Festive Cranberry Nettles Tonic

This tonic is fantastic all year long but is an especially nice non-alcoholic drink to nourish yourself with around the holidays. Nettles stimulate our lymph, are supportive of immunity and detoxification, our adrenals, help with digestion, allergies, and much more. They are loaded with minerals like potassium, B vitamins, and vitamin K1. They can also help the body assimilate magnesium better. If you tend to be sensitive, start with a shorter steep time, 2-4 hours, and start with 1 cup a day to see how your body responds. Feel free to work up to 2-3 cups a day if you’d like. For maximum benefits steep overnight.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup organic dried nettle leaf (I like to get my herbs from MRH)

• 1 tablespoon organic dried spearmint or peppermint leaf

• 1/2 Cup unsweetened organic cranberry juice

• 2 teaspoons honey or maple syrup

• 2 cups boiled water

Directions:

1. Boil the water.

2. Place the nettle and mint into a quart-sized mason jar and add the boiling water over the herbs. Stir to combine, put on the lid, and allow to steep for at least two hours and up to overnight.

3. Strain the herbs, rinse out the jar, and pour the strained liquid back into the jar. Add the cranberry juice, sweetener, and enough filtered water to fill the jar. Drink up to two cups a day. Enjoy warm, cold, or at room temperature! Feel free to garnish with some fresh, festive herbs.

Chocolate Truffles

These are SO easy to make and very rich and yummy. They are refined sugar free, only sweetened with dates.

Makes 12-16
Ingredients:

• 1/2 Cup organic cacao

• 3 Tablespoons coconut oil

• 2 Tablespoons nut butter of choice (no sugar added)

• 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2-3 Medjool dates (2 large or 3 small-medium), roughly chopped

• 2 Pinches of Maldon or pink/sea salt

• 6 Tablespoons chia seeds (optional)

Directions:

1. Place cacao, coconut oil, nut butter, vanilla extract, dates, and salt into base of a food processor.

2. Process until smooth

3. Pour chia seeds onto a plate or a shallow dish if using

4. With hands form mixture into 12-16 balls (1/2-3/4 inches in diameter) and roll some or all into the chia seeds until covered (this part is optional). I use a teaspoon to scoop out a portion of the mixture to form into the ball.

5. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to eat/serve

Reishi Hot Chocolate

Known by many as the “King of Mushrooms”, Reishi mushrooms are type of fungus native to several parts of Asia including China, Korea and Japan. They tend to be bitter-tasting with a tough texture which is why they are known more as a medicinal mushroom vs. a culinary mushroom. You are much more likely to find them in tincture or powder form.

Reishi mushrooms are considered by many to be adaptogenic, meaning they help your body deal with the negative effects of stress including inflammation, low energy, and hormonal imbalances. Studies have repeatedly shown that reishi mushrooms contain nutrients and antioxidants that strengthen the body’s defenses against cancer, autoimmune conditions, heart disease, allergies and more.

While generally considered very safe to consume it is always good to check with your doctor if you are unsure. Bio-individuality is key, as with any supplement or food. Consuming reishi can cause side effects for some so you definitely want to proceed with caution if you are pregnant, breast feeding, about to have surgery, have a blood disorder or high/low blood pressure.

The following recipe is one of my favorite treats for my whole family and is a great way to incorporate some reishi mushrooms into your diet. Even my daughter loves this hot chocolate!

Yield: 2- 3 Servings

Ingredients:

• 3 Cups milk of choice (I like almond, coconut, hemp or flax)

• 4 Teaspoons organic raw cacao powder

• 1 Tablespoon reishi mushroom powder (I like Four Sigmatic)

• 3 - 4 Tablespoons pure maple syrup

• 2 Scoops grass-fed collagen powder (optional)

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients into medium-sized saucepan and heat over medium heat. Whisk or stir to combine as it warms.

2. Continue to whisk or stir until all of the cacao powder, reishi, and collagen dissolves into the hot chocolate. 

3. Serve warm. Feel free to add marshmallows, cinnamon or whipped cream!

Sources:

• https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs/reishi-mushroom

Salted Tahini Freezer Fudge

• Ingredients

• 1 Cup tahini

• 4 Tablespoons cacao powder

• 2 Scoops collagen peptides (optional)

• 4 Tablespoons coconut oil, melted

• 2-3 Tablespoons pure maple syrup

• 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract

• Coarse sea salt (or Redmond Real Salt) to taste

Directions

1. Add all of the ingredients, except for the salt, into a bowl and mix well. I like to use a bowl with a spout or a large measuring cup so I can easily pour it into the molds.

2. Pour the batter into small silicon molds or a parchment-lined 8x5 bread loaf pan, sprinkle with salt.

3. Place pan or mold in the freezer for an hour or until solid.

4. Remove the fudge and break fudge out of molds or cut into squares if needed.

5. Store in freezer until ready to serve. Enjoy!

Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 12 cookies

Prep time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup grass-fed butter

• ¼ cup coconut sugar

• 2 tablespoons maple syrup

• 1 large egg

• 2 teaspoons vanilla

• 1½ cups blanched almond flour

• 2 tablespoons coconut flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• ½ teaspoon sea salt

• ¼ cup cacao nibs

• ¼ cup chocolate chips + 1 heaping tablespoon

• 5 – 6 drops food grade peppermint essential oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a food processor, mix the butter, coconut sugar, maple syrup, egg, and vanilla until smooth (30 seconds or so)

3. Add the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, peppermint essential oil and sea salt and mix again until combined. Feel free to scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed to mix everything together.

4. Move batter to a medium sized bowl and add the chocolate chips and cacao nibs, stirring until combined

5. Using a tablespoon, scoop out dough and form 1 ½ inch (approximately) diameter balls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Flatten them slightly with your fingertips or the back of a spoon.

6. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until slightly golden around the edges.