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Hi guys,

Well it’s only a few days until Christmas….can you believe it? Are you organised, got your gifts and feeling happy for a few days of down time? I am not at all organised yet but I am definitely looking forward to a few days off! I’m going to be doing some serious running around this week!

Before I get into the topic and recipes for today, just a reminder that the Introduction To Detox telelcass that Marlena and I are running on Tuesday the 4th of January is open for registration. The teleclass gives you 90 minutes of must-know information on how to gently and safely start detoxifying your body and the key principles of effective detoxification. It is just $19 and you will receive a recording of the teleclass also so you can listen to it again and again if you like, or if you can’t make the live date and time you can listen to the recording. Check out the details and register here.

Recently I have been getting asked by many clients and readers what I typically eat over the holidays. I hate to break the boring news to you but I generally eat pretty much the same over the holidays! I usually take my own food to parties, make my own meal for Christmas day and I always stick with my juice and salads so that I feel my best (just one of my ways to ensure I stay healthy over the holidays).

It might sound boring to you but every meal I make, whether it is for a random Wednesday evening or whether it’s for Christmas day, I love. I have mastered the art of pleasing my own palette and few restaurant meals can compete so I am thrilled to enjoy my own food, which I know is delicious, over the holidays and every day of the year.

To be specific, I have and will be enjoying tons of fresh mostly green veggie juices, some freshly made nut and seed milk, big piles of fresh salads, delicious cooked veggies, homemade raw dips, cabbage wraps and avocado puddings. Yum!

There are 3 recipes in particular I’ll be enjoying these holidays. All 3 were created recently and I have been having one of these (sometimes2 or all 3 of them!) every day for the last week. Sooooooo darn good! I definitely recommend you try each of these soon…if not for your holiday meals then soon after to get wonderful nourishment and alkalinity back into your temple while you gobble up the flavours!

Coconut Milk – 2 ways

I like me a homemade nut or seed milk every so often. They are freakin’ tasty, filling and so comforting. Recently I had the idea to try my favourite nut and seed milk recipe (3 parts water to 1 part nut or seed) with coconut. I used dried coconut and blended it with water to create the most indulgent and rich milk I’ve made yet.

Basic Vanilla Coconut Milk

Ingredients:

1 cup of dried organic coconut

3 cups of filtered water

15 drops of vanilla stevia (or 1 tsp vanilla extract plus 15 drops of stevia or 2 tsp agave, honey or pure maple syrup)

Directions:

Blend the water and coconut until well mixed.

Strain the liquid through a nut milk bag or fine sieve. Pour only the strained liquid back into the blender and add the vanilla and stevia. Blend for a few seconds to combine and then serve.

You can blend this for longer to serve a warm coconut milk or enjoy it as I did – in a glass with lots of ice. I found the cold version of this milk to be just perfect as the cold and he ice mellowed the richness of this drink so that it wasn’t too much for me. Both are delicious though!

Spiced Coconut Milk

Use the above ingredients and follow the same directions but add to the final blend a pinch each of ginger powder, cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add more stevia to taste.

This is a very festive tasting recipe!

Zucchini and Herb Salad

I created this salad last week when I had only a few ingredients left in the depths of my fridge. I should have known that with forced simplicity (I always love simple combinations) would come greatness – whole foods in their natural state are delicious with very few additions.

Ingredients:

1 zucchini, grated

1 small handful of basil, chopped or torn

1 small handful of parsley, chopped or torn

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 tablespoon of fresh ginger, chopped

1 spring onion, chopped

Juice of 1 lemon

1/2 tsp herbamare

Optional: 1 avocado

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except the avocado in a bowl and toss well. This salad is delicious exactly like this, or with a few drops if stevia or a teaspoon of high quality mustard to make the flavours pop. If you want something more creamy and filling, take half an avocado and spoon it onto the salad, then use your hands to mash it through the salad so it becomes slightly creamy. Then cube the remaining half of the avocado and add to the salad. Toss and serve.

I have enjoyed this with and without the avocado, with a dash of macadamia nut oil (oh my!), spooned into cabbage leaves with stone ground mustard and stevia and alongside steamed or baked veggies.

Sweet Spiced Dessert Pumpkin

If you are avoiding sugars or grains, this recipe is ideal to give you the sweetness of dessert without the sugar, additives, gluten, preservatives or any other nasties. It’s satisfying and you can make it as sweet as you like…I like it very sweet to match my own sweetness .

Ingredients:

1/4 of a jap pumpkin, de-seeded and cut into cubed pieces (you can use any pumpkin that you like or sweet potato)

1 heaping tablespoon of unrefined coconut oil

2 teaspoons of mixed spice (or pumpkin pie spice)

12 drops of vanilla or plain stevia (or more to taste)

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C.

Place the pumpkin cubes (skin on if it’s organic) on baking paper on a baking tray.

Place in the oven and cook until golden brown on the edges and soft (remove any burnt bits if you overcooked them like I did!).

Place the pumpkin in a bowl and add the spice, stevia and oil. Mix well and enjoy every last morsel. It’s so good!

These are my Christmas week recipes and no doubt I will be enjoying them many more times over the coming weeks of the holidays.

What will you be enjoying on Christmas day?