You’ve heard of hurricane or blizzard preparedness? Holiday Party Preparedness is similar but more serious.

The holidays are a time of joy, stress, over-eating, over-drinking, fighting, loving, more drinking and more eating then feeling bloated and depleted of energy the next day. Then we wake up and do it all over again. And again. I love it all. It’s the most wonderful time of the year. I just got tired of feeling bloated and lethargic and decided to do something about it.

The key to feeling good the next day is to learn the real food basics and understand better how the body deals with processed foods. Processed or refined foods are foreign to the body and the body will react against them by way of inflammation and belly bloat. Homemade food from real, wholesome ingredients is easy for the body to digest and convert into energy.  

Today’s post contains three delicious, homemade holiday party dishes that your guests and/or party hosts will love – Cashew Cheese Ball, Stuffed Peppers, and Roasted Garlic and Chive Mashed Potatoes. The first two came from the magazine my sister distributes through her real estate business, American Lifestyle. There were so many healthy recipes in this last issue. I am looking forward to making coconut-vanilla donuts next time and will share in a future post.

You will be in holiday party preparedness mode if you stick to these easy, delicious recipes. I make them over and over again any time of year.

CASHEW CHEESE BALL

This Cashew Cheese Ball recipe passed the test on multiple levels (and palates). The soaked cashews and miso paste give it a little cheesy tang, the herbs a nice flavor and the almonds a bit of welcome crunch. Serve with crackers (here is my choice for crackers) or vegetables such as cucumbers, carrot sticks or sweet peppers. I will be bringing this to all the holiday parties this year.

Ingredients:

2 cups raw organic cashews, soaked in water for anywhere from 2 – 8 hours. I soaked them for about 7 and it was the perfect amount of time.
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
1 teaspoon miso paste (found at Whole Foods type stores)
1 clove garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (I use Santa Cruz Organic Lemon Juice to make it easy)
1 tablespoon dried basil or dill
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
Handful of finely chopped raw almonds and chopped herbs for topping – I used a combination of almonds, fresh thyme and chives.

Directions:

Rinse and drain the soaked cashews. Place in a food processor with the garlic and process on high speed until crumbs form. Add the yeast, miso paste, garlic, lemon juice, basil and onion powder and mix on high speed to make a paste. Season with the salt, pepper and cayenne.

Transfer the mixture to a cheesecloth. (I used a nut milk bag for this and if you don’t have one of those yet, you should definitely order one from Amazon. I make homemade almond milk which I will share in a future post and the nut milk bag is a necessary item.) Wrap the cheesecloth or milk bag around the mixture, forming it into a ball and twist the top, squeezing out as much moisture as possible. Place it in a colander suspended over a larger bowl and let it sit in the refrigerator for two hours or until the liquid no longer drips and the ball holds its shape. This sounds more difficult than it is. Just make sure you squeeze as much liquid out as you can before you transfer it to the fridge and you should be fine.

HERBED STUFFED PEPPERS

If you are a fan sweet peppers like me, you will enjoy these little morsels. These are best straight out of the oven. If you are bringing them to a party, you can have them ready to go on the sheet and bake them at the party. Just call ahead to make sure there is room in the oven!

Ingredients:

10 to 12 mini sweet peppers
organic coconut oil for cooking*
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 zucchini, unpeeled and finely chopped
1 1/2 cups organic, sprouted firm tofu, cubed. Wildwood is my preferred brand.
1/4 cup almond milk, or 3 tablespoons vegan mayonnaise. Vegan mayo is probably the best choice for this recipe. Just Mayo is a good brand to use if you are new to this healthy, vegan lifestyle.
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1/2 to 1 tablespoon sea salt (test the stuffing before. I found it needed the full tablespoon)
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika (the Hungarian kind is considered ‘sweet’)
Freshly cracked black pepper
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Fresh basil leaves for serving or some other garnish. I used shredded kale because I had extra to use up. As my friend Peli says, ‘no vegetable left behind!

*This recipe called for grape seed oil. I prefer to use coconut oil for high heat cooking. Click here for a great article from Dr. Mercola on cooking oils.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper if you have it. If not, the oil we rub on the peppers will suffice and you can bake right on the sheet.

Cut the ends off the peppers and scoop out the seeds. You can slice up the fleshy part of the tops and use as garnish like you see in the photo.

In a frying pan over medium-low heat, sauté the onion in coconut oil until golden. Make sure they don’t get dark, just translucent. Add the zucchini and garlic and cook together until all are soft. Set aside to cool slightly.

In a food processor, pulse the tofu until it crumbles. Add the zucchini mixture, almond milk, basil, oregano, thyme, salt (1/2 t to start), paprika, black pepper and cayenne. Pulse to combine all ingredients but don’t over mix. You want some texture. Taste and adjust salt if needed.

Fill the peppers with the tofu mixture, place on a baking sheet and drizzle with oil, making sure both sides of the pepper are coated. Sprinkle with extra seasoning as desired. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes. Turn peppers once halfway through cooking time. Serve hot or warm, sprinkled with basil leaves or some other garnish. As mentioned above, I chopped the pepper tops and used them as extra garnish. No food left behind!

ROASTED GARLIC AND CHIVE MASHED POTATOES

I love potatoes – mashed, whipped, you name it. When I decided to become a health nerd and eat mostly vegan, I was skeptical about making dairy-free mashed potatoes. Turns out, dairy is not necessary AT ALL. No one ever needs to go back to the unhealthy version of mashed potatoes once they have tried this recipe. Granted, white potatoes are not considered a ‘health food’ but every so often and definitely during the holidays, we must cheat. I adapted this recipe from a Food Network post. I changed it up by adding vegan butter and using the food processor to make it easier but as with all recipes, feel free to experiment as you see fit. You are the master of your own kitchen.

Ingredients:

4 garlic cloves peeled
4 medium organic Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled (or unpeeled if you are ok with that. It’s healthier), cut into cubes
2-3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil (organic preferred)
1 cup plain organic almond milk or other non-dairy milk at room temperature or slightly warm
1 to 2 tablespoons organic vegan butter
1 1/4 teaspoons sea salt to taste
2 tablespoons minced chives plus more for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place garlic in a piece of foil, drizzle with 1 teaspoon of the olive oil, wrap and roast for about 20 minutes until tender. While olive oil is not an oil I normally heat, it pairs best with garlic in this case so I indulged. Bring the potatoes to a boil and reduce heat and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Strain and return the potatoes to the pan.

Once the garlic is done transfer it (with the collected oil) to a food processor along with the drained potatoes, remaining 1-2 teaspoons olive oil, almond milk, vegan butter and salt (start with one teaspoon of salt). Pulse for a bit then blend on high until you get the right consistency. Be careful not to over blend or you will get a weird, sticky consistency. Pulse in the chives and serve.

In conclusion, eat real, wholesome foods at holiday parties (or anytime) and you are very likely to wake up free of a buddha belly. If you decide to go crazy and eat anything and everything, you can cover your bloated middle up with an ugly Christmas sweater. Just do better the next day. Whatever you do, remember, there are no mistakes, only research. Little by little, you will get where you want to be. If you do not want to go it alone, consider hiring a health coach with experience in nutrition.

Happy Holidays!

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