Healthy and Delicious Holiday Treats

This tasty dish can be served warm as a condiment with meat and fowl, cold in cereal, or as a topping to ice cream.

What you will need:

½ cup pitted prunes
½ cup pears
½ cup peaches
½ cup pineapple
1 ½ cups applesauce
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon nutmeg.
Juice of ½ lemon
Chopped rind of ½ lemon

For the above fruit, fresh fruit is preferred but canned fruit in a light syrup can also be used.

Stir fruit together in proportions similar to the ones listed above. Other fruits may be substituted if desired. If the fruits are in large pieces, chop them to bite sized-pieces. Add the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, lemon juice and lemon rind.

Cover and place in a 250 degree oven for an hour or longer. It is convenient to quadruple this recipe to use full cans of fruit. The compote freezes well.

photo source
http://img.timeinc.net/recipes/i/recipes/ck/04/03/fruit-compote-ck-592336-l.jpg

The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook

This delicious treat comes from a fabulous new cookbook we recently found and just love - The Gluten - Free Almond Flour Cookbook by Elana Amsterdam. This recipe and the others in her book are nutritious and as tasty as their traditional counterparts.

This dessert is purely fruit sweetened with no added sugar, making it low glycemic, and thats something I can really get behind. In addition, it's high in protein and fiber and dairy free.

What you will need:

1 cup Dried apricots
1 cup unsweetened coconut (Unsweetened is key and it can be difficult to find in standard grocery stores. It is available at Whole Foods Market or you can order it here)
2 cups blanched almond flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg
1 tablespoon real vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-inch square baking dish with grapeseed oil (or we have used extra virgin coconut oil with great success and excellent flavor) and dust with almond flour.

In a food processor, blend the apricots and coconut until the mixture is crumbly. Pulse in the almond flour, then add the salt, baking soda, egg and vanilla extract. Blend until well commbined. Press the batter into the prepared baking dish.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until firm. let cool for one hour in the baking dish. Cut into squares and serve.

For these squares, be sure that your dried apricots are soft and moist. it will make a big difference. After coolilng store covered to preserve the chewy texture and apricot flavor.

What you will need:
1 pound + of figs
½ cup sliced almonds
1-2 teasp cinnamon
½ - 1 teasp ground cloves
2 tablespoons honey
1 or so tablespoon Tuaca (Grand Marnier would also be good)

Grind figs in food processor; add spices and honey.
Change blade and gently add some of the almonds, add Tuaca.
Finish blending by hand in a kneading manner, and knead in the remaining almonds. Shape as desired, wrap and refrigerate with a weight on top to compress the cake.

photo source:http://thebarefootkitchenwitch.typepad.com/the_barefoot_kitchen

Instead of snacking on high empty calorie cookies and chocolates, try a hearty and tasty granola. Store bought granola can be very expensive and loaded with sugar. With these recipes, you can keep the cost down, add as much or as little sugar as desired, and have fun making new and different varieties!

Basic Granola

What you will need
4 cups rolled oats
2 Tablespoon canola oil
About ½ teaspoon salt (according to your taste)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 Tablespoons honey or maple syrup %u2026
1/6 cup brown sugar
3 Tablespoons of raisins

Mix together and set aside the oats, canola oil, salt, cinnamon and vanilla.
Heat together the honey, maple syrup, and brown sugar together until dissolved.
Pour sugar mixture over cereal and stir well. Bake in thin layer on lightly greased cookie sheets until cereal reaches desired level or crispness, for approximately 20 - 30 minutes at 250 degrees.When slightly cool mix in the raisins.

Granola with Date Crystals

What you will need:
10 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
½ cup honey
½ cup canola oil
2 cups date crystals (dried, chopped dates)
2 cups chopped nuts
4 cups instant dry skimmed milk.
Mix together the oats, honey and canola oil and bake in shallow pans for 20 - 30 minutes at 200 - 250 degrees. When finished baking, add the date crystals, chopped nuts and instant skimmed milk.
Serve with milk and fresh fruits.

Cereals make a thoughtful gift: Tie a ribbon around a quart jar or a large plastic bag filled with cereal.

Tip: Compare prices of ingredients at different stores. Often, bulk and natural food stores will have better prices than the name brand oatmeals found in grocery store chains. You should be able to make these cereals for half the price of pre-packaged granolas.

photo source:
http://www.chappaquacrunchgranola.com/Other/granola_mound.jpg

Toasting nuts not only intensifies their flavor but makes them less likely to sink in cake and bread batters. Here are a few ways to achieve toasted nut perfection:

Saucepan method:
Place almonds in a heavy, ungreased skillet and stir often over medium heat until golden brown.

Oven method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread nuts in one layer on ungreased shallow baking pan. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden.

Microwave method:
Place 1/2 cup slivered almonds and 1 tablespoon margarine or butter in a 9-inch microwave-proof pie plate. Microwave on high, stirring every minute until brown, 4 to 5 minutes.

For delicious almond crescents try this recipe:

What you will need:
2 sticks unsalted butter
2/3 cup sifted powdered sugar, plus more for rolling
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup coarsely chopped almonds
2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350° and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Cream together butter and 2/3 cup of sugar until fluffy. Beat in extracts, then add almonds. Stir in flour and beat til well mixed.

Divide dough in half and roll each half into log 1 inch thick in diameter. Cut each log into 3/4 inch pieces, and roll each piece into cylinder 2 in. long. Place 1 to 2 inches apart on baking sheets and form into crescents.

Bake 15-20 minutes or til lightly browned. Let cool then roll in sifted powdered sugar.

photo source:https://sierranh.powweb.com/shop/images/Almonds,DryRoastedNoSalt.jpg

What you will need:
1 ½ cups skim milk
1 large, nicely ripened peeled banana
1 teaspoon vanilla

Simply mix all ingredients in a blender,pour in a tall glass, sprinkle with nutmeg and serve.

As alternatives, use a quantity of yogurt in place of milk and fresh peaches or strawberries instead of bananas. Omit the spice with strawberries.