Need a snack? Make it a healthy one with this fast fix.
-1 cup organic smooth or crunchy peanut butter at room temperature
– 3 Tablespoons local honey
-1 Tablespoon organic un-sulfured molasses
-1-2 teaspoons cinnamon
Bring peanut butter to room temperature.
Mix all ingredients well and serve with fruit or celery sticks.
*if you prefer it thinner, add a small amount of water to desired consistency
Roasted Red Pepper Dip
1, 15-oz far roasted red peppers (or you can roast your own 2-3 large red peppers, de-seeded/cut in half)
1, 15 oz can white beans or chickpeas
1-2 cloves garlic
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp celery seed
dash chili powder
dash paprika
dash salt & pepper
splash olive oil
Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. If mixture looks too thin you can thicken it with chickpea flower or as I did 1/4 cup ground flax-seed meal.
Chill for at least an hour to overnight. Serve with assorted vegetables, crackers, pita chips or toasted baguette slices.
Who needs Red Velvet cake when you can have this savory, beautiful, garnet red dip with fresh, healthy vegetables…and quite festive too!
Beets are very healthy for you, garlic & beans are too. This dip is almost fat-free; the fat that is in it, comes from the olive oil which is good for you as well.
This is another simple recipe, after baking the beets for 45 minutes, the dip only took me 10 minutes to pull together.
This recipe will serve 4-6 people so if you have a larger crowd be sure to double it.
Roasted Beet & Garlic Dip
3 fresh beets, about the size of a plum though any size will do
2-3 cloves garlic unpeeled and roasted along with the beets (you may need to remove them from the oven sooner than the beets though)
enough olive oil to coat beets in roasting pan
sprinkle of salt (I always use Himalayan pink salt for the 84 essential minerals it offers)
1/4 tsp. sage
1/8 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp rosemary
a few grinds or dash of black pepper
1 cup white beans (I used cannellini – it adds creaminess without dairy or fat)
a few tablespoons olive oil added during blending
Oven – 400°
Wash beets, cut ends off, cut beets into quarters, toss in baking pan with enough olive oil to coat, sprinkle with salt-add garlic cloves.
Bake for 45 minutes. Remove garlic cloves if they get dark, set aside to cool.
Remove beets, let cool 10 minutes.
Add beets and remaining ingredients a few at a time, leaving beans until last, to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
Put into bowl, cover and chill at least an hour. Serve with fresh vegetables such as peppers, carrot sticks, celery sticks, broccoli & cauliflower crowns or any other favorite veggies.
While this one isn’t completely healthy, it is a comfort food sort of dip that has been a local hit for as long as I can remember. I’m dedicating this one to my brother who was mentioning recently that he couldn’t find it in stores anymore. While this might not be the healthiest of dips I’ve been sharing, this homemade version is definitely more healthy that a store-bought brand.
I wasn’t brave enough to create my own version so I searched and found one closest to what we’re familiar with out of the Yankee Magazine site. There are only two things I’d do differently which is add a second can of clams (or another 6 oz. if you’re using fresh) and cut the lemon juice back to 1 TBS. instead of 2. I also didn’t have onion juice, though I wonder how easy it is to make?, so I used 1 TBS. onion powder with 2 TBS. clam juice since I saved it in a bowl until I was done mixing.
Here’s the recipe from yankeemagazine.com
Drain the clams, reserving some of the liquid, and mash into the softened cream cheese. Add the remaining ingredients and blend well.
If a thinner dip is preferred, use 1 or 2 tablespoons of the reserved clam liquid to thin the mixture.
Serve with corn chips or potato chips.
1, 16 oz. bag frozen shelled edamame (whole soybeans)
1/2 an avocado, peeled
1 lg or 2 smaller cloves garlic, peeled
small handful fresh parsley (rinsed)
small handful fresh cilantro (rinsed)
1 tsp. lemon juice
3 TBS. olive oil
dash of salt
Add all ingredients to food processor and blend until smooth, add more olive oil if needed. Can serve immediately but the taste gets better when refrigerated for several hours to overnight.
Great with assorted vegetables, pita chips, crackers or tortilla chips.
Like many, I love food, for me it has to be good food; not processed and not junk food.
I usually have good self-control but sometimes I find myself going back for seconds because it merely tastes so good! That is a poor excuse for overeating especially when my stomach has been satisfied the first time around.
This poses the question, do I want seconds because it indeed does taste so good that one serving isn’t possibly enough or is there something missing in my life? If it’s the latter, what is missing? What is it that food is satisfying for me? Why does food make it somehow a little better?
Do you find yourself going in for more than you need? Do you feel uncomfortably full sometimes after you eat? Do you sometimes feel frustrated about where you are in your life, or about not being able to reach your goals as easily or quickly as you wish, do you feel like something is missing or off? The we you feel is often the reason we eat more than we should, or why we eat sugar, carbs, crunchy, chewy, gooey things, or soft, cold, or warming foods and drinks.
Assessing your feelings, writing them in a journal and getting in touch with your innermost feelings will help you to move forward. If you don’t quite know where to start, as a health coach, I work with individuals with exactly this type of behavior, help is always available and affordable. You are worth feeling good, looking good and being healthy.
Gaining control over what and how we eat is something we need to accomplish. When we accomplish that goal first, it makes our big goal easier to reach and new goals more exciting to set….and reach!
Salsa is simple to make and can taste fresh year round. In the summer months when tomatoes are overflowing in the garden and farm stands, I use those but in the winter months it’s pretty easy to make a fresh tasting salsa using good quality canned tomatoes. When tomatoes are not in season, canned actually tastes better than the bland, hard tomatoes you find in the store due to the fact that canned are picked at peak ripeness. Try to choose organic, low sodium brands when purchasing canned tomatoes.
Here’s the recipe:
1 – 15 oz can diced or petite tomatoes (or about 4-5 large fresh when in season, diced small)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, diced small
juice from 1/4 of a lime
1/4 tsp. Himalayan pink salt
few grinds black pepper (or shakes)
drizzle of olive oil
1/2 or 1 whole green bell pepper, diced (depending on size)
1 fresh jalapeno pepper, diced
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl, stir gently mixing well.
Can serve immediately or refrigerate a few hours to a day or two. Serve with tortilla chips. I prefer Xochitl chips as they are organic, no GMO’s, they’re thin and crispy…delicious!
If you’re in a hurry or don’t have all the ingredients, you can share, if you’re willing, your sister-in-law’s home canned salsa!
The temps today have been quite cold and according to the weatherman, there’s no sign of a warm-up in the near future. Feeling the chill and knowing that a warm dish for dinner would be welcomed by all, I decided to make my version of jambalaya. It was slightly spicy, warming and filling.
1 link smoked sausage ( I like to use organic, no nitrates or nitrites)
1 lg onion, chopped
1 cup white wine – not cooking wine
3 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 – 15 oz can diced tomatoes (again, I like to use organic, low salt, petite diced)
1 TBS parsley & basil
1/2 tsp. thyme & sage
1/2 lb. bay scallops
1/2 lb. shrimp
1/2 lb. haddock or white fish of choice
1 cup fresh or frozen Okra
1 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 to 1 whole jalapeno pepper, diced
1 TBS cilantro
1 1/2 cups brown rice cooked in 4 cups water for 45 minutes.
Slice smoked sausage thinly, brown in pan with a little olive oil, add wine, onions, garlic, onion and garlic powders, tomatoes, parsley, basil, thyme and sage. Simmer low for 35 minutes. Add remaining ingredients cook 5 minutes, add cooked rice and simmer 10 minutes longer or until liquid is absorbed. Serve!
*Allow each person to add a dash of hot sauce to their individual bowl if preferred.
1 ripe avocado
1 clove garlic
1/4 of a sweet onion
1/2 small green bell pepper, diced small
6-8 cherry tomatoes chopped or 3 Tbs of good quality, organic canned tomatoes
juice of 1/2 lime
drizzle of olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt and a few grinds of black pepper
Mash avocado until smooth and creamy adding lime juice and olive oil to help make it smooth. Add remaining ingredients and mix gently but well.
Chill for at least an hour or several hours. Goes well with tortilla chips and carrot, bell pepper or other veggies. It tastes delicately nutty and fresh. Enjoy!
2 cups plain Greek yogurt
1/2 tsp. Himalayan pink salt
1/4-1/2 tsp black pepper
1 TBS. dried dill (or 3 TBS, fresh, chopped dill)
1 TBS. chopped mint leaves
1 TBS dried cilantro (or 3-4 TBS. fresh cilantro, chopped)
1 tsp. dried tarragon
dash of cayenne
Mix all ingredients well. Refrigerate overnight. Stir and serve with vegetable sticks, chips or pita chips. It’s also great dolloped onto chicken or fish.
Every New Dawn 