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Smoked Salmon Dip {Paleo, Gluten-free, Keto} + Video
This Paleo Smoked Salmon Dip has become synonymous with party invites for me. Ready in about 5 minutes, with just 4 ingredients, it’s fuss-free at it’s finest. I make with a dairy-free cream cheese, but you can also make with regular cream cheese, as well.
This Paleo Smoked Salmon Dip has turned into a bit of a mainstay when it comes to entertaining, it was my signature move this past holiday season. I’ve literally brought it to every party, event and dinner, from prior to Thanksgiving and including the holiday straight through Christmas and our New Year’s Eve celebrations, too. Over the summer it is a hit at BBQs and picnics, too!
With the classic flavors of smoked salmon with cream cheese, with a couple of additional ingredients to maximize the punch of taste, this is a must for parties and it’ll impress even the non-paleo folks, as well.
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Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Dip aka “Htipiti” (Gluten-free)
I can say that in more ways than one – I truly am my father’s daughter. My love for food, eating and talking about both (or in general) – most definitely all come from my dad! Though I may not always like to admit it, I can be his clone in many ways!
As a Greek girl, (also from my dad) who has been gluten-free for nearly 10 years, one of the saddest things I have had to endure is saying good-bye to sooo many of my favorite classic Greek dishes – spanokopita, taramasalata, baklava, pita, gyro wraps, moussaka, pastitsio, melomakarono, loukamathes – oh my gosh I could go on and on and on (and now I am super hungry). Thankfully, a couple of these dishes can be made gluten-free, so I haven’t had to let go completely.
This dip isn’t something I grew up, like many of those aforementioned dishes, but rather it was a dish my dad had somewhere along the line at a restaurant and became obsessed with recreating. Since he perfected his recipe a few years ago, he has pretty much brought this dip to nearly every get-together and everyone that has ever tasted it – soon becomes obsessed, too! I myself am one of those people and I’ve taken to altering his recipe slightly and making it for my own dinner parties and other get-togethers. Since we moved out west from New York to California in 2013, this dip has been a nice way to savor some of those flavors of home.
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Savory Herbed Cashew Pumpkin Dip
I am all about the simple lately. Quick fixes, simple snack, meals without fuss. I want to enjoy the flavors of nourishing whole foods, with the seasonal ingredients I have on hand and minimal prep. It’s been a hectic month or so.
I haven’t had a moment to tell you guys, but I am back in school! As of this month, I am enrolled in the Nutritional Therapy Practitioner Program with the Nutritional Therapy Association to become a Certified Nutritional Therapist. I have long dreamt of finding the proper program where I could continue educating myself in a manner that would certify me to work even deeper with people, seeking to heal their bodies through a real food diet and a more foundational perspective.
I myself have been on a long and continued path towards healing my body. 10 years of trials and tribulations, ups and downs, diagnoses and at times, challenged guidance. While my own healing journey is far from over, with new discoveries on what works best for me still being made weekly, I have so much I want to share and yet, so much still I want to learn, both for myself and for the countless others whom I meet and want to help.
I could talk for hours about what I have learned already just a few weeks into the program and just what enrolling in this program means for me, moving forward, but I digress, I have a stack of homework and this post is supposed to be about dip. That said, please know that I will be sharing my experiences with this program and the curiculum here o the website. I will be sharing a monthly journal of sort, of the progress of my time in the program, for those that are curious in possibly joining yourself and for those that may just be curious in how what I am learning may be of help to you. So stay tuned for that. In the meantime, I have this super simple, seasonally-inspired snack for you. Read the rest of this entry »
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Eggplant and Roasted Red Pepper Dip (gluten-free and vegan)
As I mentioned in my last post, for my Creamy Dairy-Free Spinach Dip, I have really been enjoying cooking and baking without dairy. In addition to cooking without processed foods and gluten, it has been a fun and rewarding challenge. However, it is definitely one thing to just be cooking at home for myself and my hubby, but coming up with some fun and unique snacks to share with other people that can eat both gluten and dairy, can be a bit harder. I never ever want someone that is eating my food to feel like they are eating a weirdo diet food or some sort of concoction that only someone that hasn’t had gluten in over 7 years, would love.
When coming up with snack ideas for our little Super Bowl get together, I wanted something everyone could love that was light but still satisfying and with my dips I really wanted to challenge myself to create creamy but without the dairy. In the past, I definitely would have enjoyed some of the healthy snacks that others or likely myself made, but then, of course, indulging a bit in the inevitable cheese that would be there in some capacity. Using the excuse of a holiday or special occasion to eat more cheese than normal sounds all well and good, until you have a terrible cheese-induced tummy-ache later because you have all but cut out dairy in your every day life.
So I came across a version of this recipe on my Pinterest travels and it looked super creamy and delicious, I decided to add in the roasted red peppers because they pack some incredible flavors that I thought would pair very well with the eggplant! The original recipe was just the eggplant and it had a bit more olive oil, the photo I saw with the recipe made it look so insanely creamy, I couldn’t believe there wasn’t any dairy in it. So after making this my way, I am actually looking forward to trying this dip again, the original way, to see which I prefer.
This dip is smooth and creamy and has a bright, almost tart flavor from the roasted red pepper. I really love how the peppery spice from the oregano works with all of the different elements. Feel free to play around with different spices and/or herbs to get this to the flavors you love. The original recipe called for thyme, you could also add in some red pepper flakes or other spices that you love.
I served this dip with a bunch of fresh raw veggies like baby carrots, celery, radishes, bell peppers, etc as well as some crackers. This dip would also make a great spread to put on sandwiches, eggs, even on top of a salad, pasta, etc.
[print_this]Eggplant and Roasted Red Pepper Dip (gluten-free and vegan)
Adapted from Body+Soul Magazine, July/August 2010
Serves 103 medium eggplant (about 4 pounds), halved the long way
4 cloves garlic, peeled and very thinly sliced lengthwise
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
1 cup roasted red peppers, roughly chopped (roast the peppers yourself or jarred will work too)
1 tablespoon fresh oregano (roughly chopped)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Freshly ground pepperPreheat the oven to 400º F. Arrange the eggplant cut side up on a baking sheet. Make slits in eggplant and insert garlic . Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bake until tender, about 1 hour. Remove from oven; let stand until cool, about 20 minutes.
Scoop the flesh of the eggplant into a food processor. Add roasted red peppers, oregano, 1 tablespoon oil, and lemon juice. Puree until smooth. Pulse to combine with salt and pepper, to taste. Will keep refrigerated up to 3 days. Serve with crackers, fresh vegetables or crostini.
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Creamy Dairy-Free Spinach Dip (vegan, gluten-free)
I am having a lot of fun making different dishes and snacks dairy-free. For the most part, as with my gluten-free or even vegan cooking, I have just been cooking around it, enjoying things that are naturally such, I don’t usually make tons of substitutions with weird processed things like fake cheeses or fake meats, etc. Even though I think that some dairy-free cheeses (like Daiya) might be nice for the occasional special treat if I really feel like I am missing out or want some cheese, I usually just get really creeped out by how much weird stuff are those types of foods. Many times you read the package and you don’t even know what the ingredients are, you can’t pronounce them, etc.
I was craving a delicious Italian-style pasta dish the other night, so I made gluten-free penne with a creamy roasted tomato and basil sauce. No cheese or dairy! The creaminess came from soaked cashews and I added in a little nutritional yeast for the nutty/cheesy flavor it brings. It was so perfectly delicious and it really hit the spot. I didn’t miss the dairy one bit. There is always the option of using nut milks instead of dairy milk in recipes, which I have been doing for a long time when making, but it doesn’t always give you that super creamy cheese-like texture when cooking, so that is where raw nuts have been coming in handy for me.
I did some serious cooking, baking and making over this weekend. I made my first ever batch of Kombucha, which I cannot wait to try, I love that stuff. I also made gluten-free, dairy-free refined sugar-free chocolate donuts for breakfast yesterday in my new donut pan (recipe coming soon) and all of my Super Bowl treats. We watched the Super Bowl last night at my parents’ with my family and some friends, so I decided to experiment a little with my Super Bowl snacks, making things that not only I would eat, but that would still appeal to everyone else. So, I made three different things: this creamy spinach dip, a creamy eggplant and roasted red pepper dip and Thai Meatballs (made from some grass-fed beef from our local farmer) with a red curry peanut sauce. I will be posting the eggplant dip likely tomorrow so look for that. As for the meatballs, I basically just altered this recipe to be gluten-free and I used some of our lean grass-fed ground beef from the half cow that we shared with my parents. I was really excited to find a meatball recipe that wouldn’t need any cheese of some sort, since I was initially playing with the idea of making regular Italian style meatballs. They were so delicious! I really recommend that recipe.
I served the two dips with tons of fresh cut raw veggies, regular whole grain crackers and some Mary’s Gone Crackers Black Pepper Crackers for me. Both the dips were enjoyed by everyone and the meatballs FLEW off the plate. This particular dip is so creamy, you would swear it had ricotta cheese in it. It has a nice flavor from the garlic and the nutritional yeast brings an almost “cheesy” taste. Nutritional yeast is low in sodium and it is one of the few non-animal sources of B-12, it is rich in folic acid and many other nutrients and amino acids. This is not your typical yeast and is free of the Candida Albicans strain, making it safe for those concerned with candida. Per ounce nutritional yeast packs in 14 grams of protein and 7 grams of fiber.
I’ll be honest, I did a lot more gabbing and snack-eating then football watching last night. We did manage to keep quiet through the half-time show, which I thought was just so-so. I love old-school Madonna and was excited to hear some of the old hits but that is about it. I was a bit let down, it didn’t do it for me. Though I did make it a point to listen to all of her old albums today on Spotify to make up for it!
Did you watch the Super Bowl? What did you think of the half-time show? What foods did you make or eat?
[print_this]Creamy Dairy-Free Spinach Dip (vegan, raw, gluten-free)
1 cup raw unsalted cashews, soaked for 1 to 3 hours and drained
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1-2 tablespoons of water
4 cups baby spinach (split to 3 cups and 1 cup, roughly chop the 1 cup)
1/4 teaspoon kosher saltAdd the cashews, garlic and nutritional yeast to the food processor, puree until thick, creamy and smooth. You can add a tablespoon or two of water to the mixture as needed to make it more creamy. Add 3 cups of the spinach and continue pureeing until smooth. Fold in the remaining chopped spinach and stir by hand to combine. Pour the creamy spinach mixture into a serving dish and serve with fresh cut raw veggies, tortilla chips, crackers, toasted bread, etc.
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