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Vegan Nog - dairy free!

11/13/2017

2 Comments

 
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Everywhere you look in winter there is another recipe for an eggnog or boozy drink. This version is not only alcohol free, but dairy and egg free as well. Not that you couldn't add a swig of something, but it is absolutely delicious and warming all on its own.
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Vegan Nog

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{wholly rooted}

Egg & dairy free nog recipe - using medjool dates, it is even low glycemic.

The dates give a rich creamy sweetness and a thicker texture similar to eggnog, without the eggs!

No egg, no dairy, no alcohol, but still the flavour of the holidays!

{ingredients}

  • 3 medjool dates, pitted

  • 4 cups *unsweetened* dairy-free milk of choice (coconut, cashew, hemp, rice, etc.)

  • 5 whole cloves

  • 4 whole cardamom pods

  • 1 cinnamon stick

  • 1 tsp dried or a slice of fresh ginger

  • 4 allspice

  • 1/2 a vanilla bean, split

  • optional: orange zest or dried peel

Pour your coconut milk into a pot along with the pitted dates.

You can use a teabag or strainer for the rest of your ingredients to steep in, so they are easy to remove (or just use a strainer later).

First gently crack your spices to get the most flavor from them – you can do this via pestle and mortar, or place in a bag and gently whack a few times with a rolling pin. Place all of your cracked spices into a strainer or teabag, and place in the pot.

Heat. Don’t boil, but heat enough to infuse the spices. Warm on a low-med stove for at least 10-20 minutes.

Remove the spice bag or strain out the spices (keep the dates in there though), and blend the milk and now softened dates in a blender until creamy and smooth.

Grate some fresh nutmeg over the top to serve and drink while warm!
_____

To make a larger batch for a party, use a slow cooker. Calculate how many dates you need based on how much coconut/almond/hemp milk you pour into your slow cooker. Remove a few cups of the milk and bring it to a low simmer in a pot with your dates. Blend that in a blender, and then pour and stir the blend into the master batch of milk in your slow cooker. Next, put the spices in a teabag or muslin bag & toss the whole bag into the crockpot to infuse. Heat on low-medium, and serve on your buffet table!

Published November 13, 2017

We don't do dairy in the house, as my older son has a severe allergy. And quite honestly I don't want any of us in this house to follow down the road of our genetic lottery of diabetes, so I love recipes that are not only dairy free, but also use low glycemic sweeteners. The dates also are what gives the drink that thicker creaminess. If you use rice milk, it will be a little thinner, obviously, but hemp, cashew, coconut and other thicker milks have the perfect thickness!

​
2 Comments

Fizzy Kombucha Lavender Lemonade

7/18/2016

3 Comments

 
Fizzy Kombucha Lavender Lemonade @ WhollyRooted.com
I love lavender. I used to be so sensitive to it that I definitely couldn't handle any artificial lavender anything, and even the flowers would be too intense for me. As I have cleared out all artificial fragrances in all of my home/body/bath products for years now and have gone exclusively natural and organic, I have found that I can now tolerate real lavender and even love it. I grow a lot of lavender every summer and dry it in my dehydrator for use in recipes - both for culinary and bath/body herbal use. A favorite way to use lavender is by infusing honey with it. There is some magic alchemy that lavender gives to the already aromatic honey. It is a great flavor combination. Lavender also works well with citrus. Since I love making all of my own beverages of course I have a favorite lavender lemonade recipe. 
Fizzy Kombucha Lavender Lemonade @ WhollyRooted.com
I love kombucha but my husband doesn't quite like its twang. I usually only drink it myself - my older son has MCAS (mast cell activation syndrome) and is very sensitive to high histamine foods - meaning he cannot tolerate just about any cured, fermented, or aged foods of any kind. I like having it fairly regularly, and also like making it so my husband can tolerate the flavor.  Even my younger son likes this drink.  

The combination of lavender, lemons, and infused honey with the kombucha takes away the more twangy sour flavor of the kombucha, but keeps its probiotic boost. It also gives this drink a little carbonation, which gives it a nice seltzer like fizz. Some kombucha brands don't have much carbonation which is fine, but I like the fizzier ones for this recipe. This has great taste, a healthy probiotic boost, and is very refreshing on a hot summer day.

Fizzy Kombucha Lavender Lemonade

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{wholly rooted}

The classic lemonade is refreshing and delicious. This recipe adds kombucha for a fizzy probiotic healthy punch, making it taste like a fizzy soda treat. If you make your own kombucha, you are set. If you are using store bought kombucha, look for a brand that has a nice carbonation and with a flavor that goes well with citrus and lavender! I like ginger or citrus kombucha with mine.

{ingredients}

  • Juice of 4 lemons

  • 2 cups kombucha

  • 1/2 cup lavender honey (see below)

  • 1-2 cups of water

Mix your fresh lemon juice and lavender honey in a small pitcher.

Add the kombucha and stir gently.

If you plan to drink this chilled right out of the fridge, add water to taste and you are set!

If you plan to pour this over ice add your water now, but you may want to keep it a bit more concentrated and add a little less water to compensate for melting ice later.

Be sure to taste and add more water or honey as needed - depending on how big and juicy your lemons are and the flavor of your kombucha you will want to tweak this to your taste.

If you are making a big pitcher for a party or picnic, the best bet for optimum carbonation is to pre-make the lemon/honey/water base and keep it chilled, and then add the kombucha to the base blend in the pitcher right before serving!

Serve cold. A few lavender buds and a slice of lemon make a nice garnish.

Published July 18, 2016
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Tip: Add the honey to the lemon mix when slightly warm so that it will stir in and not sink the bottom. Whisking while slowly pouring it in helps too. 

Lavender Infused Honey:
To make lavender honey, gently warm your 1/2 cup of honey (LOW - no boiling!) with 2 Tbsp of dried lavender buds added. Let sit for 20-30 minutes on *very low* heat and then strain. The honey will be infused with the lavender aroma and flavor. 

More about: 
Kombucha
Lavender
Lemons


3 Comments

Hibiscus Iced Tea (caffeine-free!)

5/6/2016

5 Comments

 
caffeine-free hibiscus iced tea at whollyrooted.com
I have always been happy drinking water all day. My husband, however, likes having iced beverages with many flavors, and isn't much of a water drinker. So these days I make shrubs, switchels, fruit syrups to use with carbonated water, and of course iced teas. I prefer mixing some herbal goodness with my drinks, so this recipe combines the great properties of turmeric, ginger, hibiscus, citrus and rooibos with some fresh local honey to make an extremely delicious tea. This has so much flavor and is so refreshing - and with no caffeine we can drink it in the evening as we sit on the deck admiring the sunset.
​
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Caffeine-Free Hibiscus Iced Tea

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{wholly rooted}

Iced tea is a summer staple and this recipe combines a wonderful rich colour of hibiscus with a healthy boost of turmeric and ginger. This is has a rich twangy flavor, perfect for hot summer days or steamy evenings. Green rooibos is a caffeine-free herb that has a mild green-tea like flavour and contains antioxidants as well as minerals and flavonoids. I like using green rooibos because caffeine-free means we can drink iced tea into the evening!

{ingredients}

  • 1/2 cup dried hibiscus

  • 1" of fresh ginger sliced

  • 1" of fresh turmeric, grated (don't substitute powdered for fresh - if you don't have it, leave it out!)

  • 2 Tbsp dried citrus peel

  • 1-2 Tbsp green rooibos (or you can use green tea for a mildly caffeinated version)

  • 1/2 cup honey (more or less to taste)

  • Juice of 1 lime

Using a half gallon canning jar or heat safe pitcher add your hibiscus, ginger, turmeric, citrus peel, and rooibos.

Pour about 2 quarts of water from a hot kettle (hot not boiling) over your herbs in the jar/pitcher, and let steep about 15-20 minutes.

Strain with a fine strainer.

Add your honey and freshly squeezed lime juice while still warm, and stir.

Chill and serve over ice!

This recipe is made a bit concentrated so that when poured into a cup of ice it doesn’t taste watery. If you are drinking it un-iced right out of the fridge, you may want to dilute a bit, to taste!

Published May 6, 2016
caffeine-free hibiscus iced tea at whollyrooted.com

I love drinks that are not too sweet and that are very refreshing. Today is going to get into the 80's and I have already been outside watering the garden, opening up the greenhouses and watering all of the seedlings. The first thing I wanted when I came inside was a cold glass of iced tea. Yum. This is one of my favorite cold drink recipes and the smell and taste of it just feel like summer to me! 


More about these ingredients:
Green Rooibos Tea Benefits and Use
Health Benefits of Hibiscus
The Amazing and Mighty Ginger
6 Health Benefits of Turmeric
8 Healthy Lime Facts

5 Comments
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    denise cusack

    I am a certified aromatherapist, clinical herbalist, organic gardener, plant conservationist, photographer, writer, designer, artist, nature lover, permaculture designer, health justice activist, whole foods maker, and mother of two unschooled teens  in south central Wisconsin. 

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  • Blog
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