If I had to choose a word to describe Turkey, just one single word, if it was even possible, if I had no other option and my life depended on it, it would be nothing other than ‘quintessence’.



I am not one to idealise anything, but I do know what an ideal vacation involves and Turkey had the exact essence of perfection. Whether it was something I needed at the time or truly is a heavenly oasis doesn’t really matter, what I know is that it made its way right to my heart, put a spell over me, got me dreaming about it at night and that I will be back!



Ten days of bathing in joy, Elliot and I spent most of our time on the beaches of beautiful Antalya, took boat trips and tours to the ancient ruins of Olympos, calcium and mineral rich waters of Pumukkale (wow!!!), finishing off with vibrancy of Istanbul.



Turkey has so much to offer, its soul so rich with history, topography plentiful of diversity, skies full of stories, sea water heavenly and the food- the food so... nourishing. That was certainly the last thing I expected, as hunting around for a healthy bite is usually the biggest and often the only challenge on a holiday. There was of cause the opposite option, but because there was even AN option at all was a miracle and not only that, there was more than just an option, much much more!


Our hotel dinner alone had (and yes I counted) 14 different varieties of salads for dinner. Fourteen! Everywhere you turn, you can get a freshly squeezed orange juice or pomegranate juice and for breakfast (much to Elliot’s disapproval and my delight) we figured it must be their custom to serve a plate of sliced tomatoes and cucumbers. I was in Raw Food heaven.

Speaking of Raw Food and the country that influenced me in such a big way, I came home with more than just an inspiration to create the first ever ['first ever' because there is NOTHING on the Internet for me to copy :)] Raw Food Turkish Delight. I came back with a determination to give back at least a little for being given so much.


It wasn’t exactly easy. A traditional Turkish Delight is mainly sugar and cornstarch after all. The cornstarch is what gives it that gooey gummy bear texture, so since that was not an option I had to settle for the fruits with pectin to create a jam like thickness and Agar Agar for a jelly (jello to my American friends) like consistency.

The outcome- scrumptious! Not exactly like a traditional Turkish Delight I won’t lie, but in my opinion WAY better and I will choose it over the traditional any day even if I wasn’t health conscious...




1 Tbsp Agave
½ Cup water
1 Tbsp Agar Agar flakes
½ cup hazelnuts (or your favourite nuts)

Optional: Lukuma powder for coating




Ingredients

8 Medjool Dates
½ Cup Orange Juice
1 Tbsp Agave
½ Cup water
1 Tbsp Agar Agar flakes
½ cup hazelnuts (or your favourite nuts)

Optional: Lukuma powder for coating



-For Blueberry Delight: Blend blueberries, dates and agave until smooth
-For Fruity Delight: Blend dates and orange juice to a creamy paste

-Boil the water and let the flakes sit in it for 5 minutes

-Bring the water to boil again and gently simmer until all the flakes dissolve completely

-Add to the ingredients already in the blender and blend

-Manually mix with hazelnuts and transfer into a small container (I had mine lined with plastic wrap so I can easily pull the contents out later)

-Let it set overnight in the fridge, but if you prefer a ‘prettier’ outcome freeze for an hour and slice up into even squares and coat in Lukuma powder

[to see what I mean about 'prettier' just look at photo with the Blueberry Delight that has only been in the fridge and compare to the evenly cubed Fruity Delight, that has been frozen]