12 Days of Christmas Recipes: Healthy Raw Applesauce & Macaroons
We’ve already reached Day 8 of our 12 Days of Christmas Recipes, bringing you fantastically easy Chef’s recipes, that are so elegant and delicious people will think you’ve been slaving away for days!
We’ve featured decadent desserts, simple twists on traditional mains, and crowd pleasing hors d’oeuvres, but we have not yet featured is a few healthy options, that will not only jump start your New Year’s resolutions, but maybe help lighten the load of the holiday feast.
Coming from our good friend and amazingly talented Raw Food Chef, Meghan Pearson, these recipes prove you can have it all: great taste, easy to prepare and easy on your waistline (and who doesn’t need a little extra help right about now?).
Meg’s all about flexibility and balance, and promotes that plant-based, whole-foods diet to her private clients and students in her classes. As the owner of MAP Wellness, columnist for Huffington Post and a certified Reiki instructor, she knows a thing or two about a jam-packed shedule, and offers these incredible recipes to help you look and feel you best this holiday season. For more insporation, follow meg on Twitter @MAPWellness.
Raw Apple Sauce
Makes 2 servings
Ingredients
- 2 medium McIntosh apples
- 3 dates, soaked in warm water for an hour or two
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 Tblsp fresh lemon juice
Method
- Process all ingredients in a food processor until smooth & creamy, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
- Serve at room temperature for maximum flavour.
Meg’s Macaroons
The Wine Sisters usually get about 12-15 1 Tbsp sized servings
Ingredients
- 2 C almonds
- 1 C dates
- 1 ½ C finely shredded coconut
- 1 t vanilla
- 2 T agave
- 1 T coconut oil
Method
- Add all ingredients to food processor with the “S” blade.
- Process until well combined, and the ingredients really start to clump together.
- This can take a couple of minutes, so be patient! You may need to scrape down the sides of bowl with a spatula a couple of times during the process to ensure full incorporation of the mixture.
- To form: using a rounded measuring spoon, your size of choosing, scoop the mix into half spheres shapes, pressing firmly in to the spoon.
- Tap the spoon on to a cookie tray or plate to release the formed macaroon.
The Wine Sisters Pairing
We make these macaroons all the time and its all we can do to eat them one at a time and not hoover back the whole tray. They are slightly sweet, nutty and surprisingly chocolatey despite the lack of chocolate. Match these with a sweeter dessert wine like Madeira, a fortified white wine from the island of the same name off the coast of Portugal. Madeira ranges from drier to sweeter, so make sure you get either a Bual or Malmsey (the sweetest).
Try: Blandy’s 5 Year Bual Madeira, Portugal $24.95 Vintages 11049