The BEST Vegan "Crab" Dip Ever.

This may easily be one of my favorite dips of all time. 

Adapted ever so slightly from PractiGantic's recipe, 

you won't be able to stop making this and sharing it with everyone you know. 

Best if prepared the night before, or has a few hours to sit before serving.

Vegan Crab Dip (takes about 25-30 min to prepare):

28 oz heart of palm (found canned near canned artichokes etc.)
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

16 oz vegan cream cheese, softened (Kite Hill highly recommended for best taste)
1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise 

1 red bell pepper diced small

4 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 cup red onion, diced small

3 tbsp green onions, diced

4 oz pimiento, drained and diced small
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
dash of cayenne pepper
dash of freshly ground sea salt
a few dashes of Old Bay Seasoning

First, mince the garlic, then drain and chop the heart of palm into varying shapes and sizes to act as the crab in the dip. Don't worry if some starts to shred, as you sautee it this will happen to some pieces and that is perfectly fine.

Next you're going to sautee the garlic and heart of palm in the olive oil over low heat until the heart of palm browns. Keeping the heat low, allow this to occur as you prep the remainder of the dip, stirring with a spatula occasionally.

For the next steps - if you're short on time, you can just add all of the ingredients (except Old Bay) together in a bowl while the heart of palm sautees. But, I find doing it in the following order allows the seasonings to flavor the cream cheese and mayo base the best. 

First add the cream cheese and mayonnaise to a large mixing bowl and combine together. Then add the Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice and mix well.

Next, add all of the dry ingredients (except the Old Bay) to the dip, mix together well, then set aside to marinate while you prep the rest of the ingredients. Dry Ingredients: paprika, oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, freshly ground sea salt.

Head back over to the heart of palm, add a light dash of Old Bay Seasoning and a grind of pepper, stir together well, and continue to let brown.

Next, dice all the veggies (red bell pepper, red onion, green onion, pimientos), and add them to the dip as well and stir together.

By now your heart of palm should be almost ready. Add another dash of Old Bay and continue to sautee until ready. Then remove from the heat and let cool.

Once cooled, fold the heart of palm into the dip and mix together well. I enjoy serving this dip cold after it's had the chance to sit for a few hours first, or overnight, but sometimes it's just too hard to wait! Enjoy!

Dairy-Free Creamy Queso Dip

One of my favorite recipes, made entirely of veggies and whole foods, 

it's tastes so good, it's so versatile, and so healthy too!

Dairy-Free Creamy Queso Dip:

3 organic russet potatoes
3 organic carrots
1 organic small yellow onion
1 organic red pepper
1/2 cup organic cashews
lemon juice from 1/2 an organic lemon
15oz diced tomatoes and green chillies

Optional: 1/2 or whole packet of taco seasoning
Optional: organic diced jalapeño


Peel the potatoes, carrots, and onion and deseed the pepper. Add them all to a pot of boiling water along with the cashews and boil until potatoes, carrots, and cashews are soft. About 15-20 min.

Set aside about 1 cup of of the water used for boiling incase you need to thin out the dip, and then add the drained cooked veggies, cashews, and lemon juice to a high speed blender or food processor and blend until smooth, adding about a tablespoon of reserved water at a time to thin out only if needed.

Once blended, add to a small sauce pot over low-medium heat and stir in the the tomatoes and green chillies. This is also when you would begin to add the taco seasoning and diced jalapeño to taste if you want.

Serve warm and enjoy! I also find this freezes well if you end up having extra or want to make it ahead of time.

Perfect to top these Twice Baked Potatoes with,

or dip these Southwest Taco Wontons into!

Easy Avocado Dip!

Easy Avocado Dip:

2 organic avocados, peeled

1 organic garlic clove, minced

1 organic jalapeño, chopped 

1/4 cup freshly squeezed organic lime juice

1/2 tblsp freshly chopped organic cilantro (more to taste)

1/8 teaspoon organic cumin

Place all above ingredients into a blender and pulse until smooth. If using a Vitamix, place all items except jalapeños into the Vitamix, pulse, and then stir in the jalapeños after. 

Makes approximately 2 cups.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

Nutrition Info for 1/3 cup serving:

112 calories, 9.7g fat, 1.4g sat fat, 0mg cholesterol, 5.2mg sodium, 7g carbohydrates, 5g fiber, 0.7g sugar, 1.4g protein

Perfectly paired with these Southwest Chicken Taco Wontons!

Fresh & Light Cucumber Salsa

Fresh & Light Cucumber Salsa:

2 organic cucumbers, chopped
11 organic grape tomatoes diced (should be 1 cup diced)
1 organic jalapeño deseeded and finely chopped
1/2 small organic red or yellow onion, chopped
1 tblsp parsley (fresh and finely chopped is best)
1 organic garlic clove finely minced
(fresh dill, spearmint, and/or cilantro would also go well)

1/4 cup organic vegan yogurt
2 tbslp freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tblsp freshly squeezed lemon juice


First, chop and combine all of the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Stir together well and set aside. Next, measure out the greek yogurt into a separate bowl, then add the lime and lemon juice to the yogurt and stir until fully combined. Once combined, add 4 tblsp of yogurt mixture to the chopped veggies, and toss until evenly coated.

Serve immediately with organic tortilla chips and enjoy!

Makes 6 servings:



Healthy Life Tip: Since the dip is so low in sodium and carbohydrates, make sure to pay close attention to the chips you select to serve with the dip to keep the values in a healthy range. Always choose organic chips whenever possible (that way you'll be guaranteed that none of these ingredients are in them and that the chips are non-gmo) and make sure to compare the nutrition info on of the chips first to make sure you're making the best choice - especially the sodium values.

Healthy Sweet Potato & Quinoa Soup!

Healthy Sweet Potato & Quinoa Soup:

Soup:
1 cup organic quinoa, cooked
4 cups organic sweet potato, cubed largely
2 organic carrots, diced
1 organic garlic clove, minced
3 tablespoons, organic extra virgin olive oil
32oz organic, low sodium vegetable broth

Topping
1/2 cup organic panko breadcrumbs
1 1/2 tblsp organic extra virgin olive oil


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Peel the sweet potato and dice into large cubes. Place into large bowl and coat with 2 tblsp of olive oil then transfer into glass pan and roast for 10 minutes. At 10 minutes take out of oven and rotate pieces, then roast for an additional 10 minutes.

While potato is roasting, dice carrots and onion, and mince garlic. Add vegetables to medium soup pot and sauté in 1 tblsp of olive oil until onion is tender. Once potatoes are done and onions are tender, add broth and cooked potatoes to pot and simmer until carrots are completely tender. About 15-25 minutes.

While soup is simmering, cook quinoa according to directions on packaging.

Once vegetables are soft, blend mixture in blender, food processor, or Vitamix until combined to your desired texture, then return to pot over very low heat.

Finally, heat 1 1/2 tblsp olive oil in a small pan over medium-low head and add the panko breadcrumbs. Stir continuously until lightly browned.

Divide soup and top with 2-3 tablespoons of panko topping and serve immediately.

Makes 5 servings

6 Classic Recipes for a Healthier Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving doesn't have to be an unhealthy mess. Here are 6 ways to make some classic dishes taste amazing without throwing your body under the bus.


Tahini-Garlic Mashed Potatoes: These 0 cholesterol, low sodium mashed potatoes are creamy and tasty without any butter or nonsense!





Homemade Cranberry Sauce: This amazing, guilt-free, and fresh tasting cranberry sauce leaves the preservatives, sugars, cholesterol, and sodium behind! A must! 0mg sodium, 0mg cholesterol, and only 70 calories for a 1/4 cup serving!




Thanksgiving Gravy: A thanksgiving must-have that won't clog your arteries while you enjoy it! With only 35mg sodium and 10mg cholesterol in a 1/4 cup serving, you can enjoy this gravy without worry.





Bacon, Cranberry, and Mushroom Stuffing: A twist on the traditional stuffing drastically reduces sodium to only 180mg per serving, contains 8g protein, and only 3.5g fat! A must-try that is packed with flavor!





Warm Winter Greens Salad: Start your meal off with this warm and flavor-filled salad. With 0mg cholesterol it will help digestion and prepare your palate for the flavors to come! Great ad-on tips in the recipe too!





Winter Squash Crostini: This fun and healthy spread is great to serve as guests arrive

For More:

Southwest Veggie Burgers!

Southwest Veggie Burgers:

1 cup no salt added organic black beans
1 cup cooked organic brown rice (I like short grain for this recipe)
1 - 1 1/4 cup mashed sweet potato
1/4 cup shredded carrot
1/4 cup diced organic tomato
3 tblsp nutritional yeast
1 tblsp chili powder
1/3 tsp cumin (more if desired)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder

First, set the rice to cook following the recipe on the package but without adding oil, butter, or salt. I use 365 organic short grain brown rice and cook with just water and it works perfectly. Once the rice is cooking, begin to boil the water to cook the sweet potato. Peel and cube the sweet potato and once the water is boiling, add potato, reduce heat to medium and cook until softened.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

While rice and potato cook, drain and rinse beans, and place them onto a paper towel and gently pat dry and set aside. Dice the tomato, shred the carrot, and add to a large mixing bowl along with the beans, spices, and nutritional yeast.

Once the potato is cooked, strain and mash thoroughly. Keep potato separate while the rice finishes cooking so that it will cool. Once the rice is finished, allow to cool slightly and add to mixture along with sweet potato.

Once all ingredients are in the mixing bowl, gently mix them so that they are spread evenly throughout and then begin to form tight patties. If the mixture is warm, allow to sit until it cools or briefly place it in the refrigerator. The cooler it is, the more tightly the patties will form.

This mixture makes 4 large patties, or 6-8 smaller sliders. Place each patty on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and cook on each side for 15-20 min, or until top is a light brown.

Serve on an organic whole wheat bun with your favorite burger toppings. For this recipe, I love to top with with guacamole, some sliced tomato, and lettuce. Goes great with a small mixed greens salad!

Healthy Life Tip: Save the extra patties or double the recipe for an easy meal at a later date by freezing patties once they have been cooked and cooled off!

Nutrition Info per patty when made into 4 patties:

225 cal, 2.1g fat, 0.06g sat fat, 0g trans fat, 0mg cholesterol, 72mg sodium, 46g carbohydrates, 9.3g fiber, 6.8g sugar, 9.7g protein.

For an added 16g protein, add 2 tablespoons of this Cookable Protein Powder.