To help you get some goodness into your food this festive season, we’ve put together a collection of superfood-rich recipes that you, your friends and family will love. Because as we all know, Christmas can be a difficult time to keep healthy, with all the social gatherings, work parties, Christmas dinner, Boxing Day buffets, New Year’s Eve parties, and so on!

Superfood Starter: Butternut Squash Soup 

It has become a trend to serve both squash soups and soups with curry flavours, so this recipe is bang on. This soup is super easy to prepare, taking just 10-15 minutes of your time, which means that you can socialise or get on with preparing the rest of the dinner once you’ve got this cooking! From a nutritional perspective, the soup is packed with complex carbohydrates to leave you sated, coconut oil, milk and hemp hearts provide healthy fats, and we all know the incredible benefits of turmeric!

Ingredients

½ butternut squash (peeled and cubed)

1 apple (sliced)

½ large onion

2 tbsp Organic Red Palm Oil

2 tbsp Organic Coconut Manna

1 tsp ginger powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 pinch nutmeg

1 clove or pinch of clove powder

3 cloves garlic

1-2 tsp salt

1 cup water

1 tin coconut milk 

fresh basil leaves or pumpkin seeds to garnish

Method 

  1. Saute onion, garlic,and squash in red palm oil with 1 tsp. salt for a few minutes. Add ½ cup water, cover pan or pot and cook on medium low heat for about 15 minutes.

  2. Add another ½ cup water, sliced apples, ½ tsp. salt, coconut manna & spices and continue to simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until soft.

  3. Turn off heat and add coconut milk, stir slightly. Remove whole clove.

  4. Pour into a blender and puree until smooth, adjust desired thickness by adding water.

  5. Reheat in a pot, salt to taste and serve. Garnish with pumpkin seeds or cut basil leaves.

Superfood Side: Cauliflower Mash

We often think that superfoods have to be exotic, but the home-grown cauliflower is considered a superfood in its own right. High in fibre, as well as vitamins B and C, cauliflower also contains high concentrations of carotenoids (antioxidants) and glucosinolates. White potatoes are a starchy vegetable and the starch is so rapidly digested that the glycemic index of potatoes can be almost as high as pure glucose. This cauliflower mash feels light and fluffy, not stodgy, has a hint of sweetness from the coconut manna and is low GI so will help prevent your blood sugar from spiking.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp Nutiva Organic Virgin Coconut Oil

2 tbsp Nutiva Organic Coconut Manna

½ tsp sea salt

1 head of white cauliflower

Method

  1. Chop cauliflower in quarters and steam for 13 minutes.

  2. Let cool for 5 minutes.

  3. Put the steamed cauliflower, coconut oil, coconut manna and sea salt into a food processor.

  4. Pulse until smooth.

  5. Spoon into a bowl and serve.

 

 Superfood Sweets: Rum Balls

We all know that too much sugar of any kind is not good for us, but these rum balls are made with coconut sugar, which has a lower glycaemic load than white sugar. Plus, they are bite-size treats, so enjoying one occasionally as a treat over the festive season is nothing to feel guilty about. 

Ingredients:

1 cup Nutiva Organic Coconut Manna

½ cup coconut sugar

1 ½ cup mixed nuts (walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, almonds)

½ cup raisins (can be substituted with dates or figs)

4 tbsp cacao powder

3 tbsp rum

2 tbsp + ¼ cup shredded coconut

½ tsp cinnamon powder

½ tsp chilli powder 

Method:

  1. Mix the coconut manna and coconut sugar, kneading it until it stops being crumbly and has the consistency of butter.

  2. In a food processor shred the nuts and raisins, then add them to the manna mixture. 

  3. Add rum, 2 tbsp of shredded coconut and 2 tbsp cacao powder, then mix well.

  4. Press ingredients together and roll into small 1″ balls.

  5. Mix the remaining cacao, cinnamon and chilli powder, and roll the balls in the mixture, then roll each ball in 1/4 cup shredded coconut.

  6. Put the balls in the refrigerator for an hour, then serve.