Eat This – Holiday Party Fare

Are you feeling overwhelmed on navigating the non-stop holiday festivities without hindering your goals and dealing with the aftermath of inflammation and detox?  My advice is to ALWAYS be proactive and plan for success.  Fail to plan, plan to fail! 

 

Holiday Party tips: eat before you go out, especially if you’re uncertain what’s being served.  Potluck?  Bring a GT dish to share, this ensures there’s something for you to eat.  Celebrate this holiday season by preparing health giving festive recipes, including mocktails.   Gift your party hostesses bottles of GK’s olive oil & balsamics instead of wine.  Rejoicing through the holidays does NOT have to equal eating poo food and alcohol.  True celebration can be appreciating the season by sharing time with family, friends, and eating whole foods to cultivate many more healthy holiday seasons to come!

Bacon Wrapped Dates

Quick, easy, and a tasty direct sodium hit.  Great for company – don’t make a daily habit out of these sweet-salty taste bombs!

8 oz dates, pitted

1 lb nitrate free bacon

Preheat broiler.  Wrap each date in a quarter of a bacon slice, securing with a toothpick or alternatively lining them up on skewers.  Broil for 15 minutes, turning once, until bacon is evenly browned.  Can be served hot or cold.  Don’t leave them laying around after the party – these are crazy addictive!!

Deviled Eggs

Your standard fare, upgraded for health.  DO use the All-Good Mayo recipe found in both cookbooks and the GT website recipe section.  There isn’t a good clean mayo on the market right now, and it’s really easy and quick.

.25 cup GT All Good Mayo

12 eggs

2 tsp mustard

.5 oz onions

.5 oz parsley

.5 oz red bell pepper

Boil your eggs.  Slice eggs carefully in half, removing yolk and placing the yolks into a small bowl with the mayo, mustard, and VERY finely diced veges.  Mix the yolks and ingredients with a fork until creamy.  Lay the whites out on a plate or tray and fill each one, heaping, using a teaspoon.  Sprinkle paprika on the top.

Jodee’s Crab Cakes

These are made with mashed potatoes instead of bread crumbs.

1lb dungeness crab, raw

2 eggs

1 TBS fresh lemon juice

1 TBS dijon mustard

1 TBS GK’s Lemon EVOO

1lb potato

cayenne and black pepper to taste

Peel and boil the potatoes, until just barely done but not soft – you want them a bit grainy.  Combine with the egg, mustard, lemon juice and some cayenne and black pepper to taste.  Fold in the crabmeat.  Use 1/4 cup blobs for 12 crabcakes, pat and shape in the pan and cook until brown in the olive oil, about 3 minutes per side.

Flax Focaccia Bread

This is a delicious bread.  You can add seasonsings to it, like garlic and green onion, if you want a savory bread – or sweeten it and add cinnamon and raisins for a sweet breakfast bread.  Try it like this, first, and see if you like it just the way it is!  Serve it with Genesis Kitchen’s flavored balsamics and olive oils.

2.3 oz extra virgin coconut oil

1 TBS coconut palm sugar

5 eggs

16 oz flaxseed

.5 oz baking powder

.5 cup water

Preheat oven to 350.  Grind your own flax seed in a coffee grinder, spice mill or blender – do NOT buy it pre-ground in the store.  In a large bowl, combine the flax and baking powder (and dry seasonings if you’re using any) and mix well.  Now add the oil, water, and eggs and mix it all up – allow to sit for about 3-5 minutes to thicken.  It will get quite thick.  Line a large baking tray with 1 to 2 inch sides with oiled parchment paper.  Pour the batter into the pan and spread it out to whatever thickness you want, but at least .5 inch thick.  Bake it for about 20minutes – it should spring back a bit when you press it with your finger.  Let it cool and then cut it however you like.

Steamed Artichoke and Lemon Herb Dipping Sauce

This dipping sauce for the artichokes is also exquisite on asparagus, brussels sprouts and lightly steamed broccoli.

4 artichokes, whole

2 tsp chives

.5 tsp fresh ground pepper

1 garlic clove

2 TBS fresh lemon juice

2 TBS fresh lime juice

5 TBS GK extra virgin olive oil (lemon fused would be delicious!)

2 tsp fresh parsley

2 tsp dried tarragon

2 tsp mint leaves

.5 tsp lemon zest

Artichokes should have stems and leaves removed.  Also the garlic clove, parsley, chives, mint leaves, tarragon should be minced.  Rub fresh lemon juice on cut surfaces of artichokes.  Place artichokes upside down in a steam basket over boiling water.  Cook for 25-30min or until leaf easily pulls out from artichoke; bottom should be tender when pierced with fork.  Rinse under cold water to stop cooking.  Transfer to a plate and place upside down to drain then serve with dipping sauce.  In a small bowl whisk together all ingredients except olive oil and whisk until slightly thickened.

Shrimp Kabobs with Chili Lime Marinade

These are pretty addictive.  Great appetizers for parties.

4 TBS chili powder

4 TBS fresh lime juice

2 TBS GK olive oil

1 tsp fresh black pepper

1 lb raw shrimp

Use large deveined and shelled tails on shrimp.  If you are using wooden skewers, soak them in water about an hour.  Whisk together the chile powder, oil, and lime juice.  Add the shrimp and toss to coat in the mixture.  Let marinate for 15 minutes.  Thread the shrimp onto the skewers so that the shrimp lie flat.  Grill on high heat until shrimp are golden brown and slightly charred, about 1.5 minute per side.  Watch carefully!  Serve with lime wedges and chopped cilantro sprinkled over the skewers.

Curried Chicken Kebobs

This dish makes a festive presentation and will impress your guests.  Wonderful for an appetizer, and equally good with a green salad for dinner.  Make this spicier with more curry powder.  You can also add chunks of onion and bell pepper to the skewers before cooking.

1.5 lbs chicken breast

2 TBS canned coconut milk

1 TBS GK’s Baklouti Chili EVOO

2 TBS curry powder

Heat baklouti oil, cut chicken breast into 1 inch cubes, use 8 wooden or metal skewers.  If using wooden skewers, soak in water for one hour.  Mix the curry powder, oil and milk.  With your hands, toss this mixture with the chicken cubes and massage it into the meat.  You can let it marinate if you like – up to a day – but it’s not necessary.  Thread chicken onto skewers.  Grill or broil at medium heat for ten minutes, turn them over and cook another ten minutes.

Almond Carob Bars

These are delicious, easy, require no baking, and taste candy-like.  Great holiday treat!

.5 cup unsalted raw almond butter

2 cups raw almonds

.5 cup carob powder or raw cacao powder

.5 cup unsweetened dried coconut

.5 cup extra virgin coconut oil

14 grams raw honey

.5 cup flax seeds

1 TBS vanilla extract

Place almonds in food processor and grind nuts.  Add flax (freshly ground), shredded coconut, almond butter, carob, and mix.  In a small sauce pan, melt coconut oil over very low heat.  Remove coconut oil from stove, add honey and vanilla into oil.  Add coconut oil mixture food processor and pulse ingredients together.  Press mixture into 8×8 baking dish and refrigerate for 1 hr before serving.

Cinnamon Almond Truffles, Raw

Easy to make and decadent.

1 cup raw almonds

4 TBS ground cinnamon

4 TBS organic cocoa powder or raw cacao powder

100 grams dates

.25 cup water

2 TBS goji berries

.25 tsp vanilla extract

In food processor combine almonds, dates, cacao powder, goji berries, and vanilla.  Blend a minute or so then slowly add the water until it makes a dough.  Roll into balls and roll into cinnamon.

Genesis Kitchen Mocktail

Delicious festive substitute for an alcoholic cocktail or glass of wine!

8 oz Sparkling water

1-2 TBS Genesis Kitchen Flavored Balsamics (recommendations below)

Stevia to taste

1 lime or lemon wedge

Add  GK’s Balsamics (Cranberry Pear, Cinnamon Pear, Raspberry, Grapefruit,  Strawberry, or Wild Blueberry) to sparkling water, add stevia and squeeze lime/lemon wedge into drink.  Prepare in a wine glass for parties or celebrations.

LOOKING FOR MORE HEALTHY RECIPES?  Find our cookbooks here!  Great for holiday gifting!

Coach Samantha Ray