Living Holiday Feast Recipes!

It's that time again....the time to gather with family & loved ones and give thanks for health, wellness & delicious feast options....Here at Natural Zing we are thankful for you - for helping to support a small local business that cherishes nature, our environment & the fruitful & bountiful food selections this beautiful earth has to offer us...

As a thank you gift to you we are including in this post some of our treasured holiday recipes. Below you will find easy & nourishing beverage recipes for a Spiced Honeybush Tea, & a Butter Nog. For Appetizers we've included a Raw Cashew Cheese with Flax Crackers. For sides you will find a Mashed Potatoes w/ Cashew Gravy recipe, Sauerkraut, Apple-Pecan Coconut Chutney. For the Entree you will find a Thanksgiving Stuffing Nut Loaf, Sweet Potato Casserole, Apple-Cinnamon Bread & Broccoli Soup. And for dessert we've included a Chocolate Pecan Pie! Yum! Enjoy and have a healthy & Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at NaturalZing!



Spiced Honeybush or Tulsi Tea (recipe by Jeff Rose)

9 T. Honeybush Tea or Tulsi Tea
1 cinnamon stick
1 vanilla bean
dash of cardamom
1/4 t. ground clove

•Put all ingredients in 1 gallon of water. Let sit for 24-48 hours. Strain & return to an airtight container. Enjoy!

Butter Nog (recipe by Jeff Rose)
This recipe in our opinion is better than the original!

1 butternut squash, seeded, peeled, & cubed
1 T. Brazil or Macadamia nut oil
2 c. almond milk
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. ginger root, fresh
1 t. pink rock salt or Celtic sea salt
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/8 t. cardamom
1/4 t. allspice
2 T. honey (can substitute other things like agave nectar or fresh Canadian maple syrup if you'd like)

•Blend all ingredients in your Vitamix until just past room temperature. Serve in cups with a dash of cinnamon on top! Enjoy!

Raw Cashew Cheese with Flax Crackers
This is a great appetizer to bring to parties!

3 c. of cashews, soaked for 2 hours
1/2 T. red pepper
1 scallion
2 limes, juiced
1/2 t. dried rosemary or use 2 tsp. of fresh rosemary
1 t. Liquid Aminos or Nama Shoyu (or 1 tsp. Celtic Sea Salt)

•Soak cashews for 2 hours, then drain.
•Homogenize soaked cashews (make into a paste with a juicer using the blank filter or use a food processor -- The Champion, L'Equip, Green Star, Samson, or Omega juicers can all do this).
•Chop the red pepper & scallion, then mix with the cashew paste.
•Finely chop up the rosemary.
•Add the rosemary, salt, lime juice & Liquid Aminos to the mixture.
•Place into a container & store at about 80 degrees for 6 hours.
•Serve with flax crackers.

*This recipes serves 6-8 people. Have fun and experiment with different nut/seed mixtures such as macadamia nuts, pumpkin seeds & sunflower seeds.

Mashed Potatoes with Cashew Gravy (recipe by Jody Allen)

1 large head of cauliflower, cut into florets
2 c .macadamia nuts

•Put cauliflower & nuts in food processor with an s-blade.
•Mix well with a wooden spoon.
•Add garlic, lemon juice, minced chives or other herbs to taste.

Serves 4-6 people.

Cashew Gravy (recipe by Jody Allen)

1/2 c. of cashews
2 c. hot water
1/2 avocado
1-2 T. Nutritional Yeast
2 t. Chix style seasoning [made by hand using 1 t. thyme, 1/2 t. pepper, 1/4 t. salt (I suggest sea salt)]
2 t. onion powder

•Process all ingredients in your Vitamix. Serve over Mashed Potatoes. Serves 6-8 people.

Sauerkraut (recipe by Jeff Rose)

10 lbs of cabbage
5 T. Celtic sea salt

•Shred the cabbage, save a few loose leaves.
•Place the cabbage in fermentation crock in layers (2 lbs cabbage to 1 T Celtic sea salt).
•Place loose leaves over top & then place weights on top of the leaves.
•Cover, fill moat with water, let stand 2-4 weeks (refill moat as needed).
*Can add caraway seeds to taste*

Apple-Pecan Coconut Chutney (from Rainbow Green Live-Food Cuisine)

4 apples, chopped
3 stalks of celery
1 medium radish
3 cups shredded coconut
1 c. cilantro
1 c. pecans, soaked
1 T. fresh ginger juice
2 t. garam masala
1 t. cardamom
1/2 t. leek
1 1/2 t. curry
1 t. salt
1/2 t. fresh ground black pepper
2 cloves of garlic

•Soak pecans for 2 hours.
•Process all ingredients in a food processor with the "S" blade until chunky.
•Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Stuffing Nut Loaf (recipe by Jeff Rose. Photo Courtesy of Raw Food Rehab.)

2 c. walnuts (soaked 6 hours & drained)
2 c. almonds (soaked 6 hours & drained)
2 T. unpasteurized miso
2 T. fresh sage, finely chopped
1 T. fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 T. fresh thyme
1/4 c. fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 medium onion, chopped very fine
4 stalks celery, chopped fine
1 carrot shredded

•Mix walnuts & almonds & soak the mixture for 6 hours & then drain.
•Place walnuts, almonds, & miso into a food processor & mix well.
•Add herbs into the mixture (one at a time) into a food processor & mix well.
•Place mixture into a large bowl.
•Stir in onion & celery.
•Form into a rectangle shape about 2 1/4" thick & place on a sheet of teflex. Place in dehydrator for 6 hours at 110 degrees. Dehydrate in the center shelf remove other shelves in necessary.
•Remove teflex sheet and turn loaf over. Dehydrate for 2 more hours.
•Enjoy! (recipe serves 8)
**Nut Loaf can also be shaped into fun shapes like the turkey above. Have fun & experiment with it!**

Sweet Potato Casserole (modified from Rawsome by Brigitte Mars)

1 1/2 c. pecans, soaked overnight, rinsed, then dehydrated
4 c. peeled, chopped sweet potatoes
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. dates
1 t. cinnamon
1 vanilla bean or 1 t. of vanilla extract
1/2 t. salt
1/4 c. agave nectar

•Place 1/2 cup of pecans & all of the sweet potatoes, water, dates, cinnamon, & vanilla in a food processor & puree.
•Pour the mixture into a casserole dish.
•In a separate bowl, combine the remaining pecans with the salt & agave & toss.
•Scatter the pecan topping over the casserole.

Apple-Cinnamon Bread (recipe adjusted from Apricot Bread in Rainbow Live-Food Cuisine)

2 c. golden flax seeds, ground
2 c. almonds, soaked
1 c. of grated apples
1/2 c. raisins, soaked (we like the Sultana variety with this recipe)
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
1 t. salt
1/2 vanilla bean

•Soak almonds & raisins for 2 hours.
•Grind flax seeds in a blender (do not grind until super fine; the thicker the mixture, the better the bread).
•Process almonds in a food processor with the "S" blade until meal-like
•Process apples & vanilla bean in a blender until smooth
•Add some of the water used to soak the almonds to the blend.
•Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl; add cinnamon & salt & mix well.
•Form into two loaves approximately 4"x8"x1" & slice into 1/2" pieces.
•Dehydrate at 145 degrees for 1-3 hours & 115 degrees for 2 hours, or until desired moisture is obtained.

Serves 6-8 people

Broccoli Soup (modified from Living on Live Food by Alissa Cohen)

3 c. of water
1 c. of almonds
2 t. agave or honey
2 c. broccoli
1 avocado
1/2 to 1 clove garlic
1 T. olive oil
1 t. onion
1-1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. cumin
1/8 t. black pepper

•In a blender or Vitamix blend water, almonds & agave until smooth.
•Add the rest of the ingredients & blend until creamy.

Serves 8.

Chocolate Pecan Pie (recipe by Jeff Rose)

Crust:
1 1/2 c. brazil nuts
1 c. dates, pitted
1 c. dried banana slices

•Blend well in a food processor.
•Press into a pie plate forming a crust.

Filling:
1 c. cacao nibs
1/2 c. coconut oil (virgin)
4 oz. pecan butter
1 c. whole pecan pieces
1 vanilla bean
1/2 c. agave nectar

•Blend nibs, oil, vanilla bean, & pecan butter well in a high-powered blender. Use a spatula to work mixture into blade. As the mixture warms up it will blend better.
•Add agave & blend briefly until mixed.
•Pour into crust, smooth with a spatula.
•Decorate top with whole pecan halves. Have fun & experiment with different designs with the pecan pieces :).

Happy Thanksgiving!
Helen & Jeff