GUILTLESS Holiday FUDGE
Seven Reasons I Love This Recipe:
- It tastes YUMMY!
- It uses all nourishing ingredients
- You get the benefits of coconut oil when eating it
- It contains no refined sugar, or other unhealthy products
- I usually have all of the ingredients on hand, so there is no need to go to the store
- It is extremely easy and fast to make (think, instant gratification!)
- It’s easy to make
I have adapted it to use coconut oil, cocoa powder, and the low glycemic, coconut/palm sugar (though honey works great too!). You can enjoy this fudge with raw honey as well, but the coconut/palm sugar is even more of a favorite as it gives it a wonderful texture without an overpowering flavor.
You can easily substitute use butter for a more traditional taste instead of coconut oil. Raw honey works very well ( though I find it almost a bit too sweet, so you may want to reduce the amount a little), and I bet you could use other forms of palm/coconut sugar (like the granulated form). I use a food processor, but I am sure that you could also use a stand or hand mixer. You can also easily double this recipe.
1/2 cup of virgin coconut oil
1/2 cup of cocoa powder
1/2 cup of coconut/palm sugar
dash of sea salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- In a heat resistant, glass measuring cup, place the coconut oil. Fill a small saucepan with a few inches of water, and place the glass measuring cup in it. Heat on the stove top until the coconut oil is mostly melted (the coconut oil should be room temperature, not hot. This will protect its raw benefits).
- In a food processor using the regular blade, add the melted coconut oil and the rest of the ingredients and mix until well combined.
- Place enough plastic wrap or parchment paper in a loaf pan to cover the bottom and sides of the pan. Scrape your fudge “dough” into the loaf pan, and fold the plastic wrap or parchment paper over the top of the fudge. Gently press down, to even out the thickness of the fudge (you want it to be about 1/2 inch thick, it will cover probably about 1/2 of the bottom of your loaf pan). Take out the fudge, carefully wrapped up, and place in the freezer or refrigerator until it has set up. In the freezer it only takes about 20- to 30 minutes.
- Cut into small squares, and ENJOY!
Buckwheat Nut Bread or Cracker
Ingredients:
2 cups buckwheat, soaked and sprouted
1 cup almonds, soaked
1 cup sunflower seeds, soaked tablespoon olive oil
Juice of ½ lemon
1 teaspoon salt
Optional extras
Tomato
Red bell pepper
Cilantro
Carrots
Celery
1 tablespoon olive oil
garlic, spices and herbs to taste
Soak buckwheat 8-12 hours then rinse and drain and sprout for 8-12 hours in a colander. Soak almonds and sunflower seeds 8-12 hours then rinse and drain. Place all ingredients in food processor and process until smooth. Spread to ¼ inch thickness on teflex sheet in desired shape. Dehydrate at 105 degrees. After about 4 hours, turn off the teflex sheets and on to the mesh trays. Continue to dehydrate until dry to a desired consistency.
Baked Pears
Ingredients:
4 Bosc pears
2 cups apple juice
1 cinnamon stick
6-8 cloves
Preheat oven to 400. Cut a thin slice off the bottom of each pear to help keep them standing upright in a baking dish. Pour fruit juice into the pan. Add cinnamon stick and cloves. Roast the pears, basting every 15 minutes, until tender, brown and puckered. Remove the pears and place on a serving plate. Drizzle the liquid from the bottom of the baking pan on top of the pears.
Winter Kanten (Jello)
Ingredients:
2 cups apple juice (or other juice)
2 heaping tbsp. agar sea vegetable flakes (kanten)
1 tbsp. maple syrup
1 apple, cored and diced
1 pear, cored and diced
Soak apple juice and agar in a pot for 10-15 minutes. Bring to a boil and cook on medium heat for 5-7 minutes. Add maple syrup, apple and pear and cook 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour into a casserole dish or bowl. Put into the refrigerator for one or more hours until jelled. Can cut and serve in jello squares, or put into the food processor to make creamy. Serves four.
Peach Creamsicles
Ingredients:
3 ripe peaches
1/3 cup sucanat (granulated cane juice) or other sugar
1 cup yogurt (for non-dairy version use peach nectar)
1 tsp. vanilla flavoring
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Lower flame and blanch peaches in hot water for one minute. Remove peaches and rinse under cold water. Peel skin and remove pit. Puree blanched peaches in a food processor or blender with sugar, yogurt and vanilla flavoring. Pour contents into a popsicle tray and set in the freezer for 2-3 hours. Yield: 8-10 popsicles.
Summer Berry Kanten
Ingredients:
½ cup blueberries
½ cup blackberries
½ cup raspberries
3 cups apple juice or other juice
2 tbsp. agar flakes
Soak agar flakes in juice for 10-12 minutes. Bring to a boil. Reduce to medium/low heat and cook 5-7 minutes. Place berries in a bowl or casserole dish and pour hot liquid on top. Let set in the refrigerator 1 or more hours. Cut into squares and serve. Yield: 4-6 servings.
Blueberry Kanten
Ingredients:
2 cups apple juice (or other juice)
2 tbsp. agar flakes
1 pint blueberries, washed
Put apple juice and agar into a sauce pot and let sit 5-10 minutes or until agar softens. Turn on the heat and bring to a boil. Cook 5-7 minutes. Place blueberries into a 9x9 casserole dish and pour hot juice on top. Refrigerate 1-2 hours or until gelled. Cut into squares. Yields 4-6 servings.
Grilled Nectarines with Stewed Blackberries
Ingredients:
4 nectarines, halved (pit removed)
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
Pinch of sea salt
1 cup blackberries
1 cup apple juice or other juice
Heat a grill pan (or frying pan) on medium/high and melt 1 tbsp. unsalted butter. Lightly sprinkle nectarines with sea salt. Place nectarines flesh side down onto grill pan and sear 7-10 minutes or until softened. While nectarines are grilling, place blackberries and juice into saucepan and cook on high heat until liquid is reduced by 2/3 (approx 10-15 minutes). Removed nectarines from pan and place on a plate. Spoon 1-2 blackberries and thickened juice into the center.
Strawberry Sorbet
Ingredients:
2 pints fresh strawberries (can use pre-packaged bags of frozen strawberries)
2-3 tbsp. grape jam (or other fruit preserves)
Wash strawberries and discard crowns. Pat dry and place into freezer bags or other containers. Freeze overnight. Remove frozen strawberries from the freezer and thaw for 5-10 minutes or until slightly soft. Place into a food processor with fruit jam and puree until smooth. Serve immediately or refreeze and serve anytime.
