Staying Raw & Sane at the Holidays!

On Thursday, December 9th, Penni Shelton - creator of Raw Food Rehab and author of a number of books, including, Raw Food Cleanse & Raw For The Holidays, will be joining Blog Talk Radio host, Cher Till for a fantastic internet program on Staying Raw & Sane at the Holidays! During this hour long program, Cher and Penni will be dishing up some great holiday tips for staying raw, keeping it green, reducing stress and sharing recipe ideas. They'll cover a gamut of topics from dealing with the demands and stresses of the season to how to be prepared and stay on course with your healthy eating goals throughout 2010 and beyond. Please join in for some fun, helpful tips and tricks that will help make your season more Merry & Bright! Click here to learn more details and to find the time the show will be available in your area.

Healthy Shots with Cher is an award winning internet program that brings you the movers, shakers and leaders in raw, vegan and vegetarian lifestyles, as well as Masters in the study of Meditation. Master Life Coach Cher Till is your host and weekly she brings you her expert tools and those of her special guests. This will be a one hour show, with fun and information that will guide you to a balance of physical and mental joy. To learn more about Coach Cher Till go to rawqyourhealth.com

The Living Christmas Tree

Here we are at the beginning of December, which is the biggest celebratory month of the entire year! In today's episode of Foodie Friday, I am sharing with you one of my most favorite and impressive holiday party appetizers, The Living Christmas Tree, which is a perfect centerpiece and healthy conversation starter for any festive occasion. Putting this tree together is also a fun way to get kids involved in helping with your party preparations!

To put together your Living Christmas Tree (page 63 of Raw For The Holidays), you'll need:

One Styrofoam Cone (they come in several sizes, so choose a larger size if you have a larger number of guests) and Toothpicks:

Holiday Themed Mini-Cookie Cutters, if desired:

Lots of Leafy Greens to cover the cone:

Use toothpicks to secure your leafy greens to the cone to create the Christmas Tree Base layer:

Clean, cut and prepare a variety of veggies with which to decorate your tree:

Decorate the Living Christmas Tree as you would a real holiday tree, using toothpicks to secure the veggies in place:

Use the Living Tree as a table decoration or centerpiece at your holiday event:

You can serve a variety of dips as an accompaniment to this veggie tree. I made a variation of the Cashew Cheddar Spread from Falling Into Raw (page 32):

For the Cheddar Spread:
1 cup raw cashews, soaked one hour & drained
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded
1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon cashew or tahini butter
1 generous tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon raw honey
1 scant teaspoon sea salt
water, only as needed to blend

In a food processor or blender combine all ingredients until completely smooth.

I also suggest these dips to serve alongside the tree:

Pumpkin Seed Cheese Dip (Falling Into Raw - page 34)

Chipotle Hummus (Falling Into Raw - page 34)

Smokey Guacamole (Falling Into Raw - page 31)

And be sure to check out the other offerings in our Dips & Nut Pate section in the Raw Food Rehab Kitchen! There is a Live Ranch dip & an amazing walnut pate in that section that are DELISH!

Raw Hanukkah

Looking for raw food ideas to incorporate into your Chanukkah dinner? Raw chefs Deborah Blank, Kirby Cuke & Raw For the Holidays offer a full menu of delicious gluten & dairy free living food recipes for your celebration which include:

Apple Cakes

Honey Creme Sauce

Spiced Carrots

Applesauce

Sweet Potato Latkes

Sour Cream

Brisket

Jelly Donuts

Chanukah Harry Choc Dipped Macaroons

Raw For The Holidays offers over 100 holiday themed, healthy raw food recipes & 65 full color photos. Order your digital copy now, through Paypal for only $15.

Autumn Harvest Mushrooms & Festive Pumpkin Soup

Thanksgiving is just days away. Here are a couple of recipes from Raw For The Holidays...ENJOY!

Festive Pumpkin Soup by Penni

4 cups shredded pumpkin flesh, soaked overnight & drained

3 - 4 cups almond or pumpkin seed milk

½ cup pecans, soaked

1 teaspoon onion flakes

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon sea salt

Add all ingredients to a blender and process until smooth and creamy. Add more milk or water as needed to reach desired consistency.

Autumn Harvest Mushrooms with Avocado Aioli

For the stuffing:

1/3 cup pumpkin seeds (or other raw nut or seed)

3 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1/3 cup fresh sage leaves, chopped

1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 cup fresh tomatoes, seeded and chopped

2 tablespoons coconut aminos (Nama Shoyu, Wheat Free Tamari or Braggs)

Add all ingredients except the tomatoes to a food processor, pulsing until coarsely combined. Add the tomatoes, pulsing until just blended.

For the mushrooms:

1 pint of brown button or baby bello mushrooms, stems removed

1 + tablespoon coconut aminos

Brush the mushroom caps with coconut aminos to thoroughly coat. Stuff the mushrooms with the Autumn Harvest stuffing and dehydrate at 105 degrees for 2+ hours. (They can also be served at room temperature). Top the finished mushrooms with Avocado Aioli (see below).

For the avocado aioli:

1 large avocado, peeled, seeded and chopped

3 tablespoons cold pressed, extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 clove garlic

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

In a food processor or blender, combine all ingredients until emulsified.

Raw For The Holidays Is Here!

Last year we released Raw For The Holidays, a collection of festive and delicious recipes created by the Original Cast of Raw Food Rehab. The book was already fabulous, but I decided that the collection should be expanded and revised to make it even more comprehensive and appealing! This year's newly edited and expanded edition has over 100 recipes and 65 color photographs. Here is a list of occasions we cover in the latest version of Raw For The Holidays:

The Perfect Autumn Day (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner & Snack/Dessert) - 8 recipes
Football Watch Party - 9 recipes
All Hallow's Eve - 9 recipes
Thanksgiving (Breakfast, Dinner & Dessert) - 18 recipes
Enchanted Winter Evening for 2 (or more) - 6 recipes
Hanukkah Dinner - 8 recipes
Holiday Sweets & Party Treats - 10 recipes
Christmas Eve - 9 recipes
Christmas Brunch - 11 recipes
Christmas Dinner - 10 recipes
New Year's Eve - 6 recipes
New Year's Day - 7 recipes

I have every confidence that the purchase of this eBook will be a tremendous support and help to you in all of your holiday and celebratory meal planning, and help you to be enthused to start un-cooking for your friends and family! I will also be making some of the recipes that don't have photos on upcoming Foodie Friday episodes!

Raw For The Holidays is available now for just $15 through PayPal. Once I receive notification of your payment, I send the ebook directly to your Inbox. You will normally receive the book in a very short amount of time, however, please allow up to 10 hours for delivery (if an order comes through after I go to bed, I will send it first thing when I wake up!) I know this incredible collection of recipes and beautiful photos will be a treasure to you as you continue on your path towards optimum health this holiday season!

Please CLICK HERE to order your copy!