It can be a challenge keeping to an alkaline diet during the holiday season, but we’ve come up with these scrumptious alkaline-friendly recipes to help you maintain optimum health and wellness. If you’re looking for a festive holiday meal to serve to family and friends who prefer their meat and dairy, you’ll easily win them over with these recipes. Staying alkaline is easy once you get creative in the kitchen!
Easy Delicious Alkaline Recipes for the Holidays
Start your holidays by staying alkaline and you’ll enjoy the satisfaction that comes with knowing you’ve made the right food choices. Say no to heavy appetizers laden with acidic animal products, and substitute a fresh and colorful salad decorated with oranges and pomegranate seeds. Serve a main dish that’s a perfect comfort food: spelt pasta combined with fragrant wild mushrooms and fresh chives. Follow up with creamy vegan chocolate mousse topped with coconut whipped cream and fresh raspberries.
All the foods used in these recipes are alkaline and vegan, and the salad and dessert are gluten free. Please choose organic foods as much as possible.
Festive Holiday Salad
- 1 large orange
- 1 cup pomegranate seeds
- 1 large head dark green lettuce
- 1 teaspoon alkaline water
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 5 tablespoons grapeseed oil
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Slice the orange into ¼” rounds. Cut away the rind and slice into triangle shapes, discarding any seeds.
If you’re not able to find ready-to-serve pomegranate seeds, break open a pomegranate with your hands and separate it into 3 or 4 chunks. Submerge the pomegranate in a large bowl of water and gently remove the seeds with your fingers. The seeds will float to the top.
Rinse the lettuce well, spin it dry, and tear into bite-sized pieces. Put it into a large bowl.
Make the dressing by combining the balsamic vinegar, water, and salt and pepper to a bowl and whisk until well combined. Add the oil gradually, whisking until the dressing is very smooth and combined.
Pour ½ of the dressing over the lettuce and stir gently to combine. You don’t want to over-dress the salad. Add more dressing gradually until the dressing lightly coats the lettuce and does not pool at the bottom of the bowl. Add the oranges and pomegranate seeds (be creative!). Serve the salad with any extra dressing on the side.
Serves 4.
Spelt Pasta with Wild Mushrooms
- 12 oz. cauliflower florets (4-5 cups)
- ½ cup raw cashews
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 4 oz. fresh mushrooms
- 2 oz. dried wild mushrooms (any variety or combination)
- ¾ lb. spelt pasta
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- ¼ cup finely minced chives
- Lemon wedges
- Fine sea salt and black pepper
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (or vegetable broth if oil-free)
This recipe requires a bit of easy prep; 2 hours (or more) before you want to cook the dish, soak the cashews in alkaline water. The longer you soak the cashews, the creamier the sauce will be.
Soak the dried mushrooms in alkaline water for at least 30 minutes. When they are very soft, drain them and rinse well to remove any remaining dirt or debris. Slice them into bite-sized pieces
Wipe the fresh mushrooms clean and slice into bite-sized pieces.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to a shimmer in a large frying pan. Add the cauliflower and stir-fry for 3-5 minutes until it starts to brown. Push the cauliflower to one side of the pan and add the second tablespoon of olive oil to empty side of the pan. Add the fresh and dried mushrooms to the oil, and stir until the fresh mushrooms have reduced in size by half. Stir together the mushrooms and cauliflower, remove from the heat and keep warm.
In a small food processor or high-powered blender, add the drained cashews, ½ cup of alkaline water, nutritional yeast, garlic, smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Blend until very creamy. Pour the sauce over the cauliflower-mushroom mixture, combine well, and keep warm and covered until the pasta is cooked.
Cook the spelt pasta in salted water until it is tender. When it is done, use tongs to transfer the pasta to the warm cauliflower-mushroom mixture. This will incorporate some of the pasta cooking water to the dish to complete the sauce. If the sauce seems to thick, add more pasta cooking water by tablespoons. Taste for salt and adjust if needed by adding ½ teaspoon at a time, or serve salt at the table for guests to add.
Serve on heated plates garnished with chives and lemon wedges.
Serves 4.
Vegan Chocolate Mousse
- 14 oz. soft tofu
- 6 oz. vegan dark chocolate (70% cacao)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 4 tablespoons almond milk
Drain the tofu and let it come to room temperature. Melt the chocolate in a microwave or over a double-boiler. Let it cool slightly. Add all the ingredients to a food processor and blend until very smooth.
Chill the mixture for at least an hour and serve in individual glasses topped with vegan coconut whipped cream and fresh raspberries.
Serves 6.