for a beautiful presentation.

Christmas Cran-tini

3 ounces of fresh pressed or organic bottled cranberry juice

3 ounces fresh orange juice

a few drops of Stevia hazelnut extract

a final splash of kombucha (or organic vodka if you're really on the edge)

Combine the first three ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. strain into a glass and top with kombucha, garnishing with an orange slice & a couple of frozen cranberries.

In addition to these fun drinks, be sure to check out all of the festive goodness in our holiday themed ebook, Raw For The Holidays! In it you'll find drink recipes for:

2 more delicious raw nog variations

Minty Chocolate Cocoa

Chocolatini

Poinsetta

Holi-tini

Toot You Horn Smart Cocktail

and so much more....

If you're looking for party appetizers, both Raw For The Holidays & Falling Into Raw have ou covered! Just a few suggestions:

Cheddar Stuffed Celery w/ Cranberries

Truffle Caper Tapenade

Pecan or Pumpkin Seed Cheese Stuffed Dates

Cucumber Cashew Canapés

Stuffed Mushrooms

BBQ "Meat"balls

Party Kabobs w/ Persimmon Habanero Dipping Sauce

Staying Raw & Sane at the Holidays!

On Thursday, December 9th, I will be joining Blog Talk Radio host, Cher Till for a fantastic internet program on Staying Raw & Sane at the Holidays! During this hour long program, Cher and I are dishing up some great holiday tips for staying raw, keeping it green, reducing stress and sharing recipe ideas. We cover a gamut of topics from dealing with the demands and stresses of the season to how to be prepared and stay on course with your healthy eating goals throughout 2010 and beyond. Please join us for some fun, helpful tips and tricks that will help make your season more Merry & Bright! Click here to learn more details and to find the time the show will be available in your area.

Healthy Shots with Cher is an award winning internet program that brings you the movers, shakers and leaders in raw, vegan and vegetarian lifestyles, as well as Masters in the study of Meditation. Master Life Coach Cher Till is your host and weekly she brings you her expert tools and those of her special guests. This will be a one hour show, with fun and information that will guide you to a balance of physical and mental joy. To learn more about Coach Cher Till go to rawqyourhealth.com

The Living Christmas Tree

Here we are at the beginning of December, which is the biggest celebratory month of the entire year! In today's episode of Foodie Friday, I am sharing with you one of my most favorite and impressive holiday party appetizers, The Living Christmas Tree, which is a perfect centerpiece and healthy conversation starter for any festive occasion. Putting this tree together is also a fun way to get kids involved in helping with your party preparations!

To put together your Living Christmas Tree (page 63 of Raw For The Holidays), you'll need:

One Styrofoam Cone (they come in several sizes, so choose a larger size if you have a larger number of guests) and Toothpicks:

Holiday Themed Mini-Cookie Cutters, if desired:

Lots of Leafy Greens to cover the cone:

Use toothpicks to secure your leafy greens to the cone to create the Christmas Tree Base layer:

Clean, cut and prepare a variety of veggies with which to decorate your tree:

Decorate the Living Christmas Tree as you would a real holiday tree, using toothpicks to secure the veggies in place:

Use the Living Tree as a table decoration or centerpiece at your holiday event:

You can serve a variety of dips as an accompaniment to this veggie tree. I made a variation of the Cashew Cheddar Spread from Falling Into Raw (page 32):

For the Cheddar Spread:
1 cup raw cashews, soaked one hour & drained
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded
1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon cashew or tahini butter
1 generous tablespoon nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon raw honey
1 scant teaspoon sea salt
water, only as needed to blend

In a food processor or blender combine all ingredients until completely smooth.

I also suggest these dips to serve alongside the tree:

Pumpkin Seed Cheese Dip (Falling Into Raw - page 34)

Chipotle Hummus (Falling Into Raw - page 34)

Smokey Guacamole (Falling Into Raw - page 31)

And be sure to check out the other offerings in our Dips & Nut Pate section in the Raw Food Rehab Kitchen! There is a Live Ranch dip & an amazing walnut pate in that section that are DELISH!

I've Got Sunshine......

Today I took a little road trip to Oklahoma City to meet up with my good friend Sunshine Boatright (raw food autism champion) at 105degrees. Sunshine and her family were passing through on their move cross-country from Atlanta, Georgia to their soon to be new home in Southern California.

It had been just over 2 years since I had seen Sunshine, so I was thrilled to get to hang out with her for a couple of hours, catching up over the most amazing raw & living food lunch! Check out these shots of our feast:



In the order of there appearance:

Shots of Wheatgrass (not shown)
Antiox-C (Orange, Lime, Goji Berries, Black Cherries & Raspberries)
Fork Crushed Avocado w/ Mint, Radish, Lemon, Sea Salt & Corn Chips
House Aged Tree Nut Cheeses w/ Seasonal Fruits & Raw Honey
Arugula Salad w/ Shaved Pear, Sweet Onions, L8 Harvest Vinaigrette&, Spiced Pumpkin Seeds
Heirloom Tomato Lasagna w/ Macadamia Ricotta, Spinach, Pesto & Sun Dried Tomato Marinara
Mediterranean Hummus Wrap in Swiss Chard w/ Zucchini, Kalamata Olives & Sweet Red Pepper (with a side of Kale Chips)
Tiramisu
Gianduja Tasting (a celebration of hazelnuts & chocolate)

The final photo of the raw lasagna was a dish that one of the students at the Academy had put together - doesn't it all look amazing? If you ever have the opportunity to be in Oklahoma City, be sure to visit 105degrees!

The Festival of Lights

Looking for raw food ideas to incorporate into your Chanukkah dinner? Raw chefs Deborah Blank, Kirby Cuke & Raw For the Holidays offer a full menu of delicious gluten & dairy free living food recipes for your celebration which include:

Apple Cakes

Honey Creme Sauce

Spiced Carrots

Applesauce

Sweet Potato Latkes

Sour Cream

Brisket

Jelly Donuts

Chanukah Harry Choc Dipped Macaroons

Raw For The Holidays is a collection of over 100 holiday themed, healthy raw food recipes & 65 full color photos. This work is an expanded collaboration from over 30 contributors, including yours truly. Order your digital copy now, through Paypal for only $15.

The Big Thanksgiving Episode

Thanks for checking out today's Big Thanksgiving Episode! I had such fun putting today's recipes together and filming the details for my weekly raw food segment on Raw Food Rehab. Unfortunately when I went to plug my Flip camera into the USB port of my computer, the plug in snapped off and my video camera is broken beyond repair. I hope you will at least enjoy the photographs and recipes I've put together. I'm wishing you and your family a beautiful, blissful and healthy holiday!

Cinnamon Apple & Rosemary Sweet Potato Chips w/ Maple Vanilla Cream

(inspired by Vegetarian Times - Oct 2010)

For the cinnamon apple chips:

2 medium apples, cored & sliced into 1/4 inch thick rings

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

for rosemary sweet potato chips:

1 large sweet potato

2 tablespoons good quality olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon crushed dried rosemary

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Cut sweet potato into paper thin slices with a mandoline or knife. Place slices in a bowl and gently rub in the olive oil, lemon juice, rosemary & salt.

Lay slices on mesh dehydrator trays without overlapping. Dry for about 6 hours, shifting until chips are fully crisp.

Maple Vanilla Cream

If you don't have a high speed blender, you can grind the cashews in a coffee grinder then place the powder into your blender to combine with the other ingredients until smooth.

1/2 cup cashews, soaked & drained

1 - 2 teaspoons maple syrup or coconut nectar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Blend all ingredients on high speed until smooth & creamy, adding a bit of water if necessary to combine.

Sweet Cinnamon Pecans
(courtesy of Kerry Matson/Raw For The Holidays pg 73)

2 tablespoon coconut oil

2 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon agave (or other sweetener of choice)
1/8 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of sea salt
4 cups pecans
1/2 cup dried coconut flakes

Mix together warmed/liquefied coconut oil, agave, vanilla and cinnamon. Pour over pecans and stir to cover nuts well. Pour 1/2 of pecans onto a dehydrator sheet (no Teflex sheet). To the remaining pecans, add a 1/2 cup of dried coconut flakes. Stir well & pour onto another dehydrator sheet.

Dehydrate at 105* for 15-20 hours, or until dry & crispy.

Cranberry Pomegranate Chutney
(from Raw For The Holidays pg 90)

2 cups dried cranberries, roughly chopped
½ cup red apple, cored and chopped
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
¼ cup agave nectar (or raw honey)
1 orange, zested & supremed
1 cup pomegranate seeds

Add cranberries, apple, ginger and agave nectar to a food processor and pulse together until well combined. Add the orange segments, pulsing only until blended in coarsely. Transfer to a medium bowl and add the orange zest and pomegranate seeds, mixing thoroughly. This will keep well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for several days.

Savory Mushroom Nut Loaf
(Modified from Raw For The Holidays pg 94)

1 cup raw pecans
1 cup raw walnuts

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup mushrooms
½ cup celery
½ cup sweet yellow onion
1 1/2 teaspoons dried sage or poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1-2 cloves garlic
1 cup carrot pulp
1 stalk celery, finely diced

In a food processor, grind nuts to a coarse meal. Place in a mixing bowl. To the processor bowl, qdd mushrooms, celery, onion, sage, salt, pepper, thyme, and garlic, and continue processing until everything is finely ground. Transfer this into the bowl with the nuts and stir in carrot pulp and diced celery. Use your hands or a wooden spoon to mix and combine everything together. Form into a loaf, cake or patties. Dehydrate 4-6 hours, (less time if you are making smaller cakes) until a crust has formed on top and it's nicely warmed.

Pumpkin Spice Bread or Muffins

2 cups fresh or moist carrot pulp

2/3 cup dried sweet almond pulp (left over pulp from making nut milk)

3/4 cup ground golden flax seeds

1/3 cup chopped raisins or cranberries

1/3 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

2 tablespoons coconut nectar or maple syrup

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

2 teaspoons good quality olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl until fully incorporated. Either form the mixture into a loaf shape or press into a plastic wrap lined mini-muffin pan to form shapes. Dehydrate at 105 degrees until dried to your personal liking. The outer crust should be nice and formed, but the interior should still be soft and moist. Note: If you are making a pumpkin loaf, drying time will be much longer.

There are over 100 celebratory recipes and 65 color photos in Raw Food Rehab's Raw For The Holidays ebook. Click here to learn the details.

Big Raw Chili Night

Corn Fritters (from Raw For The Holidays)

3 cups fresh (or frozen & thawed) corn kernels

2/3 cup leek (other variety of yellow or white onion is fine)

1/2 cup dried almond pulp or almond flour

1/3 cup golden flax seeds, ground

drizzle of cold pressed olive oil

drizzle of coconut nectar or maple syrup

pinch of sea salt & fresh cracked pepper

Note - I added a heaping 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder & a seeded jalapeño

Blend all ingredients except 1/3cup of corn in a food processor until well combined and smooth. Using a small ice cream scoop or tablespoon, drop the batter on to lined dehydrator trays and press into the shape of corn fritters. Dry at 115 degrees for 2 hours and flip over, removing the non-stick backing, and place the fritters onto the mesh trays to continue drying until the desired consistency is reached (anywhere from 2 - 4 more hours).

Penni's Rawkin' Raw Chili

for the chili:

4 cups fresh tomatoes,diced

16 oz. white or baby bello mushrooms, chopped

2+cups fresh or frozen corn kernels

2 red bell peppers, seeded & diced

2/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked

1 carrot, grated

1 jalapeño, seeded and diced

1 shallot or small sweet onion, chopped (I substituted 1 teaspoon onion powder)

2 cloves fresh garlic (I used 1 teaspoon dried garlic powder)

2 tablespoon coconut nectar (honey or agave would be fine)

1 - 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon smoked sea salt (regular is fine)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon cacao powder

1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder

generous pinch freshly cracked pepper

for the toppings:

chopped cilantro

red onion, diced,

kalamata olives, chopped

avocado, chopped or sliced

living sour cream

Blend together all of the ingredients, except 2 cups chopped tomato, 2 cups chopped mushroom, cup corn, 1/2 of the red bell pepper, 1/2 the jalapeño and 1/2 the cilantro. Once you have lended the base, add the smooth mixture to a large bowl and add in the remaining chopped ingredients, stirring until well combined. Top the chili with any of the listed ingredients. Serve & Enjoy!

To check out my last post on chili - Raw vs. Cooked Chili Night