Rosemary and Olive White Bean Spread

I made this dip just before we went to Spokane for Thanksgiving.  I had had some white beans I wanted to use up before our trip across state and knew I would be able to bring along the dip to share with my family in the cooler we were packing.

This dip is great for a party, and with the particular olives I used, it gave the dip little specks of green and red.  Very Christmas-y, yes?  If you are just making the dip for your own household use, I would suggest making only a half batch.

What I love best about this recipe is that it has that zing that lemon gives traditional hummus, but without the need to get out your lemon juicer.  However, beware that, depending on the type of olive you use, most come in a pickled form that has quite a bit of salt already added in.  If you are trying to watch your salt intake, perhaps you could rinse off your olives before chopping and blending.

Rosemary and Olive White Bean Dip
Time: 10 minutes
Servings: party-size

Ingredients:
    Bean Dip:
        2-16 oz cans white beans, rinsed and drained (approximately 3 cups cooked beans)
        3/4 cup green olives
        1/2 cup raw cashews
        1/3+ cup water
        2 tsp dried rosemary
        black pepper to taste

    Dip Topping:
        1/4 cup green olives, roughly chopped
        1 tsp dried rosemary

Instructions:
1.)  In a food processor, process 1 can of beans with the cashews and water until smooth and creamy.
2.)  Add the second can of beans and continue to process until smooth and creamy.
3.)  Add the green olives, rosemary, and black pepper, and process until relatively smooth, with a few small chunks of olive.
4.)  Place into a large serving dish and sprinkle with chopped green olives and additional rosemary.  Serve with veggies and whole grain crackers to dip.

Amy's Notes:
Like I said above, be careful with how salty the olives are that you add to the recipe.  If you find that your food processor has a hard time getting cashew pieces to become really creamy, I would suggest soaking them for a few hours before processing.


Health and Happiness,

Amy

Orange Carrot Cashew Dressing

Have I mentioned that I am making my way through Dr. Fuhrman's new book, The End of Dieting? Probably not.  I'm a gruelingly slow reader and I often cheat abandon take breaks in the middle of books to read short fun things on the side.  Lately I've been switching between The End of Dieting and Are You there, Vodka? It's me, Chelsea, by Chelsea Handler (hilarious!).

Although I have read Eat to Live (thrice?), Super Immunity (twice), and watched most of Dr. Fuhrman's PBS specials, I felt like I wanted a refresher with The End of Dieting book.  It has been just that: motivation to get my butt back into gear with eating more vegetables.  A lot of times I get caught up in the "Oh! This is vegan?" or "Awesome! That is plant-based?", that I forget to make it my focus to eat high nutrient-dense vegetables.  It has helped me to remember that, although foods like one cupful of dates is technically vegan and plant-based (which I have used this amount in a dessert recipe before, yikes!), it is a ton of sugar and I would get so many more nutrients AND feel fuller on a quarter of the calories and five times the volume of cooked and raw vegetables.

Do you find yourself falling into the "well I guess this is vegan and technically plant-based" trap?  What helps you to get motivated to start adding back in more veggies?

I'm a little over halfway through EoD, and I was inspired to make this dressing that is similar to one of Dr. Fuhrman's favorite dressings that he talks about in just about every book he has written. Rather than bothering to look up a recipe this morning, I just threw this together with what I had on hand and sounded good.  In the rush of the morning I let this dressing blend while I was chopping salad ingredients (kale, red cabbage, red onion, carrots, broccoli).  I stopped the blender to check the consistency and taste after a while, and O... M... G... this dressing is amazingly yummy and satisfying!  I just had to share it with you :)

*Note: I have provided an Amazon link to The End of Dieting book below.  If you happen to want to purchase it and you use my link, I get a tiny bit of money from the purchase, which goes towards a new camera for the blog that I have been saving up for.

Orange Carrot Cashew Dressing
Time: 5 minutes
Servings: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:
        1 orange, peeled
        1/2 cup raw cashews (sub white or cannellini beans for less fat)
        1/2 cup plant-based milk, more to thin
        1 raw carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
        2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
        2 tsp ginger paste, or 1 inch fresh ginger

Instructions:
1.)  Throw all of the ingredients into a high-speed blender and blend on high until smooth, adding plant-based milk to thin to your desired consistency.
2.)  Serve chilled as a dip or delicious salad dressing.

Amy's Notes:
Here is my salad from this afternoon that I topped off with the dressing.  I can't remember the last time I looked forward to a salad this much!

How was everyone's 4th of July holiday weekend?  I watched the Spokane fireworks from my downtown office balcony with some friends.

Brownie Batter Dip

You know those days... (ladies, I'm talkin' to you) when something chocolate-y is just needed?  Yep, I had one of those days the other day.  Rather than stopping on my way home from work to get some chocolate ice cream, candy, or other sugary monstrosity that I know I shouldn't be eating, I decided to make this brownie batter dip.

I whipped this up and had it with a banana and some cherries on the side.  Instead of regretting every bite of a dessert, like I usually do, I savored the flavors and knew that I was getting way more fiber and nutrients than I would with a store-bought brownie or cake.

This brownie batter is oil and sugar free, vegan, and gluten-free!

***Please note that this recipe is still rather high in calories and fat, but can be a healthier option for a chocolate dessert than SAD (standard American diet) ice cream, cake, or brownies.  If you are doing the ETL initial 6-weeks, I would recommend that you avoid desserts that have this much dried fruit.***

Brownie Batter Dip
Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 8 servings

Ingredients:
        1 can cannellini beans (1.5 cups), drained and rinsed
        3/4 - 1 cup lite coconut milk (see note below)
        1/2 cup dates
        1/4 cup nut butter (almond, peanut, or cashew butter would work best)
        1/4 cup cocoa powder
        1 tsp vanilla extract
     
Instructions:
1.)  Place all ingredients and 3/4 cup of plant milk in a food processor.  Process until smooth and creamy, adding more plant milk as needed.
2.)  Serve at room temperature with apple slices and other fruit to dip.
3.)  Store in an airtight container in the fridge until you lick the bowl clean... you know you will ;)

Amy's Notes:

• I happened to have half of a can of lite coconut milk leftover to use up, but this recipe can be made with any other type of plant milk by adding 2 additional tablespoons of nut butter.
• In my recipe, I used almond butter, which blended nicely in texture and taste.  Peanut butter would also work great for those who are looking for that Reeces flavor ;).
• For those of you looking for a similar taste, but with less sugar from dried fruit, I would suggest adding in a ripe banana for half of the dates called for.

Coconut Curry Hummus

I bring hummus to everything.  Dinner at a friend's house, hummus.  BBQ or picnic, hummus.  Pot-luck at work, hummus.  I have my usual hummus that a bring, which is a traditional hummus topped with spices and pine nuts (find it here).  And I also have a few other hummuses (hummi?) in my arsenal:

Spicy Buffalo Wing Hummus
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Lentil and Cashew Hummus
Green Split Pea Hummus
Chive Hummus

A friend of mine, who happens to work at Total Wine (essentially Costco for beer, wine, and liqour) invited me over for apps and beer tomorrow evening.  So what am I bringing?  Hummus of course!  For this hummus, I didn't want to take the time to soak and cook chickpeas, so I chose to use yellow split peas, which cook up in under an hour.  I was also out of tahini, so in go the raw cashews!  Add some spices and voila!  Curry hummus!

Coconut Curry Hummus
Time: 40 minutes prep, 5 minutes blending
Servings: party-size servings

Ingredients:
        1 cup dried yellow split peas (about 3 cups cooked)
        3/4 cup lite coconut milk (from the can)
        1/2 cup raw cashews
        1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
        3 Tbsp curry powder
        1 tsp coriander
        1 tsp smoked paprika
        1/2+ tsp cayenne pepper, to taste (optional)
        1/2 tsp ground ginger
        1/4 tsp onion powder
        1/4 tsp garlic powder

Instructions:
1.)  To cook the dried yellow split peas, rinse and sort the peas.  Put the peas in a pot with three cups of water and heat to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 30-40 minutes, until all of the water has been absorbed or has evaporated.  Stir occasionally over the last 10 minutes to ensure the peas don't stick to the pan and burn.  Allow to cool.
2.)  In a food processor, add all ingredients along with the cooled split peas.  Process until smooth and creamy, adding additional coconut milk and cayenne pepper to reach the desired texture and spiciness.
3.)  Top with sprinkled paprika and serve as a veggie and chip dip.  It can also be used as a sandwich or wrap spread.

Amy's Notes:
After finishing this recipe, I used the hummus to make collard green veggie wraps.  With a little bit of siracha added, it was delicious!
This recipe makes quite a bit, so feel free to halve the recipe if you don't go through hummus so quickly.
If you don't happen to have yellow split peas, any other type of bean will do, but it won't have quite that curry-yellow color in the end.

Green Split Pea Hummus

Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone!  Tonight Kevin and I are hosting a little pot luck with some friends, and for a St. Patty's themed recipe, I decided to make something that is naturally green with green split peas and pistachios!

Green Split Pea Hummus
Time: 15 minutes, plus 1 hour cook time
Serves: Party size!

Ingredients:
1 cup dried green split peas (or about 2 cups cooked)
1 cup shelled pistachios
1/2 cup water (more to consistency)
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt (optional)

Instructions:

1. Rinse the dried green split peas in a mesh strainer and pick out any debris.  Combine the rinsed and drained lentils with 2 cups of water.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and then cover.  Cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the lentils are tender but not quite mushy.  Remove from heat and leave the cover on to steam while you prepare the other ingredients.
2. In a food processor, combine all of the ingredients besides the green split peas.  Process until the pistachios are well broken up and smooth.  
3. Strain any remaining liquid from the cooked green split peas and add to the food processor.  Process until smooth and creamy, adding in water by the tablespoon until the desired consistency is reached.
4. Place the hummus into an airtight container in the fridge to cool before serving.
5. Serve with your favorite healthy crackers, chips, and raw veggies.

Amy's Notes:

If you don't happen to have pistachios on hand, any other type of nut or seed will work, such as cashews, sunflower seeds, pine nuts, etc.

This hummus is also great on a panini, like the one pictured below.  For this panini, I loaded it with my split pea hummus, lots of red onion slices, and piled high with spinach.  Yum!

Spicy Buffalo Wing Hummus for Superbowl Sunday!

Go Hawks!

Some of you may know from previous blog posts that I live in Spokane, Washington... so naturally, I have been a Seahawks fan my whole life.  All season long Kevin and I, along with all of our friends who are also Seahawk fans, have watched them march to victory.  And now, with only two days left until the Superbowl, we can't wait for the best victory of all!!!

In the meantime, the Inland Northwest has gotten a bit of snow.  The driving hasn't been too bad (not Alabama bad), but the key is just to go slow, have the right tires, and to stay away from cars as if everyone is out to get you.  It has worked so far for me!

Here is Kevin shoveling snow at my parent's place after working out at the gym.
I can't believe he wasn't freezing in a t-shirt and shorts!
 I was happily inside playing with my puppy. :)

Last night we went to the gym and Kevin did weight training and cycling while I went to a yoga class.  I am always so relaxed afterwards, but also thoroughly sweaty from the hot temperature and challenging moves.  Tonight, after Kevin is finished with one of his last exams before becoming a Certified Secondary Education Teacher in Washington, we're planning on going to the gym to workout.  I'm planning on working in the workout below into our session.

We are planning on spending our Superbowl at a bar just down the street from our apartment.  We were lucky enough to win a raffle for a $20 gift card and pick of tables for the Superbowl the last time we went for the playoff game.  Before heading to the bar for the game, we are planning on having everyone over for some pre-game snackies and beer (so our gameday tab doesn't end up being too horrible).  For the party I will be making one of my favorite dips: Spicy Buffalo Wing Hummus!

Spicy Buffalo Wing Hummus

Ingredients:

• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup Frank's RedHot Buffalo Wing Sauce (more to taste)
• 3 Tbsp tahini (sesame seed paste)
• 2 Tbsp bean liquid
• 1 1/2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper *Optional*

Instructions:

1. Place all ingredients into a food processor.  Blend until smooth and creamy, adding more Wing Sauce and/or cayenne pepper to reach the desired spiciness.
2. Scoop the hummus into your desired serving or storage dish and sprinkle with some extra cayenne pepper (or paprika if you are not a fan of the heat... that the Seattle D will be bringing on Sunday!).
3. Serve immediately or chill until game-time!  Serve with whole wheat pita slices and veggies to dip. 

Amy's Notes:

I LOVE this hummus with celery sticks.  My husband loves to eat spicy chicken wings, so when we go out and he has those, I often order a side of wing sauce with a bunch of celery to enjoy.  Celery seems to always accompany wings, and it makes the perfect flavor combo here.  I find that celery has a way of cooling down the heat in a sauce or dip, while still allowing you to enjoy all of the flavors.

Check out this hilarious Superbowl commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBKX2RV3Ajw

Chive Hummus

& Days 1 & 2, Week 4

Hello my lovely readers!  Are you getting a bit tired of my daily logs?  Honestly, I am too.  While I have been taking less time to edit photos (and proof read, sorry!), it still takes a good chunk of time out of my day to write them.  As of right now, I am halfway through my 6-week Eat to Live Challenge.  I'll be blogging a bit less after it is over.  Have I done perfectly on my challenge?  No, but I am getting better and better at making the right choices, and resisting my old ways.  I'd say an improvement is better than nothing.  Anyways, thanks to anyone who is following along, and remember to check out the new recipe that I have been promising, below my daily logs....

Monday, Day 1 of Week 4
Food Log:

• Breakfast: 1 apple
• Lunch: black bean mexican stir fry with peppers and onions in lettuce wraps, 5 small apricots
• Dinner: side salad, corn on the cob, sauted potatoes and onion
• Extras: afternoon snack of crackers and hummus, dessert after dinner of Dr. Fuhrman's no-bake Key Lime Pie (recipe here if you have a membership)

Exercise Log:  Engine 2 beginner/intermediate work out with my mom, walk to a nearby cemetery with my family to see my grandparent's graves for Memorial Day

How I felt:  This day I still felt like I was detoxing from my bad choices of the weekend (not eating enough food, not having enough fruits and vegetables, and drinking too much), but I'm happy my mom was able to get me to get my heart pumping with some exercises from the Engine 2 book I had "let her borrow" by sharing my Kindle password.  Overall, it was a fun day, but I was ready to get back to work and back to my regular eating routine (weird, I know).

Tuesday, Day 2 of Week 4

Food Log:

• Breakfast: 1 apple, 2 bananas
• Lunch: curry red lentils with kale and onion over brown rice, 1 apple
• Dinner: homemade bean burger on a thin bun with fixins, side salad
• Extras: 1 beer with dinner, 1 beer with friends watching the Mariner's game

I think this is my best bean burger yet!

Exercise Log: Stretching before bedtime

How I felt:  I felt happy to get back to work today and have a more structured eating schedule.  I feel like my eating schedule is often something to worry about on the weekends.  I find that if I am going out in the evening and want to look and feel good in my outfit, I tend to eat less throughout the day.  I know that is a no-no, but it stems from my days in college when I paid more attention to calories and would do the same thing.  Now I know that eating the right foods is never going to make me gain weight, and acquiring the right nutrients during the day is key to my health on the cellular level.  Tonight I made bean burgers (one to eat, the others to freeze) out of the mexican black bean mix I had yesterday with lettuce wraps.  I have been making bean based dishes into bean burgers more and more often lately.  Since I am the only one in my household that eats the Nutritarian way, this is a great way to use up too many leftovers, and to be able to save them for way longer in the freezer.

Now on to my promised recipe that I have been raving about:

Chive Hummus

Amy's Notes:  I made this hummus for the first time a few weeks ago when I had gone to the farmer's market (first one of the season, yay!) with my friend Stephanie before she was to host a BBQ at her house.  At the farmer's market, there were a plethora of seed starts and baked goods, but not too much in the fresh produce department.  I did find some fresh herbs that looked divine, so I decided to get a big bunch of chives for $1.  After putting them in the nutritarian potato salad I had made for the party and barely made a dent in my supply, I decided to make a hummus with it.  After all, I don't think it's a real party until hummus is involved!

Ingredients: 

• 1 can chickpeas (or 1 1/2 cups cooked) drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup tahini (homemade tahini recipe here)
• 1/2 cup fresh chives, chopped (extra to top)
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 2-4+ Tbsp water
• 2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients except for water in a food processor, and process until smooth, but there will still be whole chive pieces.
2. Add in water and process, tablespoon by tablespoon until you have reached the desired consistency.
3. Top with extra chives and serve with chips, crackers, and veggies.  Enjoy!

Have farmer's markets in your area started for the season yet?

Homemade Tahini

& Day 3, Week 3 
*Homemade Tahini recipe below

Happy hump day to everyone!  I feel like this week has been going by rather slowly.  Probably because we have such a fun weekend coming up.  On Friday, our good friend Marley is coming into Spokane from our college town of Pullman to go out for her 21st Birthday.  Then, on Saturday, our couple friends, Ian and Danielle are having a BBQ at their new house and a party through the evening for Dannielle's Birthday.  One other thing that is quite eventful this weekend is.... Arrested Development coming out on Netflix!!!!!  Kevin and I will, probably spend any second we get watching all of the new episodes.

Tonight for dinner, I ended up going to my parent's house to catch up with my mom and help her make dinner since she has been working all week.  We ended up making a sweet Thai curry with a bunch of veggies and a spice mix I got this weekend from this great local spice store.  All I can say is, YUM!  Check out the picture in my daily log below. 

Food log:

• Breakfast: 2 bananas, 1 apple
• Lunch: mixed greens with broccoli and chive hummus, 1 apple
• Dinner: sweet Thai curry over brown rice, sugar snap peas
• Extras: my Mom's homemade guacamole with whole grain chips as an afternoon snack, (1-2) beers in the evening at trivia

Exercise log: Walk with my parent's dog around the neighborhood

 How I feel:  I weighed myself this morning to find that I was one pound down from last week. That makes 9 lbs total since I started the 6-week Eat to Live plan.  I'm happy with this progress, but I think what shows even more of my success is my appearance. I feel like I can feel the fat melting off the many places it has been hanging on to, and the muscle underneath developing and showing through with each trip to the gym.  My husband Kevin even has said that, while he always thought I was skinny (thanks dear), he is noticing that I seem "smaller", like somehow my bones are shrinking me to be leaner.  I'm hoping that is not the case, and that my fat I have been holding on to for too long is coming off.  That reminds me of this picture I saw the other day (source unknown):

So, over the next week I have two BBQ's that I am going to.  One tomorrow for work, and another for our friend Dannielle as I mentioned above.  For BBQ's my go-to food to bring is always my hummus (recipe here).  It is great because it is healthy, but on the "approachable healthy-side" for most people.  Since a large part of hummus is tahini (sesame seed butter), and buying it in the jar generally costs up the ying yang, I decided to try to make my own.  Here is how I did it:

Homemade Tahini

Ingredients: 

• 2 cups unhulled sesame seeds
• 1-3 TBSP sesame or other oil

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.  Place the sesame seeds on a cookie sheet and shake to evenly spread.  No need to stray your pan, the sesame seeds produce their own oil. (In a toaster oven, toast at 400 and do 1 cup at a time). 
2. Toast for 8-12 minutes until the some of the seeds turn a very light brown.  During toasting, make sure to take out the pan and lightly shake to move the seeds around.
3. Once toasted, immediately scoop into a food processor with a small amount of oil.  Process and scrape the sides periodically.  It will take a few minutes to go from seeds, to crumbles, to liquid-y tahini.  Be patient!
4. Store the tahini in an airtight container in the fridge and use for dressings, hummus, or spreads. Yum!

Amy's Notes:  Like I said above: be patient with the tahini!  It will come together.  I don't have too heavy duty of processor (although it is quite loud and I was worried the neighbors might come knocking to see who was running a chain saw), and mine was able to get the job done with about 8 minutes of processing.  This recipe makes about 1 1/2 cups of tahini, which is about how much comes in a jar at my local grocery store (for nearly $7 a jar!).  When buying the sesame seeds in the bulk section, I was able to get 2 cups of seeds for about $2.  That's over a 70% savings!  

What sorts of foods do you make at home to save money, or avoid preservatives and other additives?

Lentil and Cashew Hummus

Hello all!  I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend so far.  I have been super busy with work and evening activities, I'm sorry it has taken so long for me to post!  I made this recipe that I am featuring today earlier last week and have been enjoying it thoroughly with veggies for my weekday lunches, but more on that in a bit.

First of all, did anyone else catch Dr. Fuhrman on the Dr. Oz show today?  I don't normally watch this show, but when they feature Dr. Fuhrman, that is a different story!  I believe this is the third or fourth time he has been on in the last year or so, and mostly due to the increased interest from viewers, which is awesome!  The topic Dr. Fuhrman discussed on this episode was Super Immunity!  And for anyone finding my blog as a result of googling "nutritarian" or something similar, WELCOME, and please feel free to join a discussion in the comment section on any of my posts, or email me at amysnutritariankitchen@gmail.com.

I'll go over briefly some of the highlights of the show.  Dr. Fuhrman did a wonderful job emphasizing that being sick, whether it is an occasional cold, continual migraines or acne, or even hearth disease or diabeties, the food and nutrients you put into your body from now and into the future, can boost your immune system, make you better, and keep you feeling healthy and vivacious into your later years.  Not only will eating how Dr. Fuhrman recommends (aka the Nutritarian Diet) keep you free from disease and sickness, it will do wonders for your energy and your waistline!  Win-win, right?  I love the sayings Dr. Fuhrman used on the show:

"The whiter the bread, the quicker you're dead."

and

"The more you eat green, the more you get lean!"

On the Dr. Oz show, Dr. Fuhrman summarized how to begin to earn Super Immunity with 4 simple guidelines, and what my notes are on them:

• Base your diet on phytonutrient-rich foods.
• Phytonutrients are nutrients found only in whole plant foods
• To do this, base your diet off of vegetables, fruits, beans/legumes, whole grains, nuts and seeds
• Center your meals on the most phytonutrient-rich foods that add to your immunity (GBOMBS)- Greens, Beans, Onions, Mushrooms, Berrys, and Seeds.  Here is a great summary from Dr. Fuhrman's website on that.
• Eat slow absorbing foods
• Steer clear of processed white flours and sugars, for they increase your need for insulin, which can lead to compromised immune function.
• Beans, as well as nuts and seeds are slow to be absorbed and help the bad fats exit your body, making you leaner as well as ridding yourself of toxins
• Intact grains are also slow digesting and keep you fuller longer
• Use meat as a condiment
• ... with the majority of your diet being plant-based
• While on my blog, I don't have any recipes with meat in them, if it helps someone enjoy more plant foods and be able to stick with it, I don't see the problem.
• For myself, I know that I feel much better when I don't eat meat, but everyone can judge this for themselves
• Chew, Chew, CHEW!
• This is often one trick that we hear all the time, but never think to put to use
• There has been many people advocating that chewing your food for longer will help make you fuller faster, keeping you from consuming excess calories and helping with your weight loss, but what Dr. Fuhrman emphasized was that by chewing your plant based foods more, you are allowing your digestive fluids in your mouth to begin breaking down and creating new enzymes that increase the overall nutrients your body can utilize
• On the show, they encouraged viewers to begin chewing their food at least 10 extra times than usual to start

Overall, I thought this was a great episode with Dr. Fuhrman on it.  I especially loved that he had some nutritarian women on there telling about how they felt so much better, and enjoyed their food at the same time!  I feel like it is often misconstrued that if you are on a diet, you picture yourself forced to eat plain and unappetizing cardboard food.  And I am here to say, as a 2+ year nutritarian and food blogger, that that is just not true!  I prefer this way of eating much more than SAD foods (Standard American Diet), and find that when I do have something SAD every now and then, it makes me physically feel bad and the tastes are way too overpowering.  I eat what I enjoy, and that is whole plant-based food!  

Did you watch the episode?  What were your thoughts?

Now on to the recipe....

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked brown or french lentils
• 1/2 cup raw, unsalted cashews
• 3-4 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp low sodium soy sauce (or 1 tsp regular)
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2-1 tsp hot sauce

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor.
2. Process, scraping the sides occasionally, until the hummus is smooth.
3. If the hummus is too thick, add a tablespoon of water at a time and process until you have reached your desired consistency.

Amy's notes:

• This is a wonderful hummus, and a nice change up from the traditional chickpea and tahini kind.
• I topped mine off with some chili powder and green onions.
• This hummus is great with crackers, pita bread, or any and all veggies!

Orange Ginger Dipping Sauce

Happy Hump Day to everyone!  This week seems to be going by fairly quickly for me.  Most of our free time this week has been spent relaxing at home watching Netflix or reading on the couch.  Yesterday evening we met up with some friends at our regular bar that sells pints of Alaskan beer for $1, a poor recent-graduate's dream hehe!

Afterwards, we brought the party over to one of Kevin's favorite restaurants in town, Flamin' Joes, a place that specializes in spicy wings.  We've been there over a dozen times in the last couple of months, but this time Kevin finally decided to take their "Code Red Challenge", also known as the "Widow-Maker" (comforting, I know...).  He successfully ate a dozen of their hottest wings in 4 minutes, with a 4 minute waiting period afterwards of not eating or drinking anything.  While this awesome culinary feat won him a t-shirt and his picture on the wall, I couldn't help thinking how terrible this is for him.

Late last night Kevin woke up with horrible stomach pains: "Like someone punched me in the stomach."  I felt so terrible for him and tried suggesting anything I could think of to help elevate the pain.  I finally settled on getting him a glass of water with a bunch of lemon juice in it.  My thoughts were to hopefully reduce the acidity in his stomach with lemon juice, which is acidic outside of the body, but becomes alkaline within.  It made him feel slightly better, but he still tossed and turned all night.

This whole event got me thinking this morning about what foods really do to us inside of our bodies.  When you think about the whole concept of eating, it is actually quite strange.  We are making the conscious decision to take a foreign object, which was once a functioning organism, and put it into our bodies to utilize the caloric energy and nutrients for ourselves.  When someone gets a tattoo, or their hair cut or dyed, usually a lot of thought goes into the permanence of it, and how it is going to affect you in the long-run.  But with food, most of the time we don't think twice about what we put into our bodies or how it is going to affect us long-term.  Nothing can be more permanent than what physically builds us.  Well, just some food for thought!  Now on to the food....

Ingredients:

• 1 c garbanzo beans
• 1 orange peeled
• 1/2 c peanut butter
• 1 to 4 Tbsp rice vinegar (to taste)
• 2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tsp minced ginger (more to taste)
• red pepper flakes, as desired
• 1 tsp sesame oil (optional)
• non-dairy milk to thin
• sesame seeds

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in a blender, except for the red pepper flakes and almond milk.
2. Blend on high until smooth, adding almond milk to thin if needed to obtain desired consistency. 
3. Lastly, add the red pepper flakes as desired, and give it a quick stir in the blender.
4. Serve chilled and topped with sesame seeds as a dip, or thin with a bit more almond milk and use as a salad dressing.

Amy's Notes:

• Depending on how tangy you like your dips or dressings to be, add as much rice vinegar as you would like.
• 2 tsp minced ginger gave me the small hint of flavor that I was looking for, but others that are more crazy about it can make it more of a stand-out flavor by adding one or two more teaspoons.
• I added about 1/3 cup of almond milk to reach the consistency that is pictured.  I'll be adding a bit more to some of the leftover sauce to create more of a dressing to have on a salad this afternoon.
• This recipe makes a significant amount, so I would suggest maybe trying out a half of the recipe.
• I enjoyed my dipping sauce with some spring rolls I made for lunch yesterday.

Father's Day and Hummus Hummus!

Happy Father's Day to all of the dads out there!  In growing up with two older brothers and being the only girl, I've always been my daddy's little girl with his same blue eyes.  As the countdown draws nearer to Kevin and my wedding I keep thinking of little aspects of the day that I still need to plan, this includes the Father Daughter dance.  I've always joked with my dad that we would just break out in dance to "Whip it" by Devo, but I don't think my mom would appreciate that lol.  Speaking of wedding stuff, I got to meet with my makeup gal this friday to go through a test run for the big day.  Here are some pictures:

We are getting so excited, but still feel like we have so much planning left to do!  AHHH!

Back to the topic of Father's day, my dad and I are very similar in our taste preferences and we have some of the same habits in eating, such as finding something we love and eating that and not much else for long periods of time.  Right now, that food for me is watermelon.  I just can't get enough of it, I eat at least a plate-full just about every day.  His obsession food right now has been Sabra Roasted Pine Nut Hummus with crackers.

This Sabra hummus is delicious, however, I feel like it is loaded with much more oil than is needed, (there are 7 g of fat per 2 tablespoon serving).  And each 10 oz package is a whopping $4 from the grocery store.  I'm guessing my dad goes through two or three of these a week, so I wanted to give him a homemade hummus that was lower in oil and salt, that was less expensive, and that tastes identical.  Challenging huh?  It took me a try or two but I finally found the right combination of ingredients to produce the best homemade hummus ever!

Mock Sabra...

Ingredients:

• Pine Nut Topping
• 2 Tbsp raw pine nuts
• 2 tsp canola oil
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1/4 tsp salt
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• Hummus:
• 2 cans garbanzo beans, drained, liquid reserved
• 1/2 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
• 6 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 cup reserved bean liquid
• 2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 1 Tbsp regular soy sauce and 1 Tbsp water)
• 2 Tbsp water (more to achieve desired consistency)
• 1 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 tsp minced garlic

Directions:

1. In a small cup, mix together all of the pine nut topping ingredients and let sit while you prepare the hummus.
2. In a large food processor, combine all hummus ingredients and process until very smooth.
3. Add water one tablespoon at a time to get desired consistency.
4. Scoop hummus into a shallow and wide tupperware bowl and flatten the top with a spatula.
5. Smear the pine nut topping over the middle.
6. If desired, sprinkle extra dried basil, parsley, and cayenne pepper around the edges of the hummus.
7. Serve chilled with crackers, veggies, or in sandwiches.

Amy's Notes:  This hummus has a great tang to it, and the spices on top with the pine nuts give it wonderful extra flavor.  When you are going to serve the hummus, you can mix together the hummus and the toppings, but I know that we prefer to pick at the toppings without mixing.  The recipe that I have featured makes a very large batch of hummus (see reference picture), so if you do not go through hummus in such a timely fashion as we do at my house, I might suggest that you make a haft batch with only one can of garbanzo beans.

One of my favorite memories with my dad was when I was younger and had a dirty face, or had been crying for one reason or another.  My dad would take me into the bathroom, run the water till it was steaming hot, then dip a washcloth in and ring it out, then put the lightly steaming washcloth on my face.  It's funny how something so simple can make you feel so much better, and I still do that for myself to this day when I get upset.  Happy Father's Day, Dad, I love you!

Hashbrowns with Veggies and Vegan Hollandaise Sauce

On the weekends I love to eat a larger brunch meal that serves as my breakfast and lunch for the day.  Because it covers two meals, I of course like to make something with a bit more effort.  This weekend I was particularly craving hashbrowns with veggies and hollandaise sauce.  In un-nutritarian hollandaise sauce the ingredients would typically include: egg yolks, butter, lemon juice, and spices.  Because the main ingredients are not in my diet, I knew this was going to be challenging.  I searched online for vegan hollandaise sauce recipes and did not find ones that I could make, as they required ingredients that I don't usually keep on hand.  I am not a fan of SAD (Standard American Diet) vegan substitutes such vegan cheese, vegan margarine, and vegan mayo.  I find that they do not taste very good in the first place, and definitely nothing like what they are substituting.  They often times have just as much fat in the vegan option as they do in the SAD original, so I like to avoid these in my everyday cooking.  Included in the recipe below was my version of a hollandaise sauce, but feel free to use your own favorite recipe instead, or just top your hashbrowns with ketsup, salsa, hot sauce, or whatever you prefer.

Hashbrowns with Veggies and Vegan Hollandaise Sauce

Ingredients: (serves 2)

4 small or 2 medium white potatoes, peeled and shredded

2 c mixed cut veggies, your preference

1/4 c non-dairy milk

1/3 c garbonzo beans, or 1/4 c plain hummus

2 T nutritional yeast

1 T mustard

1/4 t tumeric

1 pinch cayenne pepper

1/4 t cumin

Directions: Once the potatoes have been peeled and shredded (I shredded mine in my food processor that has a shredding blade), place the shredded potato in a cheese cloth or thin towel and squeeze out as much excess liquid as you can.  
Prepare a large skillet by heating it over medium heat and spraying it well with a misto (or use very little oil to coat).  Put your shredded potatoes into the skillet and push it to meet the sides and lay flat on the pan.  
While one side is frying (for about 10 minutes), place the non-dairy milk, garbanzo beans, nutritional yeast, mustard, tumeric, cayenne pepper, and cumin in a small food processor, and process until smooth and creamy.  Add salt and pepper to the hollandaise sauce as desired.  
In a separate small skillet, water saute the veggies (I used veggies from my Mexi-salad) until tender.  
Flip the hashbrowns once the bottom is as crispy as you wish.  Allow this side to cook for another 10 minutes or until crispy.   
When done, cut the hashbrowns down the middle with a pizza cutter and place on plates.  Top each with the sauted veggies and the hollandaise sauce.  Enjoy your awesome breakfast!

Amy's Notes: As I said earlier, I used my large food processor to shred the potatoes, and I found that they turned a little pink.  I was thinking my potatoes had gone bad, even though I had just bought them, but I did a bit of research and found that this website explains the phenomenon very well:

"When you cut into the potato, you damage the cell walls that keep everything nice and tidy. The phenols and the enzymes meet the oxygen coming in from the outside world, causing a chemical reaction to take place. This chemical reaction results in - you guessed it - pink potatoes.

This discoloration isn't harmful to us and you can still eat those potatoes - it can just be a bit off-putting to serve a plate of pink potatoes! FYI: This is actually the exact same chemical reaction that makes apples, bananas, and other fruits turn brown and mushy."

So fear not!  Your potatoes are just fine if they turned a little pink like mine did.  Also, feel free to use whatever veggies you want to put on the hashbrowns!  I used my Mexi-salad I made in my last blog post, and some napa cabbage that I've had in my fridge.  I bet onions and mushrooms would be an awesome veggie topping for this!

What is your opinion of food substitutes like soy cheese, vegan cream cheese, and vegan mayo?  Are they really worth how much they tend to cost?

ANK Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

I will keep this blog post short, as I am about to work out before I shower and get ready for my hot date tonight with Kevin for our early anniversary dinner.  He's taking me out to Sangria in Moscow, Idaho, which has some of the best foods I have EVER eaten!  When we've gone before we split baby clams in garlic broth for an appetizer and a pitcher of their wonderful sangria.  Kevin generally has their Seafood Paella that has such a wonderful basil aroma to it, and I have the King and I Shrimp and Chicken, minus the chicken and double the veggies that has a spicy sweet peanut sauce.  Just wonderful food, and I can't wait to celebrate one of the best years of my life with the person I love most in the world.

I have had a bunch of frozen garbanzo beans I've been meaning to use, so I thought a yummy hummus for Super Bowl sounded like the best use for them.  I also had some red peppers I knew I was saving for something good, and this was it.  Hope you enjoy :)

ANK's Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Ingredients:

2 c garbanzo beans

1-2  red bell peppers

1/4 c tahini

1 T sesame oil

1/2 t chili oil

1 T chili powder

1/2 t garlic powder

1/4 t cayenne pepper

1/4 t paprika

1/4 t white pepper

salt to taste

Directions: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.  Place the whole red bell peppers on a foiled baking sheet and place in preheated oven.  Turn the peppers every 5-10 minutes until each side is well roasted and slightly blackened.  Remove from oven and allow to cool enough to handle.  Pierce the bottom of each pepper over the sink and allow for any excess liquid to drain out.  Then peel the skins of the peppers from the flesh and remove the stem and seeded portion.  In a large food processor,  puree the garbanzo beans until very crumbly.  Add the roasted peppers, takini, oils, and spices and process until creamy and well mixed.  Taste and add more spices to the desired taste.  Enjoy dipping veggies and chips in this flavorful hummus!

Amy's notes: This recipe makes quite a lot of hummus, so I'm saving some for me and taking the rest to Kevin's Super Bowl party tomorrow.  Hope everyone enjoys themselves "nutritarian-ly" tomorrow! :) 

What is the restaurant with the best food you've ever eaten?  Where was it and what did you have there?