Artichoke and Kale Hemp Seed Dip

We have been big fans of the artichoke dip from The Kind Diet, but at the end of the day, you are still eating a whole bunch of fatty oily type mayo even if it is Vegenaise. This dish is rich and creamy too but the fat comes from cashews and hemp seeds instead, a much healthier and beneficial alternative.  I’ve also added crushed red pepper, nutritional yeast, and turmeric instead of mustard.  We like to top any dip off with some panko and some sort of seasoning like paprika or italian seasoning.

Serve the dip with tortilla chips, pita chips, or make your own crostini by slicing a whole wheat baguette into 1/4 in slices, brush with olive oil and garlic, and bake in the oven at 425 until toasted golden brown.

Ingredients

• 1 cup plain unsweetened non-dairy milk
• 3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 large cloves garlic
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 2 Tbs nutritional yeast
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• ¾ cup raw cashews, soaked
• 1/4 cup hemp seeds
• 2 cups frozen artichoke hearts, measured frozen, but let them thaw before cooking
• 2 cups loosely packed chopped kale
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

• 1/4 c panko crumbs
• paprika or italian seasoning

1. Soak the cashew for 2-5 hours.  When ready to use drain and discard water.
2. Preheat oven to 425.  Drain Use an immersion blender or a high speed blender to to blend the cashews, non-dairy milk, lemon juice, garlic, sea salt, turmeric, nutritional yeast, black pepper, and hemp seeds until completely smooth.
3. In a large bowl mix the cashew cream through the artichoke hearts.  Blend until mostly smooth leaving a few chunks for texture.  Add the chopped kale and pulse the blender but don’f fully blend smooth in order to keep a slightly chunkier texture.
4. Transfer to an oven proof dish and sprinkle the panko crumbs evenly over the dip.  Lightly sprinkle seasoning of your choice.  
5. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the edges are starting to get brown.  

Nacho Cheese Kale Chips

I got a dehydrator this year for Christmas and I have been making multiple experimental batches of kale chips.  It's really awesome how easy it is to toss some kale and seasonings together, throw it in the dehydrator and have an amazing snack. 

After playing around with lots of different recipes I found online I settled on this combination as my favorite.  It's a mix of a few different ideas I got from different recipes but think that it's just the right combo.  I find that the lacinto kale works best for this recipe because the cashew mixture tends to get really clumpy in the curly kale.  With the lacinto kale you can lay them out flatter for a better chip and a faster drying time.  If you are in a hurry you can get by by soaking the cashews for 2 hours, but the longer you soak them the creamier the sauce will be and the more even of a coating you'll get. 

My favorite part is the freshness of the red bell pepper that's in every bite!  They really do have a nacho type flavor and the cashew coating gives the chips some crunch, substance, and serious flavor.   If you like Trader Joe's Kale Chips, you'll like these.  I bascially was shooting for something that tasted like the TJs kind.

Serve for an appetizer, party snack, or store in a airtight contain for snacking.  We haven't been able to save any so far and end up eating them straight out of the dehydrator!

• 1 bunch Lacinto "Dinosaur" Kale
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 3/4 cup of cashews, soaked in water for at least 2 hours. 
• 1 medium red bell pepper, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• a few dashes of hot sauce
• Salt & pepper to taste  

1.  Wash and dry your Kale and then tear into 3-4 in pieces.  (I don't have a salad spinner so i just lay the kale out on the dehydrator trays to dry.)
2. Drain the cashews and combine with the garlic, red bell pepper, nutritional yeast, cayenne, hot sauce, salt, and pepper.  
3. Using an immersion blender or a high speed blender, blend until completely smooth.
4. Toss the kale in the cashew sauce in a large bowl evenly working the cashew sauce through all the kale.  Use your hands to evenly coat the kale pieces
5. Arrange on dehydrator trays as flatly as possible and dehyrate at 160 degrees for about 4-6 hours.  The chips are done when the cashew coating is no longer soft.  The chips are awesome when they are still slightly warm but the longer you let them cool the more the cashew coating hardens.  NOTE:  These are not raw.  If you'd like to keep them raw you need to dehydrate them below 110 degrees.

sausage & kale scramble

A recent goal for myself has been to get more greens into every meal of the day, including breakfast.  This "scramble" has a healthy dose of baby kale, yellow peppers, shrooms, onions, and some spicy "sausage" for a breakfast kick.  

I paired that with some peanut butter mixed with chia seeds on sesame wheat crackers sprinkled with bee pollen.

Sausage & Kale Scramble

Serves 1

• 1 spicy "sausage" patty heated and crumbled
• 1 handful baby kale
• 1/4 of a yellow pepper
• 1 handful sliced mushrooms
• 1/4 of a small onion sliced
• 1 tsp coconut oil
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Sautee shrooms, peppers, and onions over medium high heat in the coconut oil.  
2. Add baby kale last after the first three ingredients are cooked and sautee until wilted. 
3. Remove from heat and mix with sausage crumbles.

farmers market feast

A bike ride to the local farmer's market on Hilton Head Island, SC yielded many organic and locally grown finds.  Armed with some brussels sprouts, shitake mushrooms, and sweet potatoes, I threw together a summery take on my very first post, Cold Night Comfort Food.

I followed the same recipe as the previous post for the brussels sprouts and mash.  Try getting a bite of both the sprouts and mash in the same mouthful.  The touch of maple syrup really brings both sides together nicely.  

For the sautéed  veggies I simple sautéed a 1/4 of an onion, about 8 mushrooms sliced thinly, and a handful kale with some olive oil per serving.

...and it all tasted SO FRESH!!!!

stoplight juice

Red, yellow, green and go forth with a little extra immunity boost from this delicious citrus infused juice.

Serves 2

• 1 beet
• 1 cup of kale
• 1 orange, cubed
• 3 carrots
• 1 celery rib
• 1 green apple

broccoli kale super juice

This juiced is packed with fresh nutrients from a large assortment of fresh fruits and veggies. Topping the list is your green contribution kale and broccoli. Don't worry, between the apple and the carrots there's plenty of sweetness to go around. The lime brings it all together with a little citrus zip.  You won't even realize you're drinking broccoli but your bloodstream sure will.

Serves 2

• 2 sweet red apples (Gala etc)
• 3 celery ribs
• 3 carrots
• 1 cup of broccoli
• 2 cups of kale
• 1/2 a lime

Berry Greens

We a few strawberries and a carton of blackberries left over from our recent experiments with the Vodka Zinger.  (Update: try blood oranges!)  I thought I'd see what it tasted like adding them to our daily green juice.  The smell was unbelievable when the strawberries went through the juicer!

I swapped out an apple for the berries and matched that with a cucumber, four stalks of celery, a handful of spinach, and two cups of kale.  Serves 2.

my first juice

Having a small apartment in NYC there are not many things that I can think of to ask for during Christmastime that we have room for.  But this year I had my heart set on a juicer and thank you Mom and Dad for my our new juicer!  Our Breville Compact Juice Fountain is the perfect juicer for a small apartment.  Compact but powerful and easy to clean, I love it!  This is the first juice I made, and it's also a great introductory juice for anyone looking to take their first try into green juices.d 

TIP:  Apples are a sweet base for a great tasting green juice.  Start with sweet red varieties like honeycrisp or gala when first trying out greeen juice to up the sweet factor.  Experiment with what you like.   I usually use two granny smith apples now because I like the tartness!

Veggie Juice 101

Serves 2

• 2 apples
• 3 celery stalks
• 1/2 a cucumber
• 3 carrots
• 2-2 1/2 cups packed kale (I used lacinto here)