Yes that's right, I too love the traditional christmas flavours and treats. And I'm here to tell you that you can stay healthy over the christmas period whilst enjoying these things...with a little creative magic in the kitchen that is!
I have been busy in the kitchen experimenting with some new recipes to share with you for the christmas season. Last year I made a delicious raw christmas pudding recipe, and it went down a treat, but this year I wanted something a bit different. Max and I were enjoying some freshly roasted chestnuts the other day, I absolutely adore the flavour of chestnuts and thought what a brilliant combo they would make with chocolate. Not just any chocolate though, it had to be a dessert or cake of some kind. I decided to make them part of a delicious rich chocolate truffle torte. There had to be cinnamon somewhere, and a vanilla topping as well...oh dreamy deliciousness!
Now many of you know I do not advocate eating a 100% raw diet (unless you want to that is), and this recipe is a beautiful example of how you can make something mostly raw but still enjoy old comforting flavours and ingredients as well. It really doesn't have to be all or nothing, 100% raw or 100% cooked, you can choose to do whatever percentage raw you like, whatever fits in with your goals and lifestyle. I am about 70% raw on average, slightly less in winter and slightly more in summer, and that suits my life and what I choose to eat and feed my child. This recipe is great as you have the amazing health benefits of the raw chocolate, the nuts, plant butters, spices and dried fruit, and you get the beautiful christmassy luxurious flavour of the roasted chestnuts in there as well. And it is also free from refined sugar, wheat, soya, gluten, dairy and eggs. Heaven!
Raw chocolate chestnut torte
Base:
1 cup raw walnuts
1 cup raw pecans
1 cup medjool dates, de-stoned
1/2 cup cacao nibs
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. sea salt
Topping:
3/4 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
2 heaped tbsp. coconut sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Filling:
1 ripe avocado
4 tbsp. raw cacao powder
5 tbsp. coconut sugar
1 cup chopped roasted chestnuts
3/4 cup melted cacao butter
2 tbsp. maple syrup
1/2 cup coconut water or pure filtered water, room temperature (not chilled from fridge)
1/4 tsp. sea salt
First roast your chestnuts in the oven according to the instructions on the pack. Then peel them (easier to do when they're still warm), roughly chop and set aside to cool.
While the chestnuts are in the oven you can make the base. Put the nuts, cinnamon and salt in the food processor and blitz to a coarse crumb consistency. With the motor running, add the dates down the chute. You are looking for the point where the mixture will stick together when pinched between your fingers. You may need to add a couple more or less dates to achieve this so just check as you go. Once the mixture holds together, add the cacao nibs and just pulse to combine, you don't want to break these down at all, they're there for texture and crunch. Press into a 7 inch loose bottomed cake tin, or use a silicone heart shaped one like I did. Make a nice even layer on the bottom of the tin and chill in the fridge.
Good tip - always start with the lightest layer you will be using the blender for so you don't have to keep washing it between stages. So next you'll make the topping as this is white and the filling is brown. Put the cashews in the blender and blitz to a flour consistency. Scrape the sides down to free any stuck cashew flour. Then add the other topping ingredients and blend until smooth. Put into a bowl and set aside while you make the filling (not in the fridge though).
For the filling, blend the cacao butter, avocado and maple syrup until smooth. With the motor running, trickle in the coconut water. Then add everything else and blend until completely smooth. Spoon this mixture evenly over the base and put in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Then pour the topping evenly over the filling layer and return to the freezer for a few hours to firm up. Serve sprinkled with cinnamon and cacao nibs and decorate with something christmassy and sparkly!
Another delicious recipe that came out of my kitchen last week was some yummy raw christmas granola. Granola is great to have on hand as it means you can have a delicious healthy raw breakfast that is as quick to prepare as making a bowl of processed cereal, and you have an easily transportable healthy snack for when you're out and about and don't want to be tempted by all those unhealthy christmas treats in the shops and cafes at the moment! Just add a couple of handfuls to a sandwich bag or small tupperware tub and you're good to go.
I wanted to make my granola a bit special and festive to match the time of year. I decided to add some mixed spice, cinnamon and ground ginger, as well as dried cranberries, raw chocolate powder and vanilla. Yum yum! What a delicious breakfast to wake up to on Christmas day, paired with some gorgeous chilled hemp or almond milk and some fresh fruit. I like it with chopped banana and cherries. I used my dehydrator for this recipe, but if you don't have one and you don't mind it not staying raw, you could bake it on a low setting in your oven. I haven't tried this though so not sure about length of time, you'd have to keep an eye on it, and when it feels crunchy and dry it's ready. Mmmm...the smell that filled the kitchen when this was dehydrating was heavenly....spicy, chocolaty and very christmassy!
Raw christmas granola
Paste:
12 medjool dates, de-stoned
1 large ripe banana
1/2 cup coconut water or pure filtered water (or you could try orange juice)
3 tbsp. raw cacao powder
1 tbsp. maca (optional)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1.5 tsp. ground cinnamon
1.5 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. mixed spice
1/4 tsp. sea salt
Granola:
1 cup buckwheaties (soaked, sprouted and dehydrated buckwheat grains, if you don't have these substitute with soaked buckwheat or omit and add extra nuts and seeds)
1 cup pecans, roughly chopped (could use walnuts if desired)
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
3/4 cup goji berries
3/4 cup dried unsweetened cranberries
3/4 cup dried white mulberries (or use raisins if you can't get mulberries)
1/2 cup de-hulled hemp seeds
Put the granola ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Put the paste ingredients into your blender and blitz until smooth. Pour the paste mixture into the bowl and mix thoroughly to combine everything really well. Spread out over 2 dehydrator trays lined with paraflexx sheets and dehydrate at 115°C for 8 hours. Place another tray with mesh over the top and flip over, then peel the paraflexx sheet off. Repeat for the other tray and return to the dehydrator for another 4 - 8 hours, depending how chewy or crunchy you like it to be, the longer you dry it, the crunchier it will be. When it's done, break it up into bite sized pieces and store in an airtight tub or jar. It will last for a week or so, longer in the fridge.
Have a fantastic christmas.
Natalie. x
