Who Knew? These Raw Foods Make Delicious Holiday Dishes!

The holiday season calls for lots of indulges when it comes to everything from spending time with friends and family, to enjoying a variety of comfort foods at meal time. And with so many food indulgences waiting in the wings at get-togethers, in the lunch room at work, and even in your own kitchen, you may find yourself with less energy and more digestion problems that you normally do.

Even if you aren’t interested in eating completely or predominantly raw throughout the holidays, making a point to include some raw meals and side dishes into your holiday season is a great way to balance out all the heavy stuff you might find too tempting to resist. Whether you plan to eat all raw or create a balance, there are a few amazing raw foods you can use to create your own indulgent yet healthy vegan treats to enjoy yourself and share with your loved ones.

Check out these fun options:

Pumpkins

Pumpkins are typically cooked into pies, cookies, and even stews, but it is just as tasty and indulgent when enjoyed raw. In fact, you can make just about any cooked pumpkin recipe raw without sacrificing flavor or enjoyment. Try blending it into a soup, throwing some in a smoothie, making a raw pumpkin pie, or shred it into “pasta noodles” as a main meal.

Butternut Squash

Like pumpkin, butternut squash is really good cooked – but when prepared right raw, it is just as tasty. Consider cutting your squash into tiny cubes and marinating them along with some sliced mushrooms in some barbecue sauce, and then dehydrate the veggies for a couple of hours before making shish-kabobs out of them. Or you can cut the squash into the shape of French fries and season them with salt and pepper to enjoy with ranch or cashew cheese dip. You can also spiralize the squash into noodles to make a raw version of spaghetti or curry.

Sprouted Wild Rice

Sprouted wild rice can easily take the place of traditional stuffing or other heavy side dishes that tend to make an appearance at parties. Start by soaking your rice in clean water overnight, and then rinse the water off and let the rice drain in a sprouter or nut milk bag. Rinse the rice once or twice a day for about two days, or until the rice gets soft and takes on a cooked texture. You can then toss it with your favorite veggies like diced carrots, celery, and cauliflower before drenching it in a sauce of your choice.

Avocados

Creamy and dreamy is what you get when you include fresh avocados into your holiday meal plans. Blend some up with spinach, nutritional yeast, and a little cayenne pepper to create a dip to die for. Or, make an indulgent soup that event he pickiest of eaters can enjoy. Avocados also make awesome chocolate mousse for dessert!

Carrots

Crunchy carrot sticks are a mainstay on crudités plates, but they don’t typically come to mind when indulgent holiday food is the topic. However, making raw vegan carrot cake is just one super tasty holiday dish you can sink your teeth into without feeling like you’re on a diet of some kind. Create a raw yet warming carrot ginger soup, or blend carrot pulp with flax seeds and a little garlic and dehydrate some wraps for lunch.

Sunflower Seeds

Sunflower seeds that have been soaked for a couple of hours before use are a powerhouse of nutrition, and can be turned into all kinds of indulgent food items like un-tuna salad, thick veggie dip, and tasty truffles. Try dehydrating the seeds once they’ve been soaked to create a tasty crunchy topping for your holiday salads and soups.

Strawberries

What kind of a holiday doesn’t have an abundance of sweet treats hanging out on the table or in the fridge? Strawberries are the perfect addition to any dessert or sweet snack plan because they are colorful and full of fresh flavor that is so familiar to the taste buds. Make some coconut whipped cream to dip fresh strawberries in between meals, or marinade them in a thick and luscious date syrup concoction to create a topping for banana ice cream. Better yet, blend them with bananas to create a Raw Vegan Strawberry Banana Cream Cake!

Quinoa

Did you know that you can eat quinoa raw?! It’s really just a matter of sprouting your quinoa kernels and then having fun in the kitchen. Make your own version of stuffing with sprouted quinoa, celery, and a bit of veggie broth – or add it to soups and salads. The possibilities truly are endless.

Now that you’re armed with a bunch of delicious ideas, you better in that kitchen and start the taste-testing early… happy holidays!

Lead Image Source: Mindblowing Banana Chocolate Caramel Vegan Cream Cake