Roasted Butternut Squash and Garlic Dip - Whole Living

• Yield Makes 4 cups
  Serves 16

Ingredients

• 1 butternut squash, halved and seeds scooped
• 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• Coarse salt
• 1 large head garlic, halved crosswise
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 Tbsp tahini
• 1 tsp turmeric
• Cayenne, to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drizzle cut sides of squash with oil and season with salt. Arrange cut side down on a baking sheet. Arrange garlic head halves in the center of parchment-lined foil. Drizzle with oil, sandwich, and wrap tightly. Transfer to baking sheet with squash and roast until squash and garlic are tender, about 45 minutes.
   
2. When cool enough to handle, scoop squash flesh and squeeze each clove of roasted garlic. Transfer to a food processor with oil, lemon juice, tahini, and turmeric and process until smooth. Season with salt and cayenne. Store dip in an airtight container up to five days.
   

Decadent Fruit Dip

Ingredients

• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 ripe bananas
• 2 teaspoons coconut flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (Optional)

Instructions

Put all the ingredients into a food processor or blender, except for the cocoa powder, and blend until smooth. If desired, pour out half of the mixture and add the cocoa powder to the food processor with the other half of the dip.  Process again until the dip is well mixed.  Now you have 1 vanilla dip and 1 chocolate dip!  Makes 1 cup of vanilla and 1 cup of chocolate.  After some time in the refrigerator, the dip will become even thicker.

We dipped strawberries and apples into the Decadent Fruit Dip on Saturday

Maple Macadamia Nut Butter - PaleOMG

Prep time: 1 min

Cook time: 7 mins

Total time: 8 mins

Serves: 5+

Ingredients

• 2 cups raw macadamia nuts
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon maple extract (optional)
• pinch of salt

Instructions

This is legit easy. You don’t even need extra oil since macadamia nuts are oily lil b*tches.

1. Add macadamia nuts to a food processor and let run for about 3 minutes until your macadamia nuts have become a paste and the fat has begun to release more.
2. While the food processor is still running, slowly add your maple syrup to help incorporate.
3. Then add your maple extract.
4. Then add your salt.
5. Turn food processor off and taste to see if you would like it more maple-y or a bit more salt.
6. Add more as needed.
7. Consume with fruit, with a spoon, or finger (that’s what I do)

Chocolate Cashew Butter - PaleOMG

Prep time: 2 mins

Cook time: 5 mins

Total time: 7 mins

Serves: 4+

Ingredients

• 2 cups dry roasted cashews
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil (you can use walnut, almond, etc.)
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons raw honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

1. Add your roasted cashews to your food processor and turn on. Let the food processor do it’s magic.
2. When the cashews are become thicker and almost ball up into a ball of happiness, add your oil directly to your cashews while the food processor is still running.
3. Once your get a runnier nut butter, turn food processor off, then add your cocoa powder, honey, vanilla, and salt.
4. Turn back on to let everything incorporate.
5. Add more oil if you want a more runny nut butter.
6. Consume with anything. Apples. Carrots, On a burger. Serious. I just eat it by the spoonful. I’m classy.

Strawberry Mango Salsa

Ingredients
3/4 Cup Strawberries, finely diced
3/4 Cup Mangos, finely diced
1/4 Cup Red Onion, finely chopped
6 Basil Leaves, finely chopped
1 TBSP Fresh Lemon Juice
1/4 tsp. Sea Salt
1/4 tsp. Black Pepper

Instructions
Combine all ingredients and allow to sit in the refrigerator for a few hours, covered.

Tomato Mango Salsa - Food Renegade

Ingredients

• 1 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped mango
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 green onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon honey (where to buy honey)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 3 tablespoons plain yogurt (where to buy yogurt starter cultures)

Instructions
1) Mix the tomatoes, mango, cilantro, and green onion by hand in a bowl.
2) In a separate small mixing bowl, combine the honey, lime juice, and yogurt until smooth.
3) Toss the tomato-mango mixture with the yogurt dressing to create your tomato mango salsa. Refrigerate until ready to serve. ENJOY!

Jalepeño Popper Dip - Food Renegade

Ingredients

• 1 lb of homemade, full-fat cottage cheese
• 1 C. of mayonnaise (where to buy mayo made with healthy oils)
• 8 slices of cooked uncured bacon from foraged hogs, diced (where to find bacon from foraged hogs)
• 5 jalepeño peppers, diced
• 1/2 tsp. cumin (where to buy organic, non-irradiated spices)
• 1 1/2 C. cheddar cheese, shredded (where to buy cheese from grass-fed cows)
• 1/2 C. coconut flour (where to buy coconut flour)
• 1/2 C. almond flour (where to buy almond flour)
• 1 C. Parmesan cheese, shredded
• 6 tbsp. butter from grass-fed cows, melted (where to buy pastured butter)
• 1/4 C. cilantro, cut

Instructions
Preheat oven to 375F degrees.
Combine the cottage cheese, mayonnaise, bacon, jalapeños, cumin and cheddar cheese in a mixing bowl. Pour the mixture into a casserole dish or 9×13 baking dish.
Combine the coconut flour, almond flour, Parmesan cheese and melted butter in a bowl, stirring until the mixture is evenly moist. Sprinkle over the top of the baking dish.
Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes,  or until the top is golden brown. Let rest for a few minutes, then sprinkle the top with fresh cilantro. Serve your jalepeño popper dip with homemade corn tortilla chips, Grain-Free Garlic Rosemary Crackers, or sliced vegetables (we like jicama).

Perfect Guacamole

 Ingredients

• 2 ripe avocados
• 1/2 red onion, minced (about 1/2 cup)
• 1-2 serrano chiles, stems and seeds removed, minced
• 2 tablespoons cilantro leaves, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon of fresh lime or lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• A dash of freshly grated black pepper
• 1/2 ripe tomato, seeds and pulp removed, chopped

Instructions

1 Cut avocados in half. Remove seed. Scoop out avacado from the peel, put in a mixing bowl.

2 Using a fork, mash the avocado. Add the chopped onion, cilantro, lime or lemon, salt and pepper and mash some more. Chili peppers vary individually in their hotness. So, start with a half of one chili pepper and add to the guacamole to your desired degree of hotness. Be careful handling the peppers; wash your hands thoroughly after handling and do not touch your eyes or the area near your eyes with your hands for several hours.

Keep the tomatoes separate until ready to serve.

Remember that much of this is done to taste because of the variability in the fresh ingredients. Start with this recipe and adjust to your taste.

3 Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the guacamole to prevent oxidation from the air reaching it. Refrigerate until ready.

4 Just before serving, add the chopped tomato to the guacamole and mix.

Serves 2-4.

Variations

For a very quick guacamole just take a 1/4 cup of salsa and mix it in with your mashed avocados.

You don't need to have tomatoes in your guacamole.

To extend a limited supply of avocados, add either sour cream or cottage cheese to your guacamole dip. Purists may be horrified, but so what? It tastes great. In fact, guacamole with a little cottage cheese added to it is my favorite.

Chickpea Hummus

Ingredients

·        15 or 16 oz can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed and drained

·        1/4 c  tahini (sesame seed paste)

·        3 T water

·        2 T lemon juice

·        1 T extra virgin olive oil

·        1 clove garlic, halved

·        ½  tsp kosher salt

·        ½ tsp ground cumin

·        ¼ tsp cayenne pepper

·        1 T chopped parsley

·         Lemon juice

Instructions

1.     In food processor, combine beans, tahini, water 2 T lemon juice, oil, garlic, salt, cumin and pepper.  Cover and process until smooth. 

2.       Transfer to medium bowl.  Stir in parsley.  Stir in additional lemon juice to taste.