Thanksgiving can be healthy when paired with delicious mostly raw vegan (also called naked) food along with an ultra luxury wellness trip to Costa Rica’s The Retreat. Celebrity chef and cookbook author Diana Stobo has not only trained and worked with top chefs (and created her own “naked” recipes along the way), but is also the proprietor of this chic boutique property that combines relaxation with health-giving and body-slimming raw vegan meals for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.
For Thanksgiving, Chef Diana has crafted a comfort food menu to please just about everyone. For those who want a traditional meal, there’s maple-roasted turkey, creamy mashed potatoes, honey-glazed carrots, creamy kale casserole and double-stuffed sweet potatoes with yucca puree. Cold items include green apple Waldorf salad, fresh garden greens with cranberry-poppy dressing and fresh cranberry sauce in an orange-and-clove infusion.
La pièce de resistance is Chef Diana’s no-bake raw pumpkin pie, classic pumpkin pie or apple and passion fruit crisp.
Fresh tropical fruits are always at the ready in The Retreat’s open-air dining room
The day after, go back to The Retreat’s surprisingly delicious raw vegan menus. Take a yoga class or a swim. Or maybe it’s time for that hike! Whatever you do, you will return home from the Thanksgiving holiday refreshed and feeling better than when you left.
The Retreat is located less than a 30-minute drive from Costa Rica’s San Jose International Airport. This sustainable village of bungalows is nestled in the mountains with panoramic Pacific Ocean views and what Diana calls “epic sunsets” and “heaven on Earth.”
The Retreat’s al fresco living room lights up with candles at night to add some romance to Costa Rica’s epic sunsets and cool evenings
The “rest and rejuvenate package” (2-4 nights minimum starting at $245 per night) focuses on happiness and starting new wellness habits. It includes luxury accommodations, all meals, twice-a-day yoga classes, a mid-morning wellness workshop, a 30-minute massage and full access to gym, vapor room and spa facilities.
Bedroom suites at The Retreat are luxurious with a soothing simplicity.
Why I Went Naked for Thanksgiving (And Loved It!)
A former fine dining restaurant critic turned mostly vegan, I met “Chef Diana” last year at West Hollywood’s lush luxury jewel, The Sunset Marquis Hotel. Between sips of a delightful white wine, I noshed on some of the best finger food ever without even thinking about the raw factor. Diana just knows how to make delicious food, no matter the ingredients.
Lucky for my family, we were also gifted with her two books, Get Naked Fast! and Naked Bliss. We were certainly skeptical about being able to make truly yummy raw food recipes at home. My meat-and-Southern-comfort-food-loving husband looked at me like I was crazy.
Then I started making Diana’s almost completely vegan raw food recipes. Each one was easy, satisfying. The family swooned–and I do not use that word lightly. My husband was particularly impressed one evening (as he paired my “sides” with a grilled steak) when I served up marinated portobello mushroom “steaks” and rosemary-infused, “mashed” cauliflower.
The smoothie recipes are especially innovative, filling and taste great. Our new family favorites are Rainbow Cream, Kale Colada, Beet It, Strawberry Cream, Double Chocolate Chip, Mocha Almond Fudge, Cranberry Chip and New York Cheesecake.
Now for the holidays, instead of heart-clogging egg nog or hot chocolate, we whip up the following “naked” smoothies: Café Crème, Caramel Apple, Blissful Nog, Pumpkin Pie and Apple Pie a la Mode.
Want to add some healthy raw vegan dishes to your family’s Thanksgiving spread? See these healthy mostly plant-based holiday recipes on my vegan blog.
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