Healthy Holiday Meal with Gluten Free Ginger Cake

Here is one holiday vegan meal that is healthy, balanced and delicious. Everyone will LOVE it.  It is all also gluten and sugar free.

The Meal Includes:

Nutritious Nut Loaf^[1]

Sugar-Free Cranberry Sauce^[2]

Wheat-Free Ginger Cake^[4]

Links to all the recipes are above.  Basic ingredients are listed below for your quick review.

Gingerbread Cake: Gluten-Free & Sugar-Free

Ingredients:
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup rice syrup
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup water
1/4 – 1/3 cup fresh ginger, grated
1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup potato flour
1/2 cup flax meal
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. stevia (clear liquid Sunny Dew is best)
1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:
1.    Combine vegetable oil, rice syrup, molasses, flax meal and ginger in a bowl.
2.    Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a separate bowl.
3.    Stir half of the flour mixture into the wet mixture.
4.    Mix well.
5.    Add water.
6.    When mixed well, stir in the remaining dry ingredients.
7.    Pour into an oiled, floured 8 inch square pan.
8.    Bake at 400º F. for 35 to 45 minutes.
9.    Serve with applesauce.

NUT LOAF

Ingredients:
½ cup cashews
½ cup almonds
10 almonds for decoration
2/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
½ cup walnuts (chopped)
1 cup short grain brown rice
1/3 cup soya flour
4-6 tbsp soya sauce
1 onion
2 pieces of celery
¼ cup water
2 tsp basil
2 tsp. marjoram
2 tbsp flax meal

Directions:
1.    Lightly roast cashews, almonds, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds in the oven.
2.    Chop and sauté onion and celery.
3.    Chop all the nuts and seeds.
4.    Mix all the ingredients together and moistening with water.
5.    Pat mixture into a well-oiled bread tin.
6.    Decorate top with 10 almonds and line bottom of tin with grease proof paper.
7.    Bake at 350º F for 25 to 35 minutes.
8.    Serve with mushroom or onion gravy.

Usually the problem with cranberry sauce is that it is full of sugar. Here is my version of the popular Cranberry Sauce without any sugar which is no easy thing when is comes to cranberries as they are so tart.

CRANBERRY SAUCE (sugar free)

Ingredients:
1 package whole, organic cranberries (fresh, not frozen)
1 organic apple, cored and chopped
1 cup apple juice
1/4 cup organic, brown rice syrup
1 tsp stevia (Sunny Dew is best)
Pinch of salt

Directions:
1.    Put all ingredients into a sauce pan and let simmer for a few moments.
2.    Remove and let cool.
3.    Taste and add more stevia or brown rice syrup if you like it sweeter.

Nutritional Tips: Cranberries are high in vitamin C, and have antioxidant and antibacterial effects in the body.

In clinical studies, cranberries have been shown to help maintain a healthy urinary tract and be especially beneficial to the eyes (they significantly improve symptoms of cataracts, macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy).

References

1. ^{^} Nut Loaf (realfoodforlife.com)
2. ^{^} Cranberry Sauce (realfoodforlife.com)
3. ^{^} Baked Squash (realfoodforlife.com)
4. ^{^} Ginger Cake (realfoodforlife.com)