Naturopathic By Nature

Healthy Eating & Healthy Living

Navigation

Easy Black Bean Dip (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan)

by Leave a Comment

DSC_5697

Black beans are a great vegetarian source of protein, and also provide a healthy dose of fibre.

This dip serves well as part of a snack or meal. You can serve it with crackers & veggies, with nachos, or scoop it onto a wrap with some veggies and other fixings for a tasty burrito. It’s a nice alternative to hummus but it can also be served alongside hummus and other dips such as guacamole, salsa, and coconut sour cream/yogurt. For a quick & easy vegetarian meal, we like to pair this dip with a green salad, and rice jazzed up with chopped veggies, ground cumin, lime, and salt & pepper to taste.

Bean dips are a great way to sneak some protein into your child’s diet… serve it with veggies and they could be chomping on celery sticks in no time!

Easy Black Bean Dip (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan)
 
Print
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Serve this dip as a snack with cut veggies and crackers, or scoop it into a pita, wrap, or alongside a green salad and rice dish and enjoy a quick & healthy vegetarian supper.
Author:
Recipe type: gluten-free, dairy-free
Cuisine: dips
Serves: 2 cup
Ingredients
  • 2 cans (398mL) black beans
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • ½ onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 red thai chili pepper, chopped (optional)
  • 3-4 Tbsp water
  • 3-4 tsp ground cumin
  • ¾ - 1 tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • chopped chives, green onion, cilantro or parsley for garnish
Instructions
  1. Place 2 Tbsp olive oil, chopped onions, garlic, and thai chili pepper into a small saucepan and heat on medium heat for about 5 mins or until onions begin to soften, stirring often.
  2. Remove from heat & set aside.
  3. Drain & rinse beans.
  4. Add beans, water, 2 Tbsp olive oil, cumin, salt & pepper into a blender. Add onion mixture scraping the pan with a spatula to get all of the oil.
  5. Blend on high for about 1 minute until smooth.
  6. Add more water if needed, and seasoning to taste.
  7. Add garnish & serve immediately, or store in fridge to serve later adding garnish just before serving.

 

Creamy Apple Cider Vinegar Dressing (dairy-free, gluten-free)

by Leave a Comment

Starting your meals with a green salad helps to ‘prime the system’ for optimal digestion. Having bitters before a meal releases stomach acid and digestive enzymes so that your body is ready to digest and absorb the nutrients from your meal. Apple cider vinegar (1 tsp mixed with 2 oz water) before meals gives the same effect as having bitter greens (kale, arugula, baby swiss chard, mustard greens, endive, lettuce, etc). 

CREAMY APPLE CIDER VINEGAR DRESSING

Tangy & delicious!

Tangy & delicious way to get the digestive juices flowing!

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1-2 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 3 tsp honey
  • 1 garlic clove
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend on high for a 15-20 seconds.  

Enjoy over a big bowl of delicious dark leafy greens!

Here we have our Apple Cider Vinegar Dressing over a bowl of mixed bitter greens - arugula, spinach, black kale, baby kale and dandelion greens - all from the local Dieppe Market!

Here we have our Apple Cider Vinegar Dressing over a bowl of mixed bitter greens – arugula, spinach, black kale, baby kale and dandelion greens – all from the local Dieppe Market!

World Famous Glory Bowl Dressing

by 6 Comments

This recipe originates from Hollyhock on Cortes Island, BC – many people actually call this dressing the “Hollyhock Salad Dressing”. You can also find it in their first cookbook called ‘Hollyhock Cooks’. The dressing is creamy, tangy and also has a cheese-like flavour which pairs well with a big luscious green salad. At Hollyhock, they also add edible flowers and sprouted chickpeas, adzuki beans, lentils, and sunflower seeds to their salad bar – a great way to add easy-to-digest protein to your salads!

GLORY BOWL DRESSING (Dairy-free)

Glory Bowl Salad Dressing

Nutritional yeast adds a creamy & cheese-like flavour as well as B vitamins!

 

Ingredients

  • 1 cup olive oil
  • 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1/3 cup tamari or soy sauce
  • ½ cup nutritional yeast flakes
  • 2 Tbsp tahini
  • 2 cloves garlic

Directions

Place all ingredients into a blender and blend for 15-20 sec. Enjoy mixed into a green salad, or poured over steamed veggies and rice.

Classic Hummus with Cumin

by Leave a Comment

This is a classic version of hummus with our secret ingredient added – ground cumin (try grinding your own ground cumin from cumin seeds – delicious!). The cumin really adds flavour and depth to the hummus. For a thicker version of the recipe, use less water and for a thinner version, add a bit more water – just be sure to add it in small amounts so your hummus doesn’t turn out to be too runny, because it will thicken up when stored in the fridge.

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 10mins

Servings: 2 cups

CLASSIC HUMMUS WITH CUMIN

The ingredients that makes this recipe stand out above the rest - ground cumin

The ingredient that makes this recipe stand out above the rest… ground cumin!

The measurements are not to be taken too seriously – feel free to add ‘a little bit of this and a little bit of that’ to suit your taste buds!

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cooked & rinsed chickpeas or 15oz cans chickpeas, rinsed & drained
  • 1/4 cup olive oil (plus 1-2 Tbsp more, as needed for consistency)
  • 3 Tbsp tahini
  • 2-3 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 3-4 cloves garlic
  • 2-3 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp salt 
  • 3-4 Tbsp water, as needed 
  • a generous pinch of pepper
  • dash cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions:

Place all ingredients into a high-powered blender or food processor, and mix until creamy & smooth. You may need to stop to scrape down the sides a few times. Add more water and oil, in small amounts until you reach the desired consistency. Season a little more, as desired, and Enjoy!

Nutrition Tip: Some people have a hard time digesting garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas). There are two ways to make beans more easily digested by the body (you can do one or both of these):

1. Sprout the beans – This method takes some planning because you will need up to 4 days to sprout the beans, but it is worth it! Place dried beans in a bowl and fill with fresh cool water until beans are covered with about an inch of water (since the beans will expand and you want them to still be fully submerged). Leave them overnight or between 8-12 hours. Drain and rinse chickpeas with fresh water every 8 hours for 3-4 days. (You’ll see the little sprouts growing from the bottom of the beans around the 2nd day). Then, put the beans with fresh water into a large pot, bring to a boil and cook the beans for 35-40mins.

2. Cook with Kombu – When boiling & cooking the beans, add a piece of kombu. Kombu is dried seaweed that you can find at your local Asian market. The minerals and compounds in the seaweed help break down the difficult-to-digest proteins, so the beans are easier for the body to breakdown (ie. the beans are less likely to cause gas).