christmas

Who said Christmas treats had to be naughty? These are full of almondy goodness.

While we are all almost certain to have a guest who may not enjoy the traditional meal, we have ensured that our vegan and vegetarian friends have a delicious option too. Including chestnuts, walnuts and chickpeas. This tasty alternative will go down a treat!

We bring you all you need to know about the incredible superfood that is so intertwined with Christmas. But with so many inbuilt health benefits this brilliant berry is good for us all year round.

Our Classic Christmas cake is, of course not only delicious, naturally vegetarian, but we have again included our vegan alternative as well as a couple of options for decoration.

The Christmas cake is, of course, naturally vegetarian. But this year we have introduced a simple twist that means it can also be naturally vegan. You can make it any time in the run up to the big day and nobody has to miss out on a slice of festive tradition!

The joys and health benefits of eating raisins, currants, and sultanas were almost certainly discovered when someone stumbled across unpicked grapes that had simply dried in the sun. That may have been around 2000 BC.

A festive favourite with a twist! Try this healthy seasonal recipe for mini Christmas pudding balls. The recipe consists of a selection of mixed fruit and nuts flavoured with the spices of Christmas in a protein ball topped with cashew cream.

The pecan is a type of hickory and scientifically not a nut at all. It is what botanists call a drupe, a fruit with a single seed surrounded by a husk. The green husk eventually turns brown and drops away leaving the thin-shelled “nut” to be harvested. The pecan tree usually grows to between 70-100 feet but can reach 150 feet.

In just an hour or so you could be tucking into these rich and warming Christmas puds from cookery school supremo Lesley Waters. It can be made as six individual puddings or one large for the family to share.

You will never have tasted a Christmas cake quite like this one. You will certainly never have cooked a quicker or a smaller one. But it does have many of the traditional ingredients and in the case of the nuts, it has loads of them.

This American classic has become a traditional part of the Christmas celebrations for millions of families across the Atlantic. Pecans are native to the US but just when this sweet pie first sprang to life is unclear.