What would you rather get for Christmas:

1. A really ugly Christmas sweater like this one:
2. A jar of these amazing macaroons, hand-made with love and adoration by yours truly:

It’s probably safe to say your friends, family, & neighbors would choose similarly…

So don’t bother wasting a perfectly good Saturday fighting the Christmas-crazed consumers in suburban mall parking lots to throw your away your hard earned money on plastic trinkets made in China that will certainly end up at Goodwill 4 days later in exchange for a tax receipt…

Stay home and spend some quality time with your food processor to make these lovely macaroons that will win everyone’s hearts — young and old, vegan or gluten-free, rich or famous…

If you’re just looking for the Christmas sweater, see HERE. Otherwise, read on for the macaroons.

How to make the best, blonde, chocolate-covered, healthy macaroons:

First, turn on an interesting podcast and get out your food processor.

Gather the Ingredients:

• 2 Cups of plain, raw nuts. Most any kind will do, but this is my favorite mix:
  • 1/2 C Macadamia nuts
  • 6 Brazil nuts
  • 1/2 C Pecans
  • 1 C Almonds/Hazelnuts
• Dates. 24 if using sun dates. 16 if using Medjool.
• 4 C of plain shredded coconut (ensure it’s truly just coconut. No sugar added or anything else)
• 3 T Coconut Butter
• 1 tsp Vanilla Bean Powder
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Sea salt (unless you’re actually using pre-salted nuts)
• 2 T Coconut Oil, melted
• 1 Theo 85% or 70% dark chocolate bar

Procedure:

1. Add the nuts, dates, and half the shredded coconut to the food processor and pulse until coarsely ground.
2. Add the remaining shredded coconut along with the coconut butter, cinnamon, vanilla, and sea salt. Process until thoroughly combined.
3. Add the melted coconut oil while the processor is still running.
4. Scoop out each macaroon using an ice cream scoop and place on a cookie sheet.
5. Refrigerate until hardened.
6. While the macaroons are cooling, gently melt the chocolate bar in a double boiler. Key word: Gentlyyyyy….. If you don’t have a double boiler, don’t fret! I don’t either! I stay classy by placing a glass bowl over a pot of simmering water. However you do it, first and foremost ensure the chocolate does not get burned. Secondly, take safety precautions with your jerry-rigged double boiler.
7. Once the chocolate is nice and melty (but not burned!), dip each cold macaroon in the chocolate for a nice top coat.
8. Place them back into the refrigerator for a final cool down.

At this point it’s up to you whether or not you want to give them away or keep them all for yourself! But I promise, your friends and enemies will love you forever if you dress them up nicely in a latch lid jar with a bow on top.

Christmas shopping… obliterated.

Whether I am feeling a bit under the weather or just need some comfort food on a cool, autumn day, chicken soup is my go-to. Besides the traditional recipe, I’ll give you a bonus variation: something like a chicken posole. So if you’re nursing an entire sick family back to health, you can make it week after week and not burn out on chicken soup altogether.

Traditional:

Shopping List (most amounts are approximate and should be adjusted to suit your preferences)

• 1 whole, organic chicken
• Sea salt
• Apple cider vinegar
• Garlic bulb
• Ginger root
• 1 Bay leaf
• 1 Tbsp Thyme
• 1 Tbsp Oregano
• 1 Tbsp Rosemary (or a stalk of fresh)
• 2 Tbsp of coconut oil, ghee, or butter
• 1 Onion
• 3 Celery stalks
• 3 Carrots
• 1 Cup of rice (optional)

Phase 1: Cook the chicken and make the broth.

1. About 8 hours before you plan to eat, rinse the chicken and place breast side down in a large slow cooker.
2. Add about 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar.
3. Add a generous amount of sea salt (I do mean generous).
4. Crush several (up to 6) cloves of garlic, grate about a tablespoon of ginger root, and toss in the cooker along with the bay leaf, thyme, oregano, and rosemary. Feel free to add other savory herbs. Be generous.
5. Fill the slow cooker up with cool, filtered water to leave the bird submerged in a salty bath of herbs.
6. Cook on low for 6 hours while you go about your day. What I love about my slow cooker is that I can set it for 6 hours on low, and it will hang out on warm until I get back around to the kitchen. It pays to have kitchen tools that work around your schedule!

Phase 2: Complete the soup

1. Carefully remove the cooked chicken from the slow cooker and allow to cool while you complete the remaining steps
2. Melt the coconut oil, ghee, or butter in a large stock pot on medium low heat.
3. Roughly chop the onion, celery, and carrot and add to the stock pot. Gently sauté until the onions are translucent, 8-10 minutes.
4. Add a few more cloves of garlic, finely diced.
5. Add more savory herbs: thyme and oregano
6. Place a wire strainer over the stock pot and pour the broth from the slow cooker into the stock pot.
7. Add a cup of rice and bring to a simmer. If you prefer a more brothy soup, skip the rice.
8. While the rice is simmering in the soup broth, return to the chicken and remove the meat from the bones.
9. Add the meat to the stock pot, and eat when you’re ready.

Chicken Posole Variation
It starts out just like the traditional version but uses a few different ingredients in phase 2.

Shopping List (most amounts are approximate and should be adjusted to suit your fancy)

• 1 whole, organic chicken
• Sea salt
• Apple cider vinegar
• Garlic bulb
• Ginger root
• 1 Bay leaf
• 1 Tbsp Thyme
• 1 Tbsp Oregano
• 1 Tbsp Rosemary (or a stalk of fresh)
• 2 Tbsp of coconut oil, ghee, or butter
• 1 Onion
• 1-2 Tbsp whole cumin seeds
• 1 Jar of Barcelona’s Green Tomatillo Cooking Sauce (if you can’t find this in your grocery store, you can substitute with a medium red tomato salsa. It’ll be a little different but still great)
• 1 Can (or about 2 cups cooked) garbanzo beans
• Purple cabbage (about 2 cups)

Phase 1: Cook the chicken and make the broth.

1. About 8 hours before you plan to eat, rinse the chicken and place breast side down in a large slow cooker.
2. Add about 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar.
3. Add a generous amount of sea salt (I do mean generous).
4. Crush several (up to 6) cloves of garlic and toss in the cooker along with grated ginger root, the bay leaf, thyme, oregano, and rosemary. Feel free to add other savory herbs. Be generous.
5. Fill the slow cooker up with cool, filtered water to leave the bird submerged in a salty bath of herbs.
6. Cook on low for 6 hours while you go about your day.

Phase 2: Complete the soup

1. Carefully remove the cooked chicken from the slow cooker and allow to cool while you complete the remaining steps
2. Melt the coconut oil, ghee, or butter in a large stock pot on medium low heat.
3. Roughly chop the onion and add to the stock pot.
4. Add the cumin seeds and sauté until the onions are translucent, 8-10 minutes.
5. Add the Barcelona’s green cooking sauce (or tomato salsa)
6. Place a wire strainer over the stock pot and pour the broth from the slow cooker into the stock pot.
7. Add the garbanzo beans and roughly chopped purple cabbage.
8. While the soup is simmering lightly, return to the chicken and remove the meat from the bones.
9. Add the meat to the stock pot, and serve when you’re ready. Garnish each bowl with sliced radishes, cilantro, and avocado.

Feel free to add more of your favorite veggies or potatoes, rice, or squash to make it more hearty. You can add almost anything to create great variations.