Raw-Riffic Thanksgiving Meal Plan – Raw Food Basics

With Thanksgiving only a couple of days away, I thought it would be nice to share a raw-riffic meal plan with you, all from my book, Raw-Riffic Food’s Raw Food Basics. The book is available both in paperback and as an eBook.

My suggested Thanksgiving meal plan includes some mock versions of the traditional favorites. I truly I hope that you will enjoy them. I know my family has. Remember, it’s not so important about perfect measurements, or perfect list of ingredients, so there is always room for improvising and creativity. These recipes are fairly simple to make, with ingredients readily available. (Sorry that I don’t have more photos of the food. When many of these recipes were created I did not have time to photograph, since the dishes were prepared specifically for our family holidays last year. The food went fast!)

Cranberry Orange Relish
Ingredients:
1 bag cranberries (frozen or fresh)
1 large naval orange (peel left on, but seeded)
3-5 dates
1/4-1/3 cup agave nectar or maple syrup (or mixed)
Dash of sea salt

Preparation:
Place all ingredients in the food processor and blend well. Place in a sealed container and chill for about 30 minutes before serving.

Mushroom Gravy
Ingredients:
1 1/2-2 cups water
2 Portobello mushrooms (chopped)
2 cups Crimini mushrooms (thin sliced)
1/3 cup cashews (ground to a powder)
1 clove garlic (minced)
Juice of half a lemon
2 T Bragg Liquid Aminos
1 stalk celery (finely chopped)
1/4 cup scallions (thin sliced)
1 tsp sea salt
Dash pepper
Dash garlic powder
Dash onion powder

Preparation:
Combine all ingredients except Crimini mushrooms in a food processor or high-speed blender. Blend until smooth and creamy,
adjusting the water as needed for desired consistency. Add sliced Crimini mushrooms and mix well. Let marinate for an hour or so in the refrigerator before serving. Let sit for about 10-15 minutes at room temperature to warm. Serve with Mock Turkey, or Mock Mashed Potatoes.

Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients:
3/4 cups almond meal
1/4 cup flax seed (ground)
1 cup pumpkin (pureed)
1/2 cup date paste
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice
1/2 tsp pink Himalayan salt
1/4 cup coconut water (more or less for consistency)

Preparation:
Combine all ingredients in a food processor except coconut water. Pulse slowly while adding coconut water to the mixture. The consistency should be a moist dough. Remove from processor and form a dense loaf or fill in rubber muffin molds. Place in dehydrator for 8-12 hours. Serve warm with sweetened coconut butter, or spread raw frosting on top.

Pumpkin Latte
Ingredients:
1/4 cup prepared almond mylk
1/4 cup pureed pumpkin
2 T date paste
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice

Preparation:
Combine all ingredients in a high-speed blender. Blend until smooth and frothy. Suggestions: Add ice to the blender for a frosty latte, or slightly warm over hot water.

Sweet Red Kale Salad
Ingredients:
5-6 thick red kale leaves (chopped into strips)
2 Red Delicious apples (chopped small)
1 cup pecans (chopped)
1/3 cup dates (finely chopped)
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 T or more balsamic vinegar
Drizzle EVOO
Drizzle agave nectar
Sea salt

Preparation:
Place all ingredients in a bowl. Mix well and let marinate. Serve.

Candied Yams with Pecans
Ingredients:
2 sweet potatoes (peeled and cubed)
2/3 cup maple syrup or agave nectar
1/2 cup pecans (finely chopped)
Dash pink Himalayan salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 T coconut butter (lightly melted)

Preparation:
Place sweet potatoes in a dehydrator. Heat for several hours to warm. Transfer sweet potatoes to a casserole dish. Add coconut butter and toss. Sprinkle the cinnamon and pecan pieces over top. In a separated bowl mix syrup with vanilla – whisk well. Pour syrup over. Reheat in dehydrator if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Cranberry Pecan Wild Rice Pilaf
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup wild rice (soaked)
1 cup dried cranberries (soaked for 30 minutes)
Juice from one orange
1 orange (peeled, seeded, quartered, and cut in halves)
1 cup pecans (chopped)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 T coconut oil
1/2 tsp sea salt

Preparation:
Wash, and drain wild rice before using in recipe. Place rice in a large mixing bowl and toss with remaining ingredients. Serve at room
temperature or cold.

Mashed Mock Potatoes
Ingredients:
2 cauliflower heads
1 cup macadamia nuts (soaked)
1 1/2-2 T EVOO
1 tsp sea salt
1 clove garlic (minced)
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup water

Preparation:
Chop cauliflower into pieces and place in a high-speed blender or food processor. Add soaked cashews and water, blend until smooth. Add remaining ingredients, blend until smooth. Serve as a side, or stuffed in mini Portobello mushrooms with a dash of paprika. Warm in dehydrator..

Pecan-Cranberry Stuffing
Ingredients:
1 cup almonds (soaked)
1 1/2 cups pecans (soaked)
1/2 cup walnuts (soaked)
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
4-6 celery stalks (finely chopped)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1-2 shallots (minced)
1/2 cup pecans (chopped small)
2/3 cup dried cranberries
1-2 apples or pears (chopped)
1 cup fresh poultry herbs (sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano, parsley – chopped)
3/4 cup water (more or less for consistency)
1 T Bragg Liquid Aminos
Pepper to taste
Dash onion powder
Dash garlic powder

Preparation:
Combine nuts and seeds in a food processor and coarsely chop. Pour into a big mixing bowl, and combine remaining ingredients and toss well. Adjust texture by adding more or less water to the mix. Serve as a side dish. Store in an air-tight container for up to one week.

Mock Turkey Loaf and Cranberry Sauce
Loaf.
Ingredients:
1 cup cashews
1 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup Brazil nuts
5 stalks celery
1 scallion
3-4 tsp fresh poultry herbs (sage, thyme, oregano, rosemary – chopped)
1-2 tsp fresh parsley (chopped)
Sea salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Prepared Cranberry Sauce

Preparation:
Nuts should be soaked and dehydrated in advance. Place all ingredients in a food processor, and chop and mix until you have the
consistency of a pate or loaf. Pour loaf mixture onto a serving plate and form the shape of a loaf . Prepare the Cranberry Sauce.

Plating the loaf:
Remove mock turkey loaf from refrigerator. Pour cranberry sauce over top of turkey loaf, and spread evenly. Place in refrigerator to chill and set, until ready to serve. Garnish with sprigs of curly parsley, and sage. Serve with mashed cauliflower and mushroom gravy, or mashed sweet potatoes.

Butternut Squash Pie
Crust.
Ingredients:
3 cups pecans
1 1/2-2 cups dates
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp sea salt

Preparation:
Blend ingredients in food processor until texture takes on a crumb/dough like consistency. Press into bottom of a pie pan – going up
the sides of the pan a well. Chill while working on the pie filling.

Filling.
3 cups or more of raw ripe butternut squash (discard shell and seeds)
1 1/4 cups coconut water
2-3 T coconut butter
6 T agave nectar
1 T maple syrup
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla liquid
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice or cloves
1/8 tsp turmeric
2 T lecithin
3/4 cup coconut oil
1/8 tsp sea salt
Garnish: whole pecans, or pecan pieces.

Preparation and pie assembly:
Combine all pie filling ingredients into the food processor. Blend very well until very creamy and smooth. Pour into pie pan with crust.
Place back in the fridge for about 20-30 minutes. Garnish with pecans. Place back in the fridge and let set for about 3-4 hours or overnight.

I hope you have the opportunity to prepare some of these recipes for your own holiday feast. For a limited time only you can purchase the eBook version of Raw Food Basics for $4.00 – that’s a $2.95 savings of the standard great price of $6.95 each. The discount will appear at checkout. I hope you take advantage of the eBook special. The book is loaded with great information and resources, as well as over 250 recipes to try and enjoy! You can learn more about it here.

Raw-Riffic Food’s Raw Food Basics

Happy Thanksgiving!

– Debbie =)