Happy Thanksgiving!

My heart is filled with gratitude for finding my way to the healthier happier life I lead today.
 I am enormously grateful for the love and support of my family, my many wonderful friends and the guidance of Spirit.
I am so blessed.


  I am really looking forward to be spending Thanksgiving at my sister Karen's house this year! For the past 15 years or so I've prepared Thanksgiving dinner at my house and had everyone here to celebrate in this special day of gratitude.


 Not too long ago my sister & her husband bought a lovely house a few towns over.  Very exciting! It's a wonderful little place with a huge backyard. It feels like it was meant just for them! Karen offered to host the festivities at her house this year and I can't tell you how thrilled I am. She thought it might not be as fun for me to lovingly prepare the turkey and all the traditional foods we serve every year since I no longer eat them myself.


 I would have been happy to prepare the foods but I must admit I don't think the love would have been felt in the food anymore. When I prepared our family's traditional chestnut stuffing in the past, it would take several hours of patiently scooping the chestnuts out the night before. I always enjoyed that ritual while sitting by the fire with a glass of wine. It always brought back wonderful memories of sitting around the kitchen table with my family when we were kids. There was a big black pot of boiled chestnuts on the stove and each of us would have a little bowl in front of us to scoop the chestnut meat into with pretty silver spoons. It was a tradition that brought us all together as a family and because of the enjoyment we shared in doing that, the stuffing was always delicious, the highlight of the meal. But I've come to realize that when your heart is not into the foods, they just don't taste as good! It's so important to prepare your food with love, enjoying each step of the preparation. When you prepare food with joy and love, that energy flows into the food and you will create a delicious meal.


 For me this day is all about the laughter and love that we will all share together. As time passes, it is more and more difficult to find the time to get together with my son, my sisters and their families, so this is what makes Thanksgiving a special day for me! 


 I'm bringing an herb green salad made with pear, pomegranate and all kinds of other glorious greens. I will probably include cucumber, scallions, peppers ans grated carrots along with whatever else catches my eye. Tomatoes, can't forget the tomatoes! I'll top it with sunflower and pumpkin seeds and lots of beautiful sprouts ~ delicious!! I'm going to make a couple different dressings, probably a simple raspberry vinaigrette and my favorite dressing which is made with pumpkin seed oil, lime juice, honey & garlic. My mouth is watering already!!


 Here's a few other things I will bring to the Thanksgiving table....


I love this apple pie! It's super simple to make and just bursting with fresh flavors!

Apple Pie in the Raw

Crust
2 cups raw almonds
2 cups pitted dates   (I used a little less because u=it was all I had, still yummy!)
1 tsp sea salt


Syrup
1/2 cup pitted dates
1 orange peeled
1/4 cup water

Filling
5-6 apples peeled and sliced thin   ( I didn't peel mine, up to you!)
1 cup raisins
2 Tbsp cinnamon

Directions

Crust
 Pulse almonds and salt in the food processor until their in small pieces. ( little almond chunks are nice!)
dd dates into the food processor in small batches to mix with the almonds.They will bind and form a dough.
Press the dough into the bottom of a pie plate.

Syrup
Blend oranges, dates and water in blender

Filling
Toss apple slices, cinnamon and raisins in a large bowl
Add syrup and mix 

Spoon filling into pie crust ~ Voila!!




I'm also going to bring Stuffed Dates for dessert. These are so rich and tasty yet as simple as can be!
I just slice large  Medjool dates and put one large walnut inside ~ delicious!!!!

 Wishing everyone a beautiful Thanksgiving full of love ~ laughter & joy!!