The Path To Wicked Healthy Holidays
Try these celebratory recipes from a pair of "plant-pushing" chefs.
Diet, schmiet. Hereโs the deal on our approach to food for healthy holidays: Weโre chefs and brothers who find common ground in what we like to call the โwicked healthyโ culinary arts. We like them so much we developed our own Wicked Healthy Food brand, which we define as food thatโs good for you, but tastes so good you think it must be bad for you. Our diet philosophy is simple: Shoot for 80% healthy and 20% wicked and youโll be 100% sexy. Maybe that means eating 80% healthy and 20% wicked at every meal, like having a breakfast bowl of oatmeal with cranberries and pecans (all healthy), then topping it with a drizzle of coconut cream and maple syrup (both wicked in the best way).
Or maybe it means eating healthy during the week, then cutting loose on the weekends. You have to figure out what kind of 80/20 approach works best for you. The Wicked Healthy path is not about strict dieting. At least, itโs not about the kind of dieting in which you starve yourself, feel miserable for weeks and then go back to whatever you were eating before. Being wicked healthy is about taking control, having fun in the kitchen and putting real food on your plate every day.
We want you to be healthy because healthy people are full of life. Theyโre upbeat, confident and energetic. We want you to eat more vegetablesโespecially the green ones. Weโd prefer it if they were organic and maybe even local. And most important, we want your food to taste great.
So, go easy on added sugars, saturated fats and salt. Eat lots of fruit. Make an effort to move around every day. And use your brain. Stay on the Wicked Healthy path, and understand youโre going to wander off the trail and go out to eat every now and then. Maybe just think through what youโre ordering a little more mindfully.
We know from experience that healthy eating is not about starvation or choking down food that tastes terrible. For us, itโs about celebrating what tastes great in the world of plants. How about serving a spread of Beyond Stuffed Avocados at your next holiday party? Yes, please! Or indulging in a slice of Rich Chocolate Torte with black-cherry sorbet for dessert? Now weโre talkinโ. Both avocados and chocolate have proven health benefits. Eat them!
Weโre all about celebrating what you should be eating, not shunning what you shouldnโt. Weโre plant pushers, not meat shamers. Face it, we all indulge on occasion, and thatโs just fine. Forget the low-calorie processed foods and frozen โdietโ meals. Serve up some satisfying Wicked Healthy holiday dishes this season for your friends, your family and yourself.
Artichoke Spinach Crostini
So you like creamy, rich spinach artichoke dip for healthy holidays? Here it is reimagined, Wicked Healthyโstyle. We up the spinach and artichokes, skip the fatty mayo and sour cream, and serve it on toast brushed with garlic oil. Creaminess comes from Kite Hillโข, our favorite maker of plant-based cream cheese.
8 oz baby spinach leaves
โ C olive oil
1 T minced fresh garlic
1 baguette (about 8 oz), preferably whole wheat
coarse sea salt and ground black pepper
1 can (13 oz) quartered artichoke hearts, drained
1 container (8 oz) Kite Hill plain or chive plant-based cream cheese
ยผ C small fresh basil leaves
Set up a steam basket over simmering water. Add spinach to basket and steam spinach just until slightly wilted, 1โ3 minutes. Remove basket from heat and let spinach cool. When it is cool, use your hands to squeeze out excess water. Set spinach aside.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small sautรฉ pan or saucepan over medium-low heat. Add garlic, and heat gently just until the oil is infused with the aroma of garlic, 3โ5 minutes. Keep heat low so garlic does not brown. Remove pan from heat and set garlic oil aside.
Use a pastry brush to paint a thin layer of garlic oil onto a rimmed baking sheet. Cut the baguette on a diagonal into finger-width slices. Arrange bread slices evenly on the baking sheet. Paint the top of each slice with garlic oil, then sprinkle on a little salt and pepper. Bake until lightly toasted, 8โ10 minutes. Keep the toasts a little soft in the center, not hard as crackers; remember that after you pull them out of the oven, the crostini will continue to crisp up a little more.
Meanwhile, put the drained artichokes in a small bowl. Pour in 1 T of garlic oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Toss to coat the chokes.
With all the components in front of you, begin to build each crostini: Smear a dollop of cream cheese onto the toasted bread; top with a layer of spinach, one artichoke quarter and a garnish of basil. You can leave small basil leaves whole or cut large ones into thin ribbons (chiffonade).
Even better: Replace the canned artichoke hearts with 13 ounces of freshly steamed and quartered artichoke hearts.
Makes 16โ20 pieces.
Beyond Stuffed Avocados
Now hereโs some satisfying party food for healthy holidays. Fill avocado halves with creamy Wicked Healthy Cheez Sauce, bake them just until the sauce is hot and gooey, then top each serving with shredded plant-based Beyond Chickenยฎ and a topping of fresh pico de gallo salsa. Set it all out and your party guests will be wicked happy! To get a jump on prep, make the cheese sauce up to a week ahead of time and keep it in the fridge. If youโre in a real rush, you could even replace the pico de gallo with some fresh salsa from the cold case at your market. And if youโre having a smaller gathering, just cut the entire recipe in half.
2 packages (18 oz total) frozen Beyond
Meat Beyond Chickenยฎ Grilled Strips
1 T chili powder
1 T ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
2ยฝ t flake salt such as Maldonยฎ, divided
1 t ground black pepper
3 limes, juiced
4 large tomatoes, diced small
1 small red onion (or ยฝ large), diced small
1 large jalapeรฑo pepper, seeded and minced
1ยฝ bunches cilantro leaves
10 avocados, halved lengthwise, seed removed and scored
2 C cold Wicked Healthy Cheez Sauce (recipe below)
ยผ C Ninja Squirrel Sriracha or other Sriracha sauce
Microwave the Beyond Chicken for 1 minute to warm it up, which makes shredding it easier. When warm, pull it with your fingers or a fork into thin shreds. Chopping wonโt give you the same texture. When pulled, set aside.
Heat a large skillet, preferably cast-iron, over medium-high heat. Add chili powder, cumin, garlic, 1 t of salt and all the black pepper. Cook for 1 minute, shaking pan once or twice. Add pulled Beyond Chicken and press into pan with spatula, stirring and pressing often to get a good crispy char on it. When charred, squeeze in the juice of ยฝ lime and scrape the pan bottom to collect all that good flavor. Remove from heat and set aside.
Now, prep the pico de gallo salsa: In a small bowl, mix the tomatoes, onion, jalapeรฑo and the juice of the remaining 2ยฝ limes. Chop 1 bunch of the cilantro leaves and stir into the salsa along with 1 t of salt.
Halve the avocados lengthwise, remove the pits and score the flesh in a crosshatch pattern down to the peel. Assemble the scored avocado halves on a sheet pan.
Heat oven to 350ยบF.
Spoon the cold sauce into each avocado, spreading the avocados gently to ease the sauce into the cuts (try not to drip any over the edges). Bake until warmed through, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Carefully spoon 1โ2 T of charred Beyond Chicken onto each avocado, then spoon on 1โ2 T of salsa.
Top with a squirt of Sriracha (as much as you want) and a few fresh cilantro leaves. Garnish with remaining salt flakes.
Makes 20 stuffed avocado halves.
Wicked Healthy Cheez Sauce
This is it: the plant-based sauce to rule them all for healthy holidays. Mix it with elbow pasta for a plant-based take on macaroni and cheese. Spoon it over roasted broccoli; or add cumin, chili powder, jalapeรฑos and cilantro to make a Mexican queso dip for tortilla chips. Look for nutritional yeast in health food stores. It adds a ton of umami taste to the sauce.
1 C raw cashews
1 C chopped carrots
1 C whole garlic cloves
1 T rice vinegar
2 C unsweetened soymilk
2 T white miso
2 T nutritional yeast
1 T kosher salt
1 t finely ground black pepper
ยฝ t ground white pepper
ยฝ t smoked paprika
ยผ t cayenne pepper
Cover cashews in water and soak overnight. Drain.
Put soaked cashews, carrots, garlic and vinegar in a medium sauce pan. Add water to cover (4โ5 C), and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer until everything is super soft and โsmushable,โ 10โ15 minutes.
Remove from heat, drain and rinse (yes, rinse!). Pour solid ingredients into a high-speed blender, and start blending low and slow. Increase the speed and gradually add soy milk. When soy milk is fully incorporated, add remaining ingredients and blend on high until super smooth, 3โ5 minutes. Refrigerate for up to 1 week.
Makes 2 quarts.
Dirty Carrots
One day, we got this idea of serving carrots on something that looked like dirt. After sipping some morning coffee, we realized that spent coffee grounds were just the thing. The earthy taste of coffee perfectly complements the sweet taste of carrots. Just save about 3 daysโ worth of spent coffee grounds and store them in the fridge for this tasty side dish for your healthy holidays. You can even use decaf.
1 lb carrots, scrubbed, not peeled
1 T olive oil
about 3 C spent coffee grounds
ยฝ C coarse sea salt
10โ12 large fresh parsley leaves, for garnish
Heat oven to 450ยบF.
Put whole carrots on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with oil. Massage in the oil until the carrots are well coated.
In a small bowl, mix coffee grounds and salt. Scatter this โcoffee dirtโ all over the carrots until they are completely covered.
Roast for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 250ยบF, then continue roasting until the carrots are cooked through but still a little crunchy, another 30โ45 minutes.
Remove from oven, and let cool until warm. Wipe off most of the coffee dirt, leaving some on for a dirty look. Garnish with parsley leaves to look like carrot tops. To plate these, you can put some coffee dirt on the bottom of the plates or on a big platter so it looks like you just pulled the carrots from the dirt.
Makes 6โ8 servings.
Option: For an additional blast of flavor and a little heat, add 2โ3 T of your favorite diced chili peppers. We like to use the power punch from Thai chili peppers.
Italian Escarole Soup
We grew up in an Italian family, and this soup was served at almost every holiday and wedding. It screams Celebration! If you like this traditional dish, youโll love our plant-based version. And if youโve never had it before, welcome to some amazing Italian comfort food, Wicked Healthyโstyle. Two secrets to success here: Better Than Bouillonยฎ Vegetarian No Chicken Base and Beyond Meat Beyond Beefยฎ Italian Meatballs. Look for them both in health food stores.
1 package (9 oz) Beyond Beef Italian
Meatballs
3 T good olive oil, plus some for garnish
ยฝ C diced white onion
ยฝ C diced carrots
ยฝ C diced celery
1 head escarole, rinsed and rough-chopped (about 6 cups)
3 qts plant-based chicken broth (such as Better Than Bouillon) or vegetable broth
6โ8 oz stelline (star-shaped pasta), acini de pepe or other small pasta
1 can (14 oz) small white beans, drained and rinsed
sea salt and ground black pepper
Heat oven to 375ยบF. Put meatballs on a rimmed baking sheet, coat with cooking spray, and shake pan to coat evenly. Bake until browned all over, 15โ20 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. When cool, halve each meatball.
Warm the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery, and sautรฉ until onions are translucent, about 4 minutes. Stir in escarole and cook until wilted, 3โ4 minutes.
Turn up the heat to medium high, and pour in the stock. Bring to a simmer. Add the pasta, return to a simmer and cook until the pasta is tender, 5โ7 minutes.
Add the beans and halved meatballs, and simmer for a few minutes. Season the soup with salt and pepper, and remove from the heat.
Ladle the soup into bowls, and drizzle some good olive oil over each serving.
Makes 8โ10 servings.
Rich Chocolate Torte
Weโre chocoholics. And why not? The stuff is full of healthy antioxidants. And itโs the perfect way to finish a meal while keeping with the healthy holidays theme. This chocolate torte is for fans of seriously rich, decadent, sexy, intensely flavored desserts. We love it with a scoop of black-cherry sorbet and raspberry sauceโor simply a glass of port.
Crust:
1ยฝ C raw pecans
ยผ C maple sugar or other dark
granulated sugar
ยผ t fine sea salt
ยฝ t ground cinnamon
ยผ t chipotle powder
Filling:
ยฝ C raw (not roasted) almond butter
ยฝ C date paste (see Note below)
ยฝ C agave nectar or maple syrup
3 T coconut butter (solid coconut oil)
1ยฝ T tamari
1 C cocoa powder, plus some for dusting
1 t vanilla extract
about 1 C filtered water
For crust: Put all crust ingredients into a food processor, and process until very finely chopped but not purรฉed into a paste. The pecans can turn into nut butter, so use short pulses to process the mixture to a consistency similar to a graham cracker crust.
Press the crust mixture into a 9-inch fluted tart pan. Use your palm and fingers to make sure itโs pressed in well, especially around the edges. Set aside.
For filling: Put all filling ingredients into a food processor or high-speed blender. Process or blend until very smooth, stopping once or twice to scrape down sides with a rubber spatula. Mixture should be thick, but if itโs too thick to blend, add a touch more water. Blend until smooth.
Pour and scrape chocolate filling into crust, smoothing the top with a spatula.
Freeze until firm, about 20 minutes, or refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
Cut the tart into 12 wedges. Dust plates with cocoa powder and top with a torte wedge.
Note: To make ยฝ cup date paste, blend ยฝ cup pitted Medjool or other dates with enough water to make an almost pourable, thick, honey-like consistency. Youโll need roughly ยฝ cup water, depending on the moisture content of your dates.
Makes 12 servings.