It’s Day 7 of the Paleo Challenge! One week down, 3-and-a-bit weeks to go. Today I’d like to share with you some easy snacks you can provide at your own gatherings, or take to parties, picnics, etc where the typical munchies of choice include lovely processed goods like Twisties, Doritos, MnM’s, Maltesers…you get the gist. And your hosts/guests will love you for it! I made these dips for a do I hosted last Saturday, and they disappeared almost as quickly as the fairy bread (yes, had to keep the non-Paleo sugar fiends happy too haha)
I’ll just add that these are also vegan and sugar-free, so totally suitable for everyone. Enjoy 🙂
Pumpkin Non-Hommus
You know I’ve actually been dubbed the “Queen of Hommus”, as I bring a big bowl of it (with plenty of carrot sticks, of course) to pretty much every gathering I go to. However, since going Paleo, I’ve had to find substitutes for the chick peas. Hence, I give you: Pumpkin Non-Hommus!
You will need:
- approx. 2 cups of roasted pumpkin (see below for quick easy roasting tips)
- 2 big dessertspoons of tahini
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 clove of garlic (or omit if you’re anti-garlic breath)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- sea salt and pepper to taste
Blend all ingredients until smooth in a small food processor or, you guessed it, a blender! Taste and adjust flavours to your liking i.e. more lemon juice, more cumin etc. If it’s too thick, add more olive oil or some water.
To serve, scoop into a nice bowl, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle some paprika over and pop in a parsley leaf. Serve with carrot and celery sticks. Lovely!
Easy roast pumpkin: Get a whole butternut pumpkin (or two, they’re so cheap at the moment) and chop it in half lengthways with a big sharp knife. Scoop out the seeds. Spread a bit of coconut oil over the cut sides (like spreading butter on toast), and pop the pumpkin halves, cut side down, on a baking tray or dish. Bake at 180deg for 35-45 mins, or until nice and soft. When cool enough to handle, just use a spoon and scoop out the pumpkin flesh, scraping every last bit from the skin. I usually pop leftover pumpkin into silicone muffin pans and freeze for later. Too easy!
Avocado Dip
You will need:
- 3 ripe avocados
- juice of 1 lime
- 1/4 bunch of coriander
- small bird’s eye chili, finely chopped (remove seeds for less heat)
- 1 tomato, diced
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/4 red onion, finely chopped
Mash the avocados in a medium sized bowl. Chop the bottom roots off the coriander, wash well, fold into a bunch and chop the whole lot (leaves and stems) finely. Add to avocados with the lime juice, chopped chili, tomato, onion and cumin. Again, taste for flavour.
Kale Chips
These are so good. To think that you can actually bake leaves and they come out with a potato chip-like texture! Try and serve them fresh out of the oven. (Funnily enough, some people call them ‘kips’. Ha!)
You will need:
- 1 bunch of kale
- olive oil
- sea salt
- Rip the kale leaves off the stalks (easiest way is to hold the stalk at the base and rip the leaves off both sides in one go). Chop into ‘chip’ sized pieces, about 5 cm long.
- Wash and dry thoroughly with paper towel. If the leaves are wet they’ll go soggy in the oven.
- Drizzle with olive oil and gently rub the oil in so the leaves are coated. Line a baking tray with baking paper and spread the leaves out in a single layer. Don’t overlap, or they won’t go crispy!
- Bake on low heat (140-150deg) for about 10 mins. Check to see if they have crisped up. When done, sprinkle with sea salt and serve. It’s important to salt after the chips are baked, otherwise the salt will draw the moisture out of the leaves and they’ll go soggy in the oven. (I know, it seems so easy to kale chip fail. But just give it a go!)
