| Newsletter
#14 ...
Guilt
Free Desserts for the Holidays
The holidays are a time of giving that
includes enjoying family and friends, relaxing, and
treating yourself to special, memorable foods. But the
downside can be the weight gain and health problems
that come from indulging in too many sweets.
Many people are trying to avoid white sugar, white
flour, dairy products, trans fats, saturated fats, refined
carbs, and excess calories. But it can be nearly impossible
to do during the holidays with all those cakes, cookies,
and candies around. And it's no fun to feel deprived
either.
I've found that the answer to both healthy and happy
holidays is to bring your own delicious, guilt-free
desserts to holiday gatherings and to work. Everyone
appreciates having something delicious to eat that is
guilt-free!
Raw food desserts are the perfect guilt-free desserts.
These desserts use whole food ingredients such as nuts,
dried fruits, and avocados to replace unhealthful white
flour, white sugar, and heated fats. But unlike other
"lite" desserts, they have so much flavor,
you won't feel a bit deprived. And they are so easy
to make.
My new book, Raw Food
Made Easy for 1 or 2 People, has a large
selection of any dessert you might enjoy cooked--cake,
cookies, fruit crisps, pies, tarts, puddings, mousses,
shakes, and ice creams--but raw. The book can help you
make desserts for any occasion, and makes a great holiday
gift, too.
Here are a couple of easy recipes from the book to
get you started:
Flourless Chocolate Cake
with Raspberry Sauce
Yield: one 5-inch cake, 4 servings
for the cake:
1 1/2 cups raw walnuts
Dash salt
8 pitted medjool dates
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa or carob powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons water
for the raspberry sauce:
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries (thaw and drain,
if frozen)
1/4 cup pitted medjool dates, soaked 30 minutes and
drained
Place the walnuts and salt in a food processor fitted
with the S blade and process until finely ground. Add
the dates, cocoa powder, and vanilla and process until
the mixture begins to stick together. Add the water
and process briefly.
Transfer to a serving plate and form into a 5-inch
round cake. To make the Raspberry Sauce, place the raspberries
and dates in a blender and process until smooth. Frost
the top of the cake with Raspberry Sauce just before
serving.
Cherry Pie
Yield: one 9-inch pie, 8 servings
for the crust:
2 cups raw walnuts
1 cup unsweetened shredded dried coconut
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup pitted medjool dates
for the cherry filling:
4 cups frozen pitted cherries, thawed and drained
3/4 cup pitted medjool dates
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
To make the crust, place the walnuts, coconut, and
salt in a food processor fitted with the S blade and
process until coarsely ground. Add the dates and process
until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs and begins
to stick together.
Scoop the crust into a pie plate. Use a light circular
motion with your palm and fingers to distribute the
crumbs uniformly along the bottom and up the sides of
the pan. Press the crust firmly into the pie plate.
To make the filling, place 1 1/2 cups of the cherries
along with the dates and lemon juice in a blender and
process until smooth. Transfer to a mixing bowl, add
the remaining cherries, and mix well. Pour the cherry
filling into the crust. Chill for at least 2 hours before
serving. Bring to room temperature or warm in a slow
oven to serve.
In my Holiday Favorites classes, we also make traditional
Thanksgiving favorites, including Holiday Nog, Cucumber
Bisque, Christmas Kale, Stuffing, Green Beans Amandine,
Cranberry Orange Relish, Mock Pumpkin Pie with Cashew
Whipped Cream. You can purchase these recipes online
for only $7.95. Just click on www.learnrawfood.com/recipes/htm
Happy and Healthy Holidays!
[Top] |
