Some of these recipes are a couple of years old, so most of you won’t have seen them. These were a big hit when I first made them and I thought I would provide the links again so you can take a look and see if they’re worth trying. Containing no refined sugar, they are healthier alternatives to commercial Christmas treats and can make lovely gifts.
These are a similar recipe to the raw Christmas pudding (see below) but have been adapted to make into small treats and present as gifts if you so wish. They have walnuts and dates in them. They are made in the food processor and then rolled in whatever topping you like.
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This raw Christmas pudding is full of dried fruit and nuts, can be sweet or tangy, is very filling and satisfying – you only need a small serving – it will keep well in the fridge or freezer and is yummy with vanilla coconut yogurt or cashew cream.
Spiced & Fruity Vegan Gluten-Free Christmas Pudding!
Spicy Orange Fruit Balls are made with figs, apricots, coconut/almonds (can be nut-free) orange zest and cardamom, a real taste of Christmas and a hit with everyone who tried them, even the Tweens! Children like making them, too, with supervision. They make a lovely gift and a change from sweets or sugary commercial chocolate.
I’ve saved the best till last:
GoGo Berry Fudge: So Decadent, It Should Be Illegal!
These are so chocolatey and luxurious, but they are raw and full of nutritional goodies. They make an excellent gift in a decorated tin or jar.
I devised this recipe for The Raw Chocolate Company
Unfortunately, they no longer sell the goldenberries, although they had a few raw chocolate-covered ones left at the time of writing (4/12/17), but you may be able to get them elsewhere. They are quite tart, but you can use other dried fruit, maybe try apple juice-infused dried cranberries or apricots? The fudge is sweetened with maple syrup.
Oh, and this recipe comes with a video by Belinda Carlisle’s GoGos to sing along to while you make them!
Copyright: Chris McGowan
We had a small squash in our veg box last week and this afternoon I was cold to the bone after venturing outside for a short walk – I think it was 5C – so I decided to use the squash in some soup. The squash had been sitting chopped up in the fridge for a couple of days and needed to be used. My husband does it for me and leaves it in the fridge so it’s available when I want to use it.
Cook on the lowest heat for about 25-30 minutes, until everything is cooked but not mushy.
I can’t describe how heavenly this is! I surprised myself, even though I love carob. This is one of those thick smoothies that can be served for breakfast or dessert. It’s very filling so maybe split between two if having it after a meal.
My husband is vegetarian, I am vegan. I like to eat early, he likes to eat late. He likes potatoes, I don’t eat them (except for a rare and indulgent packet of potato crisps). He likes pies and pastry and chips. I prefer quinoa, stirfries and soups. He often does bike rides during the day or in the evening which also creates a dissonance in our eating habits, as does my propensity for staying up late and getting up even later! So how on earth do we manage to co-ordinate our meals? Well, a lot of the time, we each do our own thing, but just occasionally we manage to be at the dinner table together and once in a blue moon we end up with something on our plates that almost resembles the other’s. This was one of those nights, no bike rides and the clocks had just gone back, so we both felt we wanted to eat earlier than the clock dictated. I don’t know about you, but my body takes ages to adjust when the clocks change.
When all are cooked, add a little thickening to the vegetables, mash the sweet potatoes in a warm dish, then mix in a heaping teaspoon of almond butter, some pink Himalayan salt and black pepper and a tablespoon of nutritional yeast flakes.
It’s been a long time since I had pizza. To be honest, it was the melted cheese I liked, so when I became gluten-free and tried commerical free-from pizza (and found it disgusting), I stopped eating them. Going vegan therefore made no difference. But just occasionally I’d like to be able to have some, especially when the family are here. There isn’t time to make a one-off just for me, so I usually miss out. (Elsewhere in this blog is a recipe for 
Flour the surface and rolling pin well, and roll gently until you can lift it without it breaking – don’t overstretch it – and place it on a pizza tray – one with holes in so both sides will cook without having to turn it over. (I tried turning it and it stuck, best to leave it in situ for the full cooking time). Once on the tray, press it with your fingertips so that it spreads more thinly and becomes the shape you want.
Serve with green salad and/or 
I know I’ve already posted a recipe for chilli (see 
A different Monday Meditation this week. This is an indulge-yourself post. A spend-some-time-on-yourself post. A take-a-break-from-the-world post.
After several hours of watching La Vuelta (that’s the Professional Cycling Tour of Spain to the uninitiated), it was time to refuel, it had been a stressful but exciting ride and I needed something quick and easy. Pasta is always good in this respect, there was a ripe avocado begging to be used and lots of spinach as well as a glut of homegrown cherry tomatoes, so pasta and pesto it was. I had asked for peas, but husband had forgotten to add them to the shopping list so frozen mixed veg it was. This is great for a midweek meal.
While the pasta is cooking, make the Pesto and chop the tomatoes – makes enough for 2-3, I froze what was left over.
Over the last couple of years, since I first became aware of the arsenic content of rice,* I have gradually cut down the amount I eat and swapped rice milk for homemade nut and seed milks**. I often use quinoa and buckwheat as gluten-free alternatives to rice. However, one option has taken some psyching up to try: cauliflower ‘rice’ or ‘couscous’. Recently, I decided to go for it and here’s how it turned out, plus the recipe (the hardest part was persuading my husband it was a good idea!).
I was feeling a bit sorry for myself when I came downstairs, suffering horrible back pain, no sleep, gloomy sky, prospect of rain, drop in temperatures. I was also very hungry, having gone to bed early evening and not getting up until 14 hours later. That did it, I needed chocolate and I needed it fast. Chocolate? For breakfast? Absolutely!
pearsnotparsnipsdotcom 
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