Prior to moving to the UK from NZ (9.5 years ago now... Whaaaat!), Christmas Day always meant a full day of sun, sand, family fun and picnic feasting at Piha beach.
We always had the very best of times and although there wasn't a thing to complain about while being brought up in the Southern Hemisphere, I must admit that I also adore the polar opposite Christmas festivities which London has to offer.
And now that I have a family of my own, every single moment of Christmas time is all the more special.
Also, I literally could not be more grateful that I have this time of year to get fully absorbed in and take my mind off the discomforts of final month of my pregnancy with No2.
And how fun is it to visit Santa's Grottos!!? So fun!
Here we are just last night:
Super into anything and everything FESTIVE this year, I got a major urge to create and have been spending all of my days (and nights) recently making our Raw Organic Christmas Gift Hampers.
Did you see? tanyasliving.com/collections/raw-organic-christmas-hampers
I realise that not all of you live in the UK to order yours and some of you have just purchased a dehydrator and are super keen to put it to good use this Christmas...
Soooo, I put together a whole recipe collection that covers every single yummy item in my own hampers.
Pick and choose what you'd like to make and if you post it on social, remember to tag #TanyasChristmas so I can find your pics and like them a million times!
Tanya's Festive Grawnola
1 cup almonds, soaked overnight
1 cup sprouted buckwheat*
3/4 cup sunflower seeds, soaked overnight
1/2 cup pecans/walnuts, soaked overnight
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup cranberries (I use cranberries that have been preserved in apple juice)
1.5 cups dates, soaked overnight
1/2 cup water from soaking dates
1/4 cup coconut palm sugar
2 tbsp Tanya’s Chai Mix (Cinnamon, coconut palm sugar, clove, cardamom, all spice, nutmeg, ginger, coriander)
-Process almonds, sunflower seeds and walnuts/pecans only for a few seconds in the Food Processor, until roughly chopped. What you are looking for are shards and fragments of nuts, as though you were roughly chopping them with a knife. Careful not to over-do or you'll create a paste.
-Stir all the chopped/processed nuts together with buckwheat, oats and cranberries in a large bowl.
-Process all the dates, coconut sugar and spices to a smooth paste in a Food Processor. You may need to stop and scrape down the sides a few times.
-Pour this paste over all the nuts and mix everything really well using your hands.
-Distribute the mixture over a few dehydrator teflex sheets in rough chunks, making sure you don't have really thick pieces or they will take forever to dehydrate.
-After 6-10 hours, transfer onto mesh sheets and dehydrate for another 20-24 hours until dry and crunchy.
-Store in an airtight container.
*TO SPROUT BUCKWHEAT
3/4 cup raw buckwheat groats
water
-Cover with plenty of water and leave to soak for 4 hours.
-Pour the water out and rinse the buckwheat in cold water 4-5 times. The liquid will be really gooey, so you are looking to continue rinsing until only thin water leaves the buckwheat, no goo.
-Distribute the buckwheat over a tray and leave at room temperature for 24 hours, rinsing 2-3 times in cold water over this time.
Tanya's Christmas Mince Pies
For the crust
150g almonds
100g cashews
1/2 cup (75g) buckwheat flour
1/2 cup (65g) oat flour
1 tbsp chia seeds, ground
3 tbsp water
1/4 cup (60g) maple syrup
1/2 tsp Himalayan salt
-Process all the almonds, cashews and flours in a good processor with an S blade, till powder like.
-In a separate bowl, stir ground chia seeds with water till well combined without clumps.
-Add the chia paste, maple and salt to the food processor and blend till you get a dough-like consistency. You may need to scrape down the sides a couple of times.
-Line a shallow 12 muffin tray with cling film. Distribute the dough mixture evenly among all muffin moulds, pressing in gently to take the shape of the mould.
-Place the full tray into a dehydrator set to 48 degrees C, for 12 hours. Carefully remove the crusts one at a time and transfer onto mesh trays of the dehydrator. Return to dehydrate for a further 24 hours.
For the filling
1.5 cups sultanas
1/4 cup quality brandy*
3/4 cup dried apricots
1/2 cup dried cranberries
zest of 2 oranges
1/3 cup orange or pineapple juice
1/4 goji berries
1 tbsp Tanya’s chai blend (cinnamon, coconut palm sugar, clove, cardamom, all spice, nutmeg, ginger, coriander)
20 drops sweet orange essential oil
10 drops cardamom essential oil
*To check whether your brandy (or any wine, beer or liquor) is vegan, check out http://www.barnivore.com
-Pour the brandy over sultanas and leave to absorb for 2-3 hours.
-Mix apricots, cranberries, orange zest and juice in a separate bowl. Leave to soak for 2-3 hours also.
-Place all the ingredients into a food processor with an S blade and pulse till well combined but still slightly chunky.
-Scoop the filling into ready bases, smoothing out the surface as you go.
For the icing
1 cup cashews, soaked 4-8 hours
1/4 cup xylitol or erythritol
1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil, melted
1 tbsp lemon juice
-Rinse the soaked cashews, then blend everything in a high speed blender till creamy.
-Scoop a spoonful over each pie, spread to the surface or leave like a dollop of snow fall. Decorate if you wish!
You can also make a simplified version of my Christmas Mince Pies, which requires no dehydrator at all. Take a look here: tanyasliving.com/blogs/tanyas-blog/christmas-in-the-raw-no-dehydrator-needed
Tanya's Christmas Pudding
For the puds
165g walnuts, soaked overnight
100g hazelnuts, soaked overnight
120g sultanas
25ml quality brandy*
65g dried figs
50g cranberries
35g dried apricots
6g orange peel
juice of 1/3 orange (20ml)
60g carob powder
1 tbsp (10g) Tanya’s Chai Mix (Cinnamon, coconut palm sugar, clove, cardamom, all spice, nutmeg, ginger, coriander)
10 drops sweet orange essential oil
*To check whether your brandy (or any wine, beer or liquor) is vegan, check out http://www.barnivore.com
-Pour the brandy over sultanas and leave to absorb for 2-3 hours.
-Mix figs, apricots, cranberries, orange zest and juice in a separate bowl. Leave to soak for 2-3 hours also.
-Place all the ingredients into a food processor with an S blade and pulse till well combined. You may need to scrape the sides once in a while and pulse your machine.
-I use a medium sized ice cream scoop to form standing puds, then smooth them out with my hands, but you can also roll a ball and press it onto non-stick sheets to create a bit of a base.
For the icing
1 cup cashews, soaked 4-8 hours
1/4 cup xylitol or erythritol
1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil, melted
1 tbsp lemon juice
-Rinse the soaked cashews, then blend everything in a high speed blender till creamy.
-Scoop a spoonful over each pudding and leave like a dollop of snow fall. Decorate as you wish!
Tanya's Salted Caramel Fortune Dates
12 pitted dates
1/3 cup grated cacao butter, melted
1/4 cup grated cacao paste, melted
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp Algarroba powder
1/2 tsp Himalayan salt
1/3 squirt Medicinal Flower caramel extract
Optional: desiccated coconut for sprinkling
-Print 12 of your favourite quotes* or feel good wishes* and messages*, roll them up, wrap in a little cling film and insert each into a date. Transfer dates to a freezer to cool for a minimum of 1 hour.
-Melt your cacao butter and paste in a double boiler, remove from heat and add the remaining ingredients. Stir gently until the mixture cools down slightly and is no longer thin and runny.
-Drop in a date, one at a time, immediately removing it so it doesn’t cool down (and solidify) the remaining chocolate in the bowl. Sprinkle some coconut if using. Continue to coat the dates in this way.
*If you need some inspiration for what lovely messages you can print, take a look at this collection: tanyasliving.com/blogs/tanyas-blog/inspirational-quotes-of-the-year
Tanya's BBQ Spiced Nuts
250g pumpkin seeds, soaked
150g walnuts, soaked
140g almonds, soaked
110g hazelnuts, soaked
110g Brazil nuts, soaked
40g maple syrup
20g extra virgin olive oil
15g Himalayan salt
10g garlic powder
10g nutritional yeast
9g sweet smoked paprika
7g coconut palm sugar
4g ground coriander
3g coconut flour
3g dried mixed herbs
-Rinse all the nuts, place them in a tupperware container, then drizzle in maple syrup and olive oil.
-In a separate bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients/spices and then sprinkle them over the nuts and cover with lid. Shake the container so coating covers all of the nuts and seeds evenly.
-Spread over mesh trays of your dehydrator and dehydrate for 35 hours at 48 degrees C.
Tanya's Coconut Jerky
360g young coconut meat (about 2 cups)
3 tablespoons date paste (this is just soaked dates blended in the water they were soaking in)
2 tablespoons garam masala
2 tablespoons tamari
1 teaspoon Himalayan salt
-Scrape off any rough bits from the coconut flesh and slice it into long 1 centimetre strips.
-Transfer all the ingredients to a large bowl and stir them together using your hands.
-Distribute over 2 teflex sheets so the coconut strips aren’t bunched together. Dehydrate at 47 degrees C for 5 hours, transfer onto mesh trays and dehydrate for another 5-15 hours depending on whether you prefer these chewy or crunchy.
Tanya's Festive Truffles
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup extra virgin coconut oil, melted
1/3 cup cacao powder
zest of 2 oranges
2 tbsp Tanya’s Chai Mix (Cinnamon, coconut palm sugar, clove, cardamom, all spice, nutmeg, ginger, coriander)
200g 70% dark raw chocolate
-Blend all the truffle ingredients (except the raw chocolate) in a blender and pour the sauce into a lined container.
-Freeze to set for 2 hours, then cut into desired size squares and return to the freezer.
-Grate the block of chocolate and melt it in a double boiler.
-One at a time, enrobe the frozen truffle squares by placing each on a fork and pouring the melted chocolate over every side for an even coat.
And now it's your turn!
P.S. If you're still after more recipes or maybe some savoury meals to go with your Christmas Feast, there's more in my downloadable book:
P.P.S. If you'd rather I make this hamper of dreams for you, then check out what's on offer. (Those dates below are dispatch dates FYI, actual delivery dates will be 1-3 days later)
. ‘Vasiliy’, because his sister has a Russian middle name too and this is the name of both my grandfathers whom I dearly miss.
