Red Roasted Beet Hummus

One of my favorite recipes that I make on repeat, especially for my friends, family, and a great party pleaser!

Ingredients:

1 small roasted beet ( instructions below)

• 1 15-oz. can cooked chickpeas (mostly drained )

• 1 large Zested lemon

• 1/2 large lemon (juiced)

• 1 lg pinch salt and black pepper

• 2 large cloves garlic minced or microplaned

• 1 Tbsp of creamy tahini

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

To prepare roasted beet:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Trim off the stem and most of the root from the beet and scrub it underwater.

Wrap beet in foil, drizzle on a bit of olive or avocado oil, wrap tightly, (place the small package on a small sheet pan to catch any drippings) and roast for one hour. It should be tender and soft enough for a knife to go through.

Open carefully the foil package in the sink . Take the beet and run cold water over it as you peel off the skin with your hands. It will be hot so be careful, but I find peeling the skin off while the beets are warm is the easiest.

Set in the fridge (in a bowl to catch juice) to cool to room temperature.

Instructions:

Once your beet has cooled and is peeled, quarter it and place it in your food processor and blend / pulse until only small bits remain (scrap down sides during this process)

Add remaining ingredients except for olive oil and blend until smooth.

Drizzle in olive oil slowly from above as the hummus is mixing. Scraping down sides as needed.

Taste and adjust, adding more salt, lemon juice, or olive oil if needed. If it’s too thick, add a bit of water.

I like it a bit on the thicker side!

Will keep in the fridge for up to 5-7 days! ………….enjoy xoxoxo

Creamy Dreamy Tomato Soup (DF)

 I love this soup. A great source of vitamin C, antioxidants, and also gets rid of those ugly free radicals in your blood stream. Remember ..."The redder the better". Think deep colorful foods. This also warms me up on those cooler days and nights!

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp. Olive oil (or vegetable broth for non oil recipe)

• 1 diced onion

• 2 cloves of garlic, minced.

• ½ cup raw soaked cashews ( soak in water for 30 min)

• 2 cups Vegetable broth

• 3-4 tsp. tomato paste

• 1 can whole tomatoes w/ juice

• ¼ cup oil packed of sun dried tomatoes, drained.

• ½-1 tsp. dried oregano

• ¼ tsp. fine grain salt

• ½ tsp. ground pepper

Instructions

1. Heat Olive oil (or broth) in Large saucepan, add the onion, garlic and sauté for 5-6 minutes until translucent.

2. In a blender, combine the soaked cashews and the broth and blend on high speed until creamy and smooth. Add the garlic-onion mixture, tomatoes and their juices, sun-dried tomatoes, and tomato paste and blend on high until smooth.

3. Pour the tomato mixture into the saucepan in which you cooked the onions and set the pan over medium-high heat. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then stir in the oregano, salt, pepper, and thyme, all to taste.

4. Gently simmer over medium heat, uncovered, for 20 to 30 minutes, until the flavors have developed.

5. Chill if a cool soup is desired.

6. You can thin this out with some more veggie broth if needed. 

Glorious Green Smoothie

Serves 1

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup kale or collard greens firmly packed, stems removed, coarsely chopped

• 1⁄2-1 Granny Smith apple, coarsely chopped ( or 1 cup grapes or pineapple)

• 1 ripe frozen banana

• 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves ( or mint/ basil)

• 2 cups water (plus more if needed)

• 1⁄2 cup of raw almonds or almond butter (optional)

METHOD

Combine all ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth
If too thick, add a little more water