HEALTHY HOLIDAY TREATS

By Dr. Brenda Cobb
Holidays are always a time of indulgence
and why not? Celebrations and parties fill the social calendar and there is an abundance of delicious food everywhere. Typically the average American gains several pounds during the holidays because not only is there a lot of food, it’s very rich. Now it can be different.
You can indulge without the guilt with these great recipes.
.....This year you can plan a party and serve food that’s not only rich and delicious,
but healthy too. Mention the word healthy and automatically people think, “This can’t taste good and be healthy too.” But, that’s not true anymore. There are lots of delicious recipes that are easy to prepare, will impress your guests and be guilt free too. You can literally have your cake and eat it too.
.....Your time is precious, so you not only want the great food, you don’t want to spend long hours in the kitchen. A big plus with these treats is that you don’t have to cook anything up.
.....Planning your holiday party should be enjoyable, not stressful. You can prepare these recipes the day before and they’ll taste even better after the flavors meld together. You won’t be running around like a crazy person on your party day. You can not only give a great party you can enjoy it with the rest of your guests.
.....Go shopping at your local health food store and purchase organic ingredients.
This will be a wonderful gift for your friends. You will be feeding them the best possible food money can buy, free of chemicals, pesticides and harmful toxins. Everything will be fresh and your friends will taste the difference. You’ll be nourishing
not only their bodies but their spirits too. The living enzymes, vitamins and minerals will give everyone a burst of energy and I guarantee they’ll lick their plates clean and beg for more of your secret recipes. So, don’t tell them it’s healthy, just feed them well and stand back and take the compliments you deserve!

Creamy Veggie Dip
6 cups spinach
1 cup red pepper
1 cup yellow squash
1 cup carrots chopped
3 large cloves garlic
2 ripe avocados
2 Tbs. lemon juice
½ tsp. cumin
2 tsp. Celtic sea salt
Put the garlic in the food processor first and chop so that it is diced into very small pieces. Then add the spinach and chop until it is very fine. Add the avocado, lemon juice, salt and cumin and blend until very creamy. Chop the red pepper, squash and carrots by hand and then combine
everything in a pretty bowl. Garnish with red pepper.
Serve with fresh vegetables like celery, carrots,
and cucumber slices.

Figgy Pudding
2 pints of fresh figs
2 cups of pitted medjool dates
2 cups of chopped walnuts
Soak the pitted dates in filtered water overnight and drain the water off and rinse. Soaking the walnuts will make them easier to digest. Combine the fresh figs and dates in the food processor and blend until creamy. Fold in the chopped walnuts by hand. Put in a decorative bowl and decorate with a whole fig in the middle surrounded with a few walnuts.

Spicy Portabella Mushrooms
with Pesto Spinach
1 cup walnuts
1 cup sunflower seeds
2 Tbs. chopped garlic
4 cups spinach packed very tight
1 cup parsley packed very tight
2 Tbs. dried basil or 1 cup fresh
1 teas. Celtic sea salt
pinch cayenne pepper
1 red bell pepper (for decoration)
large portabella mushrooms

Marinade for the Mushrooms
½ cup Nama Shoyu raw soy sauce (taste and add more if needed to bring flavors together)
½ cup filtered water
2 tsp. fresh jalapeno pepper Minced
2 tsp. chopped fresh ginger
1 tsp. chopped garlic
Soak the walnuts and sunflower seeds overnight in filtered water, drain and rinse. The night before the party mix the marinade ingredients together and put the mushrooms caps in the marinade with the outer side down. Marinate overnight.
The next day chop the garlic in the food processor first so it is in very small pieces. Then add all the other ingredients (except the red pepper) and blend until creamy. Fill the mushroom caps with the spinach pesto and put in the fridge overnight. On party day cut the mushrooms into quarters and serve. Decorate with chopped red pepper.

Tomato Olive Tapenade
2 cups sun-dried tomatoes soaked and drained
2 cups black sun-dried olives pitted
1 Tbs. fresh garlic
1 Tbs. dried basil or 6 Tbs. fresh
Fresh parsley
Soak the sun-dried tomatoes in 4 cups of filtered water overnight and drain. Combine
all ingredients in food processor and blend to a thick paste.
Slice zucchini and yellow squash into ¼ inch thick rounds. Top vegetable rounds with tapenade. Garnish with a sprig of parsley.

Brenda Cobb is the author of , The Living
Foods Lifestyle, Colon Cleansing For Optimum Health, 101 Raw and Living Food Recipes, Get Started Now Towards Better Health, and The Living Foods Lifestyle Training Manual. She is founder of the Living Foods Institute, featuring classes in the Living Foods Lifestyle and detoxification treatments to help people restore and maintain optimum health. For more information about classes and seminars
call 404-524-4488