Holidays Archives - Heavenlynn Healthy

Christmas menu dessert: Healthy Mince Pies

Lynn — Sun, 18 Dec 2016 04:30:57 +0000

Healthy Mince Pies filled with a heavenly mince meat with apples, pears, raisins and tonka bean.

My sister trip to London this past summer definitely proofed that all sayings about the British cuisine are rubbish. Of course I can only speak for London, but this city is definitely the culinary capital of Europe. We had some of the best foods in the city, visited great cafes and delis and literally all we did was eat. We also stayed with my sister’s roommate in her parents’ house near Watford for two days and we were served some of the best foods I have ever eaten, including the British broccoli that I am so totally jealous of. Can someone please import British broccoli to Germany? Asap, please!

My sister told me about the Mince Pies that her flat mate’s Dad always makes, so of course I was curious about these little British pies. Seeing them all over Pinterest, I just had to make them, and they turned out amazingly. Of course this is nowhere near the original mince pie recipe as I used completely unconventional ingredients, but the mince meat is always a mix of fruits, some dried fruits and Christmas spices. In England you can even buy “mincemeat” jars in every supermarket. It’s definitely the equivalent of the German “Stollen”, except it’s much tastier, fresher and tastes so much more like Christmas than cookies or Christmas bread.

My Mom was completely in love when she first tried them, and I also think that it’s one of the best Christmas desserts ever! It’s really moist, rich and flavorful, and something very different than anything I’ve ever tried. Another big plus is that they are just so freaking pretty! I am a sucker for pretty food, so these healthy mince pies will definitely make your Christmas table look so much fore festive.

Instead of vanilla, I used the tonka bean, which is an ugly black bean from the tonka tree, which is originally grown in South America. You only need a bit of tonka beans, which are commonly ground with a small grinder, for a rich flavor that reminds me of vanilla. It’s very common in upscale restaurants around the world, so it’s about time that we use it in our own homes, don’t you think?

This is the last item on my Christmas menu this year, and I hope it inspired you once again to eat a bit healthier during the Holidays. It’s definitely possible to eat healthy at Christmas, and it does not require deprivation or starvation. Healthy Holidays are so much fun, and I hope that these healthy mince pies, my sweet potato and parsnip soup and the stuffed butternut squash proofed how delicious and healthy Christmas can be.

Healthy Mince Pies

Prep time

1 hour

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

1 hour 10 mins

Author: Lynn Hoefer

Serves: 6

Ingredients

⅔ cup (100g) of almonds
1 cup (100g) of (gluten free) oats
½ teaspoon of aluminum-free baking powder
¼ teaspoon of sea salt
1 tablespoon of maple syrup
1 tablespoon of chia seeds or ground flax seeds
2 tablespoons of water
1 tablespoon of extra-virgin coconut oil, melted
1 tablespoon of shredded coconut flakes (optional, for sprinkling)

For the mince meat:

2 small apples
1 pear
⅔ cup (100g) of raisins
⅓ cup (50g) of goji berries or more raisins
¼ tonka bean
the juice of one organic orange
zest of ½ organic orange
zest of ½ organic lemon
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
½ teaspoon of ginger
a pinch of nutmeg
a pinch of ground cloves

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Grease six muffin molds in a muffin tray with coconut oil.
To make the dough, blitz the almonds and oats in a food processor until a fine flour forms. Add all the other ingredients and process into a dough. You can also do this with your hands if you do not have a food processor. Place the dough into the fridge for 30 minutes while making the mince meat.
For the mince meat, cut the apples and pear, remove their cores and cut them into small pieces. Add all ingredients except for the tonka bean to a pot. Grind the tonka bean with a small gringer, and add it to the other ingredients. Cook the "meat" over medium heat for about 15 - 20 minutes until soft. Set aside.
Take the dough out the fridge and separate it into 8 equal balls. Roll out each ball into a round flat disk and gently fold it into the muffin molds. Press it into the fold with your hands. It does not need to reach up to the edges of the molds, it just needs to cover the ground and about half of the sides. Pre-bake the mince pie bases for about 7 - 8 minutes then take them out of the oven.
Roll out the two remaining dough balls between two sheets of baking paper and cut out six stars with a cookie cutter.
Fill about 1 - 2 tablespoons of mince meat into each mince pie, gently pressing down the cut-out stars on top of each filling. Place the mince pies back into the oven and bake for another 10 - 12 minutes. Watch them carefully, so they do not burn. You might only need 9 minutes of baking depending on your oven.
Finally take the mince pies out of the oven and let them cook completely before sprinkling them with a little bit of shredded coconut flakes.

Notes

This recipe only makes 6 mince pies. If you want to make more, just double the amount of ingredients.
If you do not have a food processor or strong blender, use 200g of ground nuts instead.

Enjoy!

*A Big Thank You to REWE Feine Welt for sponsoring this post. And thank you, readers, for supporting the brands that make hour-long recipe testings in the Heavenlynn Healthy kitchen possible.

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE OR HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS, QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?

Feel free to leave a comment below, and don’t forget to tag your creations on social media using #heavenlynnhealthy.

I’d love for this blog to be a dialogue.

The post Christmas menu dessert: Healthy Mince Pies appeared first on Heavenlynn Healthy.

Christmas menu entrée: Holiday Stuffed Butternut Squash with Lentils and Kale

Lynn — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 06:46:21 +0000

Holiday Stuffed Butternut Squash with Lentils and Kale as part of my 2016 Christmas Menu.

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas this week. I wrapped up most Christmas presents already, sent off my Secret Santa package yesterday, and I am getting ready to completely fall into Christmas mode by Sunday. Well, I still got some school stuff to finish, but then I am ready for the Holidays. Which means that now I can think about the really important things: what’s for dinner on Christmas Day? This Holiday Stuffed Butternut Squash with Lentils and Kale is a Christmas menu dream and should go on your potential Christmas dinner list asap.

I’ve created this dish as a REWE Feine Welt* Christmas ambassador, and I could not be prouder as this is such a cool job.

“Excuse me, I got work to do as a Christmas ambassador.” Yes, I could get used to this.

Jokes aside, this lentil and kale filling can easily challenge any stuffing you’ll ever eat. It’s rich, it’s fresh, it’s delicious. And it’s completely plant based, gluten free and refined sugar free. How can this be, you may ask? Well, turns out, nature is amazing and has so much delicious and healthy produce to offer. I am definitely hooked by the kale and the edible flowers in this filling. I never thought about adding edible flowers to my dishes, but I think it’s so much fun and they are just too precious just to be used as a porridge topping.

Whether you enjoy this filling by itself or combined with the baked butternut squash, you will treat your body to some much goodness such as minerals and vitamins from the pomegranates. Eating it with the butternut will provide some extra beta-carotene, which protects the eye-sight and the immune-system when converted to Vitamin A in the body.

If you’ve enjoyed this main dish, then you might like my appetizer suggestion sweet potato and parsnip soup with truffled popcorn. I’ve also collected some other healthy Christmas ideas in my post 21 Heavenly Healthy Christmas Recipes. I hope you’ll find some healthy inspiration for the upcoming Holidays. Also, I cannot wait to share my delicious dessert suggestion as the last part of this menu on Sunday! Stay tuned!

Christmas menu entrée: Holiday Stuffed Butternut Squash with Lentils and Kale

Prep time

40 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

1 hour 10 mins

Author: Lynn Hoefer

Serves: 4

Ingredients

For the butternut squash:

2 butternut squash
4 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
½ tsp of sea salt
½ tsp of cinnamon
¼ tsp of pepper

For the lentil-kale filling:

1 red onion
2 garlic cloves
1½ cups (300g) of lentils
80g (three handful) of chopped kale
¼ cup (60ml) of water, more if needed
3 tablespoons of tahini
½ cup (65g) of chopped pecans
8 dried apricots, chopped
1 teaspoon of edible flowers
1 tsp of cumin
½ tsp of cinnamon
½ tsp of paprika
½ tsp of turmeric
½ tsp of sea salt
¼ tsp of pepper
1 lemon
A bunch of fresh herbs such as mint, cilantro or parsley

Instructions

Cook the lentils according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
Pre-heat the oven to 200°C (390°F).
Cut the butternut squash down lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, and brush lightly with olive oil. Place them face-down on a baking sheet aligned with baking paper. Cook for about 30 minutes until you can easily pinch them with a fork.
Peel and chop the onion and garlic. Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet. Add onions and garlic and fry for a minute or two. Add all the spices and fry another minute or two until fragrant.
Now add the kale, lentils, dried apricots, pecans, water and tahini and let simmer on medium heat until the water evaporated. Add more water if needed. Stir in some of the chopped herbs, but keep some for garnishing.
Now to the fun part. Pinch the squash with a fork to "loosen" up the flesh. Add some olive oil, salt, and spices and really mix them with the flesh. I did not do this on the photos, because it does not look all that appealing, but it makes this dish taste 100 times better.
Once the flesh is loosened up and seasoned, scoop in about three tablespoons of the lentil-kale filling and sprinkle with a bit of fresh lemon juice.
Decorate with a tablespoon of coconut or greek yoghurt (if non-vegan), pomegranate seeds and fresh herbs.

Enjoy!

*A Big Thank You to REWE Feine Welt for sponsoring this post. And thank you, readers, for supporting the brands that make hour-long recipe testings in the Heavenlynn Healthy kitchen possible.

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE OR HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS, QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?

Feel free to leave a comment below, and don’t forget to tag your creations on social media using #heavenlynnhealthy.

I’d love for this blog to be a dialogue.

The post Christmas menu entrée: Holiday Stuffed Butternut Squash with Lentils and Kale appeared first on Heavenlynn Healthy.

Healthy Holiday Gift Guide

Lynn — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 06:45:45 +0000

This Healthy Holiday Gift Guide is basically a collection of things that I already own and love or that I will give away to family and friends this Christmas. I have always loved holiday gift guides, so I thought, why not make my own this year? Of course most of the things are kitchen related, but being a girl also means that I love fashion and beauty, so I’ve piled up my favorites in this guide as well. I really hope you’ll find something cool and unexpected or maybe even something you haven’t heard of before. Happy Holiday Shopping!

Cookbooks:

Just like every year, I love giving cookbooks to family members and friends that I know will appreciate another beautiful cookbook. My all-time favorites are the Green Kitchen Stories cookbook as well as Deliciously Ella’s book, because both are just beautiful.

Kitchen tools:

I cannot stress it often enough, but having the right kitchen tools makes cooking so much easier. Now I know that the ones I picked here are in the top price segment, but I believe that in this field you really get what you pay for. I have assembled a list of different options in this article about food processors and blenders if you want some cheaper options.

Tableware:

Do you know what I love about my generation? We are not expected to have a matching set of 24 plates and bowls anymore. Mixing and matching is so much more fun, don’t you think? However, I do appreciate my 8-piece plate set by Broste Copenhagen, which we will set this year’s Christmas table with. I love the danish company’s timeless design, and I could not recommend their products more.

Letter mugs:

Ever since I posted my letter mug on Instagram, I have been getting tons of questions on where to find it. It’s from my favorite brand Anthropologie and they ship both to most countries worldwide.

Rain boots:

If you live in a rather wet and cold area like me, rain boots are mandatory. I am a big fan of timeless style, so Hunter boots are still one of my favorites when it comes to rain boots.

Jewelry:

One piece that I especially love this year is my Cluse watch. This Amsterdam based brand still make watches with small diameters, which is great for small wrists like mine. While I was in Miami this year, I also treated myself to an Alex & Ani ring to match my bracelet collection. I fell in love with Alex & Ani while I was in Boston three years ago, and have introduced all my friends to their “Made in the United States” products.

Toxic-free nail polish:

I recently discovered a startup company that makes toxic-free and vegan nail polish. Their color selection is huge, and I love that they only produce in Germany. OZN Vegan ships internationally, too, so go get em, folks. Colorwise, I can highly recommend the Christmas red “Sina”.

Natural Beauty products:

Natural beauty products make for the best gifts this year, especially for sustainability focused people. Honestly, doesn’t using a natural beauty product makes you feel so much better than applying something with tons of chemicals in it? For the past two years, I have been trying to switch to natural beauty products as much as I could. My favorite brands include Aveda, Kiehl’s, Lavera, and La Bruket. Not quite 100% natural is my favorite lip balm by Smith’s. However, I swear by this brand, and could not recommend it more.

Silk pillow case:

A silk pillow case? Yes, you’ve heard right. I love extraordinary gifts, and a silk pillow is definitely one of them. It will come totally unexpected and will surprise anyone. Sleeping on a silk pillow case is great for your skin, and will prevent your roots from splitting. I take mine wherever I go, and will never go back.

What are you giving to family and friends this year? Let me know in the comments below!

So this was my 2016 Healthy Holiday Gift Guide. Of course I am also always looking for inspiration, so please shoot me a comment with your favorite gifts this season. I am wishing you a great pre-Christmas Advent time! Happy Holiday Shopping!

*Disclosure: this page contains affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission if you purchase products through my links. The price for you is the same as anywhere else. Thank you for making hour-long recipe testing in my kitchen possible. I really appreciate your Heavenlynn support!

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