Delicious (& Healthy!) Christmas Recipes

Christmas can be a time of stress or anxiety when it comes to work commitments, family obligations, financial stress or the general hectic nature of this time of the year. Added to these external pressures, heavy holiday food and alcohol can mean that the festive season isn’t always a very healthy time of the year! Of course, holidays should be fun and being around family and friends should be a time for gentle relaxation and celebrating life. One great way to make sure there is healthy and delicious food for you to enjoy at Christmas gatherings is to bring along some dishes yourself- that way you know you will have something you can really enjoy and that you can share with your family. Below are some ideas for starters, salads, mains and desserts, as well as a refreshing mocktail.

Remember to take some time out for yourself, don’t over-commit to anything that seems daunting or overwhelming and make the most of this beautiful time of the year to spend with your loved ones in a relaxed and joyous environment. Recipes generously provided for Embracing Health by Kelly Fielding – www.bellaandbhakti.com

Curried Sweet Potato Hummus

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups of cooked chickpeas
1 ½ cups of cooked sweet potato
½ cup of tahini
3 teaspoons of salt
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 teaspoons of cumin
1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
2 teaspoons of curry powder
3 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 teaspoon of tamari or Braggs

Place all of the ingredients in your food processor or blender and blend until very smooth and creamy. You may need to stop your machine and scrape down the sides every now and then to make sure everything is fully mixed. Taste and season to your own liking- you may like more salt, lemon or curry!

Serve with vegetables crudités and kale chips.

Cheesy Kale Chips

Ingredients:
1 large or two small bunches of curly kale
1 cup of cashews, soaked for 4 hours and then strained and rinsed well
1 large red capsicum chopped
2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon of tamari
1/3 cup of nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
1 teaspoon of smoked paprika powder
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 a teaspoon of coconut sugar
1/2 a cup of filtered water

Wash the kale and remove the hard stem before chopping it up into rough pieces.
Place all the ingredients in your blender and blend on high until very smooth and creamy.
Pour the mixture over the kale and massage well so that all the leaves are covered evenly.
Spread the kale onto the reflex sheets of your dehydrator trays and dry until they chips are crunchy- around 12 hours. Store in an air tight container.

Quinoa Salad with cranberries and almonds

1 ½ cups of cooked quinoa
1 large cucumber diced
1 yellow bell pepper diced
2 tablespoons of cranberries
2 tablespoons of slivered almonds
1 handful of mint leaves, finely chopped
1 cup of parsley finely chopped
1 handful of pea shoots or sunflower sprouts
2 spring onions finely sliced
1 lemon juiced
1 tablespoon of macadamia oil
Freshly cracked Himalayan salt and black pepper

Place all the salad ingredients in a large bowl and mix gently to combine.
Mix the lemon juice, macadamia oil and salt and pepper together and then drizzle over the salad.
Mix well and serve at room temperature.

Fennel, Beetroot and Sweet Potato Salad

½ a bulb of fresh fennel sliced thinly
2 beetroots cut into small cubes
1 medium size sweet potato cut into small cubes
2 cups of leafy greens such as rocket or baby spinach
½ an orange thinly sliced
¼ cup of pecans roughly chopped
½ a cucumber thinly sliced
1/4 cup of cherry tomatoes halved

Dressing:
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon of tamari
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
a pinch of salt
½ a teaspoon of honey or coconut nectar

Directions:
Whisk all dressing ingredients and set aside.
Line a baking tray with baking paper and drizzle a small amount of olive oil over the paper. Add the fennel, beetroot and sweet potato, season with salt and cook in a hot oven until tender and cooked through.
In a large bowl, combine the greens, cucumber, tomatoes and orange.
Add the roast vegetables, pecans and dressing and mix well to combine.
Serve immediately on individual plates with freshly cracked salt and pepper. You may like a sprinkle of cayenne pepper or smoked paprika too.

Cashew Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients:
12 small button mushrooms
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight
1/4 cup lemon juice
pinch of salt
1 dessertspoon nutritional yeast (savoury yeast flakes)
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 tbsp chives, chopped
3 tsp thyme leaves (whole)
2 tbsp raw pine nuts

Gently remove the stems from the mushrooms. Clean them with a paper towel.
Mix together the balsamic vinegar and olive oil, and brush onto the outside of the mushrooms.
Wait 20 mins for balsamic mixture to soak in, then gently wipe off any excess with a paper towel.
Next, combine the cashews, lemon juice, nutritional yeast and salt in your high speed blender.
Tip mixture into a bowl and stir through the parsley and chives.
Spoon the mixture into the mushrooms, and sprinkle with thyme leaves and pine nuts.
Enjoy!

Raw Chocolate Cheesecake:

Crust:
1 cup almonds
1 cup dates
1 ½ cups coconut
honey
coconut oil

Process the nuts until they begin to break down and then add the dates and coconut. Process until the mixture comes together. Press the mixture into the base of a spring form pie tin.

Filling:
2 cups cashews (soak in water 2 hours)
1 cups dates (soak in water 2 hours)
½ cup honey
10 tablespoons raw cacao powder
½ cup coconut oil
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla
½ cup coconut milk

Blend all filling ingredients until smooth and creamy. Taste to add more sweet/salt/cacao.
Pour into cake base and set in the freezer.

Salted caramel and cranberry balls

1 cup flaked almonds
1 cup coconut
1 cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup walnuts
1 cup dates
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon coconut oil
3 tablespoons almond butter
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons of mesquite powder
½ cup cranberries

Process all ingredients in food processor until combined well.
Roll into balls and roll in coconut.

Watermelon Berry Crush

Ingredients:
500g (3 cups) watermelon, cubed
1 punnet strawberries, stems removed
the juice of 1 lime
16 ice cubes
2 tbsp mint leaves

Blend everything together in a high speed
Garnish with a lime wedge and a sprig of mint.
Enjoy!

Serves 2

Leisa