Awesome Pea and White Bean Dip! May 31, 2012

 

I know what you are thinking, peas and white beans??? That CANNOT taste good! I know, I was skeptical at first too. Trust me it is delicious! In fact, I have made this dip three times in the last two weeks and have been devouring it almost every single day, it is that good!

 

Reminiscent in color and taste to guacamole, this dip has hints of lemon, lots of yummy cumin, and unlike the creamy avocado counterpart, it has no fat. Do not get me wrong, I love me some guacamole! But it is nice sometimes to have an alternative that you can feel a tad less guilty about when you devour half of it in one sitting!

 

For this dip I really like using raw peas (I buy the shelled raw peas from Trader Joe’s) but frozen peas would work just fine too. Also, I keep this recipe pretty simple, but like guacamole, there are a million ways you can vary it and make it your own. I have added diced tomato and red onion, you could add some jalapenos to spice it up, and it would probably be good with a summery twist by adding mango, pineapple, or strawberries!

 

Enjoy!

 

Awesome Pea and White Bean Dip

by Katie Barlow

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 0 minutes

 

Ingredients (about 5 cups)

• 10 oz fresh or frozen peas
• 1 can white cannellini beans
• Juice from 1 lemon
• 2 green onions, chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Place everything into a food processor and pulse until finely ground.

Place in an airtight container and store the dip in the fridge.

Enjoy with your favorite veggies, chips, crackers, etc!

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Cherry Chocolate Teff Muffins May 1, 2012

 

Ahhhhhh….it is amazing how life happens and before you know it four months have just flown by! Well I am back and with a really yummy recipe. I got the idea for these muffins from this recipe here on the Wholefoods website. However, I wanted to make mine vegan (of course) and sugar free. To do this I replaced the eggs with flax seed and the sugar with date paste and Vanilla Sunwarrior protein powder. I was a little skeptical of how it would turn out but was surprisingly pleased! You can of course, substitute the  protein powder for stevia, which I think would work well also.

 

These muffins are earthy, surprisingly moist, with just the perfect amount of sweetness from the chocolate chips and tartness from the dried cherries. The combination of the date paste with the protein powder makes these muffins decadent enough to be eaten as dessert but healthy enough to be enjoyed guilt free as a breakfast on the go. I am really happy with how they turned out and this is definitely a recipe I will make again!

 

One note on this recipe, it does call for a little bit of whole wheat flour but if you are gluten free you can probably easily substitute a gluten free flour blend and add 1 tsp of xanthan gum!

 

 

 

   Chocolate Cherry Teff Muffins

Makes 12 Muffins

(Vegan, Sugar Free, Egg Free, Dairy Free)

 

Ingredients:

1 cup teff flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour (or a gluten free flour blend)

1/2 cup almond flour

1 scoop Vanilla Sunwarrior Protein Powder (optional, you can replace this with stevia or just omit)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup dates, soaked in boiling water for about 15 minutes

2 tablespoons ground flax seed mixed with 6 tablespoons of water

1/2-3/4 cup water

1/4 cup coconut oil

8oz dried cherries

1 cup mini chocolate chips (I used the Enjoy Life brand)

 

Directions:

1 Preheat oven to 350degF and grease your muffin pan.

2. Soak your dates and mix your flax seeds with water.

3. In a medium bowl combine the teff flour, whole wheat flour, almond flour, protein powder (or stevia), baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt and mix to combine.

4. To make the date paste, place the soaked dates in a blender and add just enough of the soaking water to cover the dates. Blend until smooth. Add the date paste to a separate large bowl.

5. To the date paste, add the ground flax seed mixture, 1/2 cup water, and coconut oil, and mix to combine.

6. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold with a spatula until just combined. If the batter seems too dry add the extra 1/4 cup of water.

7. Gently fold in the dried cherries and chocolate chips.

8. Spoon mixture into muffin cups and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick or knife comes out clean.

9. Remove from oven and let the muffins sit for 5 minutes, then take them out of the muffin pan and cool to room temperature.

Kitchen Sink Bars September 23, 2011

 

We are going camping this weekend! Ok we are bringing an RV, does it still count? As always, I am in charge of the food. Camping food should be portable, simple to make and eat, and filling. Since we have an RV we have a little more flexibility because we have an oven, a stovetop, and a microwave. I know, we are totally cheating!! Although, I do not really plan to use anything except maybe the microwave. Here is what we are bringing for food for our two day camping trip:

 

Chia Oatmeal

Bananas

Tons of Fruit

Rainbow Kale Salad

Field Roast Sausages

Sprouted Buns

Hummus and raw veggies

sweet potatoes

Sprouted bread

peanut butter

jelly

Collard greens (For banana peanut butter collard wraps)

vegan marshmallows

chocolate

vegan graham crackers

and these bars…

 

I call them the kitchen sink bars because they have so many different things in them. I kind of love that about them. They are also moist unlike most energy bars, and the best part is they have no sugar! They are sweetened with date paste and a little bit of brown rice syrup! These are definitely bars I feel good about eating and giving out to the people I love!

 

One note about these bars, I used dried cherries and apricots because that is what I had on hand and I do not love the combination. Especially with the little bit of chocolate I put in these bars, it is a bit too tart. Next time I might just do cherries and leave out the apricots, or do apricots and leave out the chocolate, or make them tropical with some papaya and pineapple!

 

As always, the measurements here are approximate. I am really bad about actually taking the time to measure out specific ingredients so take this recipe as a general guideline and feel free to add less or more of something to suit your preference and taste! Also, substitutions here are really easy! The only think I would not change is the dates and the quinoa flakes/oats measurements. Everything else is fair game!

 

Kitchen Sink Bars

Vegan, Soy Free, Gluten Free, Can be Raw

Makes 16 Bars

 

8oz pitted dates

1 1/2 cups quinoa flakes or old fashioned oats, finely ground

1/2 cup hazelnuts, finely ground

1 cup pecans, finely ground

2 small handfuls dried cherries, chopped

2 small handfuls dried apricots, chopped

1/4 cup hemp seeds

1/4 cup sprouted buckwheat groats

1/4 cup coconut flakes

1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips (I use enjoy life brand)

2 dashes cinnamon

3 tablespoon brown rice syrup

 

1. Cover the dates with water and let sit a couple of hours until plump and soft.

2. Place the dates and water in a blender and blend until smooth.

3. Add the date paste and the rest of the ingredients to a large bowl and mix well.

4. Heat the oven to 350degF and grease an 8” square pan with coconut oil, or line it with parchment paper.

5. Pour the mixture into the pan and spread evenly. Bake for thirty minutes until dry but not hard. Cool to room temperature before slicing into bars.

 

Raw version: replace the flakes/oats with buckwheat groats and dehydrate in a dehydrator until firm.