Nourished by Tanya Alekseeva is an amazing cookbook filled with nurturing recipes that ignite your motivation to eat healthy.  Tanya is a beautiful wellness coach and nutritionist who is all about nurturing her body and eating properly.  She also has her own blog, betterraw.com. She is truly an inspiration!!

Since Tanya eats a raw food diet, this book focuses on eating ‘raw’ during the cold winter months. We typically crave warm comforting foods at this time of year, but the benefits of eating raw are amazing!  Raw food hasn’t been cooked above 115 degrees Fahrenheit in order to protect the naturally occurring nutrients and enzymes that get burned off during the heating process.  She explains that “the enzymes- which are crucial for every function of our body, our digestion, energy levels, glowing skin and healthy hair, are destroyed completely during cooking.” Her book is filled with healthy recipes that are raw, nourishing and satisfying!  

You may not be ready to ‘go raw’ and that’s fine, but why not try one of her delicious recipes just for fun?  You may want to make an investment in your health and purchase this lovely ebook for Christmas.  Many of the recipes require a dehydrator to heat the food without destroying these enzymes, but not all of them… here is an amazing recipe that you are sure to enjoy!  These recipes look delicious and they’re also very nutritious!  Win-Win!   

Let me know if you guys are interested in purchasing the ebook because I am now an affiliate for Better Raw!  The ebook costs $24.00.    

 For the crust:

1.5 cups pecans
1 cup hazelnuts
1 cup dates, pitted and soaked only if dates are too dry 1 cup dried apricots
2 tbsp raw cacao nibs
1/3 tsp salt

Process the nuts for the pie crust in a food processor with an S blade until they are roughly chopped.

Add all the remaining crust ingredients and process until well combined, but slightly chunky.

Transfer the mixture into 9 inch removable-bottom pie dish and use your hands to press it in, making sure that you create the same thickness to line the bottom and the sides of the dish. Use your fist if more force is necessary to move the crust outwards and create a wall high enough for the filling to sit in.

For the filling:

1 small/medium pumpkin (about 1 kg before peeling) 2 cup dates
2 tbsp coconut oil
1.5 tbsp mesquite/algarroba
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger powder
1 tsp vanilla powder or 1 tbsp vanilla extract
1⁄2 tsp nutmeg

Cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out and discard of all the seeds. Then carefully chop off the peel with a good knife and roughly chop the pumpkin flesh.

Process all the filling ingredients in a food processor with an S blade until creamy. Use a blender if necessary.

Pour the filling into your pre-constructed pie crust. Refrigerate overnight or freeze for 4 hours before serving. Keeps for up to a month in the freezer. 

Serves 8.

Hope you guys enjoy!!  Have a happy, healthy week!  

What about you? Do you have any favorite healthy recipes for the holiday season?