Tag: snacks

Roasted Carrot Hummus

Chef KimLeave a Comment on Roasted Carrot Hummus

Ooh My! You will adore this recipe roasted carrot hummus if you like savory snacks and creamy spreads that can be topped off with a variety of veggies and sprouts. This savory hummus recipe is is quick and easy to blend together and if you don’t have tie to roast the carrots, just shred some raw carrots and add a little sprinkling of dried herbs to ramp up the flavors.  For traditional hummus flavor keep the Mediterranean spices, but for a creative edge, try garlic with rosemary and thyme.

When roasting carrots, if you cut the carrots into similar size pieces, they will cook evenly within a set time. when I roast vegetables I will typically roast a large quantity to have ready to use in other dishes or as sides. So fill up your baking sheet and get roasting, use a portion for this recipe.

To roast carrots, cut and toss with a little olive oil or to be oil-free, use broth or coconut aminos to coat the carrots. Sprinkle with salt and dried herbs and roast at 375-400 for 20-30 minutes. Length of cooking time will depend on the size of your pieces and the temperature.

When they are fork tender, they are ready. Use some in this recipe and save the remaining pieces for adding to a grain wellness bowl or even blended with some broth into a rich and creamy soup.

Print Recipe

Roasted Carrot Hummus

A perfect dip or spread, packed with a nutritional punch and gentle sweetness.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Snack
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Keyword: carrots, chickpeas, dip, hummus, spread, tahini, white bean
Servings: 4
Author: Chef Kim

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup roasted carrots mashed
  • 1 ½ cups or 1 can cooked chickpeas
  • 3 T tahini
  • 3 T lemon juice
  • 1 T cumin
  • 2-6 T water
  • 1 T olive oil optional
  • ½ tsp sea salt

Instructions

  • Carrots can be roasted or raw in this hummus.
  • To roast, cut carrots in half or in large chunks, toss with some olive oil or broth and place on a baking sheet. Roast at 400 for 20-30 minutes. (Roast a big batch to eat and keep out ½ cup for this recipe)
  • If using raw, shred the carrots before continuing.
  • Combine carrots, chickpeas and remaining ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Start with the least amount of water and add more water if needed, to reach the smoothness and consistency desired.
  • Transfer to a serving bowl to use as a dip or spread onto toast, tortillas or collard leaves and pile high with chopped vegetables and avocado and roll up to make wraps.
  • Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Quick Whole Food Snacks To Have On Hand:

Chef KimLeave a Comment on Quick Whole Food Snacks To Have On Hand:

Whole fruits and fruit salad

Raw Vegetable sticks or sliced, in separate containers ready to go.

Thinly sliced root vegetables, tossed with aminos or a little olive or coconut oil spray, baked until crispy chips

Dates stuffed with a whole almond or pecan or nut butter and kept frozen. This is like caramel candy.

Trail mix– combine nut and seeds mixture with chopped dried fruits, cacao nibs and coconut flakes, optionally season with spices, cayenne and salt

Kale chips– Tear leaves off the stem, massage with olive oil or aminos and sprinkle with herbs/spices, salt and toss. Or for a sweet salty chip toss with a teaspoon of coconut sugar and salt. Bake at 300 for 15 minutes, turn and bake another 5-10 checking so they don’t burn. If you have a dehydrator, dry overnight.

Popcorn – toss with 1 T each of coconut oil and maple syrup, sprinkle with cinnamon

Popcorn – toss with coconut aminos and nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavor

Spiced nuts/seeds – toss choice of nuts/seeds with coconut aminos, garlic powder and cayenne or a little maple syrup and water, sprinkled with cinnamon, cardamom, turmeric and pepper, bake at 325 until dry and crisp.

 Fruit Sorbet – 1 frozen banana, 1 cup frozen cherries or berries, ¼ cup dairy free milk blended together on high speed until smooth, thick and creamy soft serve texture. Use a food processor if you don’t have a high speed blender.

Gluten-free Pumpkin Molasses Ginger Cookies

Chef KimLeave a Comment on Gluten-free Pumpkin Molasses Ginger Cookies
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil, soft
  • 3/4 cup coconut sugar
  • 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1/4 cup molasses
  • 1 cup oat flour
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 1/2 cup tapioca flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon clove powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon pink or grey salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Use a blender to mix the coconut oil, coconut sugar, pumpkin and molasses together until smooth. In a mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and stir to mix well. Then add the pumpkin mixture and stir with a spatula or wooden spoon, just until the flour is completely incorporated. The dough is a little thin, so use a 2 tablespoon scoop to spoon the dough onto parchment lined cookie sheets. Sprinkle a little coconut or cane sugar over each mound of dough. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the cookies start to crisp around the edges. Let cool and enjoy!

No Sugar Pumpkin Muffins

Chef KimLeave a Comment on No Sugar Pumpkin Muffins
  • 1 14 oz can of pumpkin puree
  • 2 ripe bananas
  • 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • ½ tsp pumpkin spice
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3 cups oat flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • Optional stir in: ½ c chopped cranberries and/or 1/3 c pumpkin seeds or chocolate chips

 

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the pumpkin, bananas, applesauce and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine the oat flour, spice, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add cranberries if using, and coat with flour mixture.

Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and mix with a spoon until the dry ingredients are completely incorporated.

Lightly spray or line a muffin pan with papers. Divide batter between muffin cups and bake for 30 minutes. Let cool before removing muffins from the pan.

Notes: Spelt or Einkorn flour can be substituted if gluten is not an issue, You can make your own apple puree by blending a chopped apple with a little water and adding to the recipe.  To make your own oat flour, grind rolled oats in a blender until fine.

Turning to Turmeric

Chef KimLeave a Comment on Turning to Turmeric

Here are a couple recipes to enhance your health using this powerful and delicious spice. Fresh or powdered, Turmeric can boost your immune system and curb inflammation.  There have been over a hundred scientific studies done to determine its powerful potential as an anti-cancer nutrient and has been shown to be superior in its ability to reduce systemic inflammation.  So finding ways to incorporate this spice into your daily routine can serve up some serious medicinal side affects.  Food as medicine is the best way to improve your health. Pairing the turmeric with a little black pepper in recipes will increase its absorption in the body giving you a better outcome.  Some studies indicate that the concentration of insoluble oxalates in turmeric could be troublesome for people with an oxalate sensitivity or who are prone to kidney stones, and should not consume more than 1 Tablespoon of turmeric a day.

Golden Almond Milk

  • 2 cups of plant milk (almond, cashew, hemp, oat)
  • 1 teaspoon of turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon of honey
  • pinch of black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a small pan and whisk until combined. Warm over med-low heat until warmed through. This can also be combined in a blender and blended on high for two minutes until warm. Serve in a mug and enjoy!

Golden Raw Overnight Oats

  • One recipe of Golden Almond Milk
  • 1 cup gluten free rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup sunflower or pumpkin seeds or mixture
  • dried fruit of your choice ( cherries, figs, raisins, goji berries)
  • fresh fruit of your choice ( banana, apple, mango, orange, berries)

Place oats and seeds in a mixing bowl or large jar. Pour milk over oats and mix well. Cover and place in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, take your desired amount of soaked oats and seeds and place in a bowl. Top with your favorite fresh and dried fruits.  Easy and Yummy!

Turmeric Almond Balls

  • 1 cup of almond butter ( can substitute another nut or seed butter)
  • 1 Tablespoon of turmeric
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/4 -1/2 cup oats
  • 1/4 cup hemp seeds or sesame seeds
  • 1/4 cup raisins
  • 1/4 cup chopped nuts or pumpkin seeds

In a mixing bowl, combine the almonds butter, spices and honey. Mix well. Then add in the remaining ingredients and stir well to mix.  Form into balls.  Dough should hold together when pressed, if too sticky add more oats or seeds. These are great as travel snacks, on the go, in lunches to as an after school /work snack.

Spring into Health

Chef KimLeave a Comment on Spring into Health

Well, I wish it was as easy as it sounds.  Springing into health is more of a journey that takes patience and persistence before we see any results and habits change. It kind of reminds me of our Wisconsin ‘Spring”, we have to wait through the cold and still sometimes freezing temps until it really feels like Spring.  Even though the temps are still cold, the longer days and more sunshine, give us incentive to come out of hibernation and get ready to be more active and focus on healthy lifestyle choices, whether that includes walking or running around the lake, hiking, riding the bike paths, getting out on the water in some form or another, participating in team sports and daily choosing healthy foods for meals and snacks.

For me, being active and eating the healthiest foods comes easiest when it is warm outside. [ I did take a vacation to Florida in March and was so thankful for the sunshine on my skin, walking miles on the beach morning and night, and for all the fresh fruit and vegetables that were in season at the you-pick farms.]  I am so ready for spring. So as we start to warm up here in Wisconsin, I want to encourage you to make a plan…

Take a quick evaluation of how you want to feel better, sleep better, eat better, have fun better. If you write that list down, you are more likely to do something about it. Then make a plan to incorporate one activity of movement a day, that will raise your heart rate for a few minutes. More and more studies are coming out that debunk the “rule” of having to do an hour of aerobic exercise for it to be of any benefit. Instead small bursts of exercise that raise heart rate are very beneficial and do not take hours of your time. Next add more green leafy vegetables to your daily meals or snacks, try them in a green smoothie, as a wrap instead of bread for sandwich filling, blended with an avocado and lemon juice for a dip with other vegetables, sauteed with coconut oil and garlic, chopped and mixed in with some raw kraut, wrapped around a banana or spread with almond butter or hummus and rolled. By adding in high nutrient-dense snacks and foods, your body will thank you with more energy, better focus, better sleep, better weight and overall well-being.  With small steps toward replacing empty calorie foods that are processed and full of additives, with more nutrient rich whole foods, you will spring into greater health!

A person with health has many dreams, a person without health has but one dream.