This delicious desert is not only tantalizing to the tastebuds and has a luxurious mouth-feel, but it is also good for your body, in particular your brain and spine, immune and nervous system – a neuroendocrineimmune recipe which also stimulates oxytocin when it comes in the shape of a heart. A perfect treat for Valentines day. The nutrient dense foods also are good for your adrenals and gonads to help with potency for sensual stamina and overall good lovin’!

These special truffles are made with egg yolks, cream, butter, real chocolate and honey. The egg yolks help to give it a specially creamy mouth-feel that makes it all the more rich and decadent.

• 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 c honey
• 1/2 c cream
• 1/4 c butter
• 3 oz unsweetened chocolate
• dash salt

Yule Kaka (Christmas Cake) is a tradition in our house. Yule kaka is a sweet, buttery, cardamom-flavoured fruit bread that is eaten with jam and cream. I was delighted to find that cashew butter and flour have just the right sort of fat and flavor to be a perfect substitute for wheat flour in this recipe. Personally I find it especially delicious with raspberry or rose-hip jam. The slight tartness that they add to this treat is just the thing. This year I tried it with goji berries, dried cherries and pistachio nuts. But I think it would be much better without the pistachios and with raisins as well.

It isn’t hard to get through the holiday season and stick with your grain-free or gluten-free diet. Here are some of my favorite recipes to keep your belly happy — not bloated and uncomfortable through the season of feasting.

Main Course:

• Pomegranate-Kombucha Marinated Christmas Goose
• Chestnut, Pistachio and Goji Berry Stuffing
• Creamy Red Wine and Pomegranate Reduction Sauce
• Brussel Sprouts with Goji Berries
• Honey-Cardamom Glazed Sweet Potatoes
• Pomegranate, Mint and Sauerkraut Salad
• Wild Fennel and Eggplant Bake
• Roast Sweet Potato

This is a simple, fun and colorful treat for a festive punch or cocktail. My Aunt made them one year and they are very beautiful. They are especially good with Minty Pomegranate and Coconut Kombucha Punch

Use about half a pomegranate for a tray of ice-cubes. Add fresh mint, torn or chopped and slightly crushed to release the delicious minty oils. Fill the cubes with mint and pomegranate seeds. Then top up with coconut water and freeze.

This delicious, festive salad is a great aid to digestion and perfect with kombucha marinated goose or turkey. The pomegranate ads a nice texture with a snappy pop of refreshing juice as well as a symbolic touch of new life and rebirth. A perfect solstice salad.

These tender brussel sprouts from Vancouver’s local farmers market are delicious when sauteed with bacon from BC’s Gelderman Farms and deglazed with coconut water. Toss in a handful or two of bright, antioxidant-rich goji berries a couple minutes before serving for a refreshing and exotic super-food holiday side-dish.

This delicious coconut syrup toffee is unique and addictive. It was quite by accident that this recipe came into being, one of those wonderful experiences when you put whatever you have around into a pot and the result just comes out divine. The minerals in the coconut water give it a gently salty flavor which goes well with the buttery toffee effect.

Cherries and pecans are both incredibly high in antioxidants and the coconut cream and oil in these tasty pompoms are also very good for you. These are easy to make and hard to stop eating! They remind me of Santa’s Whiskers Christmas cookies … they taste like fresh wintery snowballs, especially if you keep them chilled. Maybe it is because I grew up in Papua New Guinea, but I always associate coconut with Christmas.

• 1 c chopped dates
• 1 1/2 c chopped pecans
• 1 c dried cherries
• 2 pods cardamom ground
• dash salt
• 1 c coconut cream (manna)
• 1/2 c butter or coconut oil
• 2 Tablespoons cocoa (optional)

Many years ago I worked in an Italian restaurant during the America’s cup races in New Zealand. One of our favorite desserts that summer was a light and creamy traditional zabaglione. This version, made with a coconut water reduction and honey instead of marsala and sugar is a real treat on a winter’s night.

Technically, a zabaglione is a caudle, a hot, wine-fortified drink made as a healing draught for a sick person. The noun later morphed into the verb “to coddle,” meaning “to treat with extreme or excessive care or kindness.” Which isn’t a bad way to describe how zabaglione makes me feel. –Zabaglione Love