Ingredient: Lemon Juice

Lemon, Beetroot Hummus Dip

I encountered this recipe on the Record website while looking for a good dip recipe to serve for Christmas. Unfortunately I didn’t end up needing it so didn’t make it until after Christmas. I found it was quite a nice dip, though it takes a little bit of forethought and preparation to ensure you have your chickpeas rehydrated. I did however feel that overall while it was nice it wasn’t a stand out. With a few modifications, adding some lemon juice and cashews it makes for a much more interesting dip and I keep coming back for more.

Dig in with some quality chips or crackers! I served it with Chipman’s kale and spirulina corn chips. Continue reading Lemon, Beetroot Hummus Dip

Tangy Avocado and Basil Dip (Gluten-Free)

It’s always nice to have some (at least reasonably healthy) chips or crackers and dip with a board game. Normally I’d just get some sour cream and mix it with my choice of flavouring, corn relish, french onion, etc. That isn’t much good though if you are trying to avoid cholesterol. Granted, depending on the chips you get, they are probably just as bad if not worse. Nevertheless though, a healthier dip became the first port of call.

I’ve made a thick guacamole before basically just with avocado, lemon juice and a little bit of chilli, but I wanted something a little different.

I came across this recipe on One Green Planet that sounded pretty good, a creamy avocado and basil dip that is completely vegan, gluten free and so on. Sounded good I thought, and even better, I already had most of the ingredients. A quick trip to IGA to pick up the remainder and I was set.

I’m not sure if green onions are shallots or not, but shallots are what I chose to use. I thought at the time as I was prepping it for the food processor that it seemed like a lot of onion for one avocado, and I think I was right. Tasting it I found it to be overwhelmingly oniony. Given this, I decided to adapt. Add some lemon juice as I’ve used in guacamole before to give it a bit of tang, add some macadamia nuts to take away some of the overpowering onion flavour and also add some additional thickness to counteract the lemon juice, and finally add another avocado.

The result, a delicious, tangy dip that is very good for you with lots of avocado and basil, both rich in healthy stuff and completely cholesterol free! In addition to being vegan, it’s also gluten-free and lactose-free, so you can serve it to most people. If you have someone with nut allergies, just leave out the macadamia nuts and you should be fine. Continue reading Tangy Avocado and Basil Dip (Gluten-Free)

Watermelon and Basil Ice Block

I bought a massive watermelon a couple of days ago. Wifey loves the stuff. I don’t mind it, but I can’t sit down to a bowl full of it like her.

Since we had so much of it, I wanted to see what simple dessert I could make around watermelon that would make it a bit more appealing to me.

Wifey came across this recipe on Forks over Knives for a simple ice dessert that uses primarily watermelon and not much else, making it very healthy not to mention completely gluten-free, lactose-free and vegan.

Frankly, it is deliciously good for something so simple. Somehow the basil seems to make the watermelon sweeter than it would be on it’s own, but at the same time it isn’t overwhelmingly sweet.

In hindsight, I personally think it would work better in ice block form using ice block moulds, rather than freezing it in a tub. I only made a quarter batch, but even so it takes quite a while to thaw out enough to be scooped, so next time I will use the ice block moulds instead. Continue reading Watermelon and Basil Ice Block

Creamy, Vegan Risotto Pasta with Lemon, Asparagus and Pumpkin

This was originally meant to just be a creamy pasta sauce, but I actually had a leftover batch of red quinoa, freekah and brown rice that I made for another meal previously, so I thought I’d include it. The result, a creamy risotto style pasta that is absolutely divine.

In all honesty, this recipe inspired by Detoxinista is the best white pasta sauce I’ve tasted, and better yet, it’s vegan and cholesterol free. The sauce itself is also gluten and lactose free, so you can mix it up with your choice of gluten-free pasta and have a tasty gluten-free meal.

My version doesn’t look quite as good as the original I don’t think, but man does it taste good! Continue reading Creamy, Vegan Risotto Pasta with Lemon, Asparagus and Pumpkin

Carrot Cake with Nut Frosting (Gluten-Free)

Wifey and I had a slice of carrot cake at a cafe the other day, and have been wanting more since. Carrot cake shouldn’t be too bad for you right?

Well, looking at what goes into one normally, it’s not that brilliant really. A carrot cake normally has eggs in it to start with, so automatically we’ve got a good dose of cholesterol in there without considering anything else.

So I went on a hunt for a healthy carrot cake recipe. I found this one on Love and Lemons and decided to give it a try. It is a vegan, gluten-free, and lactose free carrot cake, so it should cater to most diets, and I can attest to how good it tastes as well.

I adapted it based on the ingredients I had on hand and thought that the overall result was very enjoyable and adds a strong nutty flavour to the cake. Give it a try. Continue reading Carrot Cake with Nut Frosting (Gluten-Free)