On The Twelfth Day of Christmas My True Love Made For Me…

Chocolate Walnut and Date Truffles

End your Christmas meal with these tasty and healthy treats.  They will definitely satisfy your craving for something sweet!  Because of the walnuts they are very high in Omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential fats for all of your body’s cells, especially your brain. The dates are a great source of dietary fiber, iron and potassium. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 cup walnuts
  
• 3 dates pitted
• 2-4 squares of dark chocolate (we use Endangered Species brand)
• 1 tsp shredded coconut + additional for coating truffles

Directions

• In a food processor, mix all ingredients together
• With your hands form truffle sized pieces
• Coat with shredded coconut

Makes about 10 pieces

Prep Time: 20 min

Coconut Spinach Saute

Ingredients

• 2 small shallots finely chopped
• 1 large clove of garlic minced
• 1 tsp coconut oil
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon red chili powder
• 1 cup chopped asparagus (2 inch segments)
• 10 cups baby spinach
• squeeze of lemon
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut, lightly toasted
• sea salt to taste

Directions

• Heat coconut oil in large skillet over medium heat
• Add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds, cover with a lid, and let them toast a bit
• Remove the lid, stir in the red chili powder and saute for a min
• Stir in the asparagus and let it cook for 3 another minutes
• Then stir in the garlic and shallots and cook for another 2 min
• Add spinach and keep stirring until the spinach starts to wilt a bit collapsing a bit, turn off stove
• Squeeze a bit of lemon and sprinkle the coconut on top

Recipe courtesy of http://www.101cookbooks.com/ with adjustments made by me!

Orange Coconut Salad

Ingredients

• 4 tangerines or oranges peeled
• 2 bananas sliced
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut
• 2 tbsp sliced almonds

Directions

• Toss all ingredients together in a bowl

Recipe courtesy of whfoods.org

Food of the Week – Coconut!

Health Benefits

• Coconut is high in fiber, vitamin and minerals
• Coconut oil is high in saturated fat which is why it has a “bad rep”, although the saturated fat in coconut oil is different from the “bad” saturated fat that everyone talks about
• Coconut oil contains medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) whereas bad saturated fats contain long chain fatty acids (LCFA)
• MCFA’s help to reduce atherosclerosis and heart disease
• Coconut can help kill viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites
• There are numerous other benefits to consuming coconuts see http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org/ for additional information
• Coconut water helps cleanse the digestive tract, it helps promote weight loss, helps balance body pH, helps control blood sugar, boost metabolism and many other benefits!

How to Select and Store

• Select coconuts that are heavy and have no cracks
• When choosing one, shake it near your ear, it should sound full of liquid
• Unopened coconuts can be stored at room temp for upto 4 months depending on how fresh they were when purchased

Recipes with Coconut

• We use coconut oil in all our recipes that requiring cooking with oil
• Pineapple Sorbet

For those with a sweet tooth….Chocolate Walnut and Date Truffles!

These are so tasty and healthy.  They will satisfy your craving for something sweet! Because of the walnuts they are very high in Omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential fats for all of your body’s cells, especially your brain.

Ingredients

• 1 cup walnuts
• 3 dates pitted
• 2-4 squares of dark chocolate (Endangered Species brand)
• 1 tsp shredded coconut + additional for coating truffles

Directions

• In a food processor, mix all ingredients together
• With your hands form truffle sized pieces
• Coat with shredded coconut
• Makes about 10 pieces
• Serving size – 2 pieces