Celebrating the holidays while keeping to an alkaline diet doesn’t have to be a challenge when you have delicious recipes like these to prepare.
Start off your guests with endive stuffed with a creamy spinach artichoke spread which tastes as great as it looks. It’s loaded with alkaline veggies and you can make the spread in advance to save time.
You’ll keep your family and friends happy with the main dish, sweet potato shepherd’s pie that’s satisfying and delicious. No one will miss the turkey when you serve them this colorful dish also made with alkaline ingredients and covered with a gorgeous topping of sweet potatoes dusted with chives.
Top off the meal with rich and creamy chocolate orange truffles. They’re fun to make and highly alkaline. Kids love to help make these, too, so it’s a great recipe to keep the whole family involved with holiday cooking.
Endive with Spinach-Artichoke Dip
Ingredients
- 6-8 endive, about 4” long
- 12 ounces silken tofu, drained
- ½ cup nutritional yeast
- 14 ounces spinach, steamed, pressed dry, and finely chopped
- 1 14 ounce can artichoke hearts (not in oil), drained and chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- Paprika for garnish
How to Prepare
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. To the bowl of a food processor, add: the tofu, nutritional yeast, garlic, lemon juice, turmeric, salt, pepper, and basil. Process until smooth. Add the spinach and artichoke hearts and pulse a few times until incorporated.
Scrape the mixture into a 9” x 9” casserole dish and bake for 18 minutes. Let the mixture cool to room temperature and spread a spoonful onto each endive leaf. Sprinkle lightly with paprika. Arrange attractively on a platter and serve slightly chilled.
Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie
Ingredients
- 12 ounces soy tempeh
- 1/3 cup tamari
- 1 ½ cups water
- 1 cup peas (frozen work fine)
- 1 cup diced fresh carrots
- 2 tablespoons olive oil for the tempeh and vegetables
- 2 tablespoons olive oil for the mashed potatoes
- 8 ounces fresh mushrooms, quartered
- Small bunch fresh chives
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black or white pepper
- ¼ cup tapioca starch
- 2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 1 large or two medium sweet potatoes (about 1 pound total)
- 1 lb. white or Yukon gold potatoes
- Salt and pepper to taste for the mashed potatoes.
How to Prepare
Dice the tempeh into pieces about ½” x ½” (it expands when cooked). Put the tempeh, the tamari, and the water into a saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover the pot and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain the tempeh and set aside.
Peel the sweet and white potatoes, and steam or boil them until very tender. Let cool slightly and mash, adding small amounts of olive as needed to make the mixture smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Tip: Putting the potatoes through a ricer works best and keeps them from becoming “gluey.”
In a large soup pot, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil until it shimmers. Add the onion and cook until transparent and starts to brown. Add the carrots, lower the heat, and cook, stirring often until the carrots begin to soften. Add the mushrooms, garlic, tempeh, pepper, and thyme, and keep stirring occasionally until the mushrooms start to give off liquid.
Add the vegetable broth to a large measuring cup and stir in the tapioca starch. Whisk until smooth.
Add the peas to the onion/carrot/mushroom mixture. Add the broth/tapioca starch mixture and bring the heat up to a lively simmer. Stir gently and regularly until the mixture starts to thicken. Cook for another 3 or 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Preheat your oven to 375 F.
Pour the tempeh/vegetable mixture into a 9” x 9” or 8” x 12” casserole dish and smooth with a spatula. Spoon the mashed potato mixture over the top in clumps and smooth with a clean spatula to cover the tempeh mixture. (Make some nice swirls in the top so it looks pretty!)
Bake the casserole for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped chives when ready to serve.
Dark Chocolate Orange Truffles
Ingredients
- 1 cup full fat coconut milk
- 6 ounces vegan dark chocolate, 60% to 70% cacao content, lightly sweetened
- ¼ cup raw cacao powder
- 2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest (a microplane works best)
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
How to Prepare
Heat the coconut milk in a pan just until it starts to simmer. Stir to dissolve any fat clumps. The milk should be completely smooth. Chop the chocolate into pieces roughly ½” square and put into a medium-size mixing bowl. Pour the heated coconut milk over the chocolate and stir until the mixture is very smooth and the chocolate is completely melted. Stir in the orange zest and distribute it evenly.
Place a piece of cling wrap directly onto the mixture, letting the extra wrap come up the sides of the bowl. Refrigerate the mixture for an hour (not too much longer or the mixture will be too stiff to work with).
Mix the cacao powder and cinnamon in a plate with a rim or a small bowl. Using a small cookie baller (like an ice cream scoop but smaller; if you don’t have one, use 2 spoons), scoop each truffle. Turn it out of the cookie baller into your hands and lightly roll it into a ball shape.
Tip: Wearing food prep gloves makes this step a bit easier.
Roll the ball around in the cacao/cinnamon mixture and place on a plate. If your hands get very warm, the mixture might get too soft to work with, so work quickly. If your kitchen is very warm, put the bowl of chocolate into a larger bowl with ice to keep the chocolate cool enough to work with.
Refrigerate the truffles, covered, until ready to serve. Makes about 14 truffles.
