Nourishing, and Delicious, Holiday Food

Beginning today and for the next two Thursdays I will be posting Nourishing and Delicious Recipes for your Holiday meals or parties. Today's menu consists of: Hors D'Ourves (sounds fancier than appetizers or pre meal snacks), Soups and Salads. Next Thursday, November 11th: Vegetables, Side Dishes, and Easy Turkey Tips. Then on Thursday, November 18th: Desserts, Snack Foods, "Recycling" Leftovers.

Be Creative

The Holidays are such a special time to give thanks, rejoice in our blessings and share time with loved ones. Although the food is an accessory reason to celebrate, the meal does bring us all together. Family favorites, time honored traditions and classic recipes are in loved this time of year. I to enjoy the traditional foods and family favorites, but I also love to create and try something new! Whether it is making a classic recipe more nutritious or bringing a new exciting dish no one has tried! I have to admit I love to serve new, never before tried dishes to company (yes a classic No-No).

Converting a Recipe

It is relatively simple to transform an unhealthy recipe to a healthier recipe. Here are some basic substitutions.

Substitute:

-Olive Oil IN and a damaged oil, like canola or vegetable oil OUT, 1:1 sub.

-Butter IN, Margarine or Shortening OUT, 1:1 sub

-100% Whole Wheat or Sprouted Whole Wheat Flour IN, White Flour OUT, 1:1 sub.

-Honey (raw is best), Stevia, or Sucanat (Dried Cane Juice) IN, for white sugar OUT.

-Fresh Vegetables IN, for frozen or canned vegetables OUT.

-Organic Grass Fed, Naturally raised Meats IN for Conventional Meats OUT.

-Coconut Milk, Almond Milk, Kefer, Organic Cultured Butter Milk IN and Pasteurized Homogenized Dairy OUT, 1:1 sub

-Sea Salt IN and table salt OUT, 1:1 sub

Hors D'Oeurves

Roasted Eggplant Dip (Baba Ganouj)

makes about 2 cups

3 large Eggplants

1 TBSP Sea Salt

2 cloves Garlic

juice of 4 Lemons

1/4 cup Tahini, sesame seed paste

2 TBSP Olive Oil

1/2 tsp ground cumin

dash of cayenne pepper

Puncture the eggplants in a few spots and bake in a 375 degree oven for about one hour or until skin is wrinkled and eggplant is tender. Let cool. Peel and chop into a dine dice, sprinkle with salt, mix well and let sit about an hour in a colander. Then scoop the flesh out of the skin.

Puree Eggplant in a food processor with remaining ingredients (except cayenne pepper) until smooth.

Place in a bowl and sprinkle on cayenne pepper. Serve with pita bread, pita chips or raw vegetables.

* Tastes best if allowed to sit for one hour at room temperature before serving.

Endive Salad Cups

This is a salad is high in enzymes which aids in digestion, perfect before a big meal.

6-8 large heads of Belgium endive

1 tsp Dijon type mustard

2 TBSP plus 1 tsp vinegar, red wine, white wine or apple cider

1/2 cup olive oil

1 cup sunflower seeds, sprouted best

4 carrots, peeled and grated

1 cucumber, peeled and finely chopped

1 red pepper, seeded and finely chopped

1 bunch green onion, finely chopped

1 avocado, chopped

Remove outer leaves of endive and discard. Remove several leaves from each head and arrange around the outside of the plates, tapered ends pointing outward. Save remaining endive for other soups or salads.

Mix mustard, vinegar and olive oil for dressing. Add in sunflower seeds, carrots, cucumber, pepper, and onions, mix to coat. Mound in the center of the endive leaves. Garnish with sea salt and avocado.

Sweet Potato Dip

3 small or 2 large sweet potatoes

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 TBSP Olive Oil

1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp oregano

salt and pepper to taste

Bake sweet potatoes until soft, 400 degrees for 45-60 minutes. Cool. Peel skin off then mash. Using a potato masher, hand blender or food processor. Add remaining ingredients and mix.

Serve with whole wheat crackers, pita chips, raw vegetables (cauliflower) or any other dipper you enjoy.

Soup

Curried Apple Soup (I have not had this before but sounds good)

from Nourishing Traditions

6 tart apples, peeled and quartered

2 TBSP butter

2 medium onions, peeled and chopped

1 tsp graded fresh ginger

1 tsp each dry mustard, tumeric, ground cumin and ground coriander

1/4 tsp each cloves, cinnamon and cayenne

1 1/2 quarts chicken stock

juice of 1 lemon

sea salt

Saute onions in butter until soft. Stir in spices. Combine onion mixture with apples and stock and simmer until apples are soft. Puree Soup with handheld blender, in blender or with food processor. Add lemon juice and season with seas salt.

Red Pepper Soup

from Nourishing Traditions

6 red peppers, seeded and chopped

2 medium onions, peeled and chopped

4 TBSP olive oil

1.5 quarts chicken stock

1 sm bunch fresh basil, cut into thin pieces

sea salt

Saute peppers and onions in olive oil. Add stock, bring to a boil and skim. Reduce heat and simmer about 30 minutes. Puree soup in blender, food processor, or with a hand blender. Return to pot and stir in basil and season to taste. Simmer about 5 minutes.

*Variation: Add 1/2 can coconut milk and 1/2 cup pumpkin butter!!

Butternut Squash Soup

This is delicious and creamy even without the use of cream or milk.

Salads

Lettuce salads are not as much about a recipe but creating a variety of flavors, colors and textures. Think about your favorite sweet, crunchy, nutty smooth, salty and buttery flavors and then combine with fresh greens.

Kale Salad

2 heads Kale, de-steamed and rough chopped

1/4 cup Olive Oil

Juice of 2 Lemons

Sea Salt

Pine Nuts

Dried Cranberries

Fresh Parmesan Cheese (optional)

Pour lemon juice and olive oil over kale and message it with your hands. Add sea salt. Tastes best if refrigerated 8-24 hours. Add nuts, cranberries and cheese just before serving.

Festive Greek Salad

Spinach

Dried Cranberries

Chopped Walnuts

Feta Cheese

Red Onion, Chopped

Red Apple, Chopped

Cucumbers

2 TBSP red wine vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp oregano

1 clove garlic crushed

1 tsp lemon juice

1 squirt Dijon mustard

White Bean and Spinach Salad (warm salad)

Salad with Red Grapes and Feta

Butternut and Kale Salad (warm salad) This is definetly going on my holiday menu!

Make your own Salad! Here are a list of toppings to spark your imagination.

Nuts: pine nuts, walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, pecans, sliced almonds

Cheese: parmesan, feta, blue cheese, gorgonzola, gruyere, goat

Fruit: pears, apples, oranges, dried cranberries, dried cherries, pomograntent seeds, raisins, grapes

Vegetables: cucumber, sweet peppers, onion, grape tomatoes, beets, carrots, celery