Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Hummus

I am a lover of peanut butter, especially with chocolate.  So, the other day when I was in the mood for a healthy snack that would satisfy my sweet tooth - I came up with this dip for my sliced apples.  This tastes especially good with graham crackers also.  I am thinking I might try celery next!  Garbanzo beans/chickpeas are a good source of fiber, folate, protein and iron, among other things.  And as I have discovered in the last couple of years, they don't have to be used in just savory dishes.  They are delicious when used in a sweet (or desert) dish.  If you have kids - this is a great way to put something healthy into a fun and sweet snack. 

P.S.  You don't have to be a kid to enjoy this!  In fact you might want to ditch the apple slices and just eat this with a spoon!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Hummus
Prep Time:  10 minutes
Makes: 1 1/2 - 2 cups

Ingredients:
1 15 oz. can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed (or 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup natural creamy peanut butter
2 Tbsp agave syrup or maple syrup
1/2 cup vegan miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips
a pinch of salt

Directions:
Place the chickpeas, peanut butter, agave syrup and salt in a food processor;  blend until creamy and smooth.

Transfer to a bowl and stir in chocolate chips.  Serve with apple slices, crackers, cookies, etc.

Chickpea and Rice Soup

I have a new recipe that I know you are going to love.  This is one my family races to the fridge the next day, and this only if we didn't pig out on it the night before!  I found it on one of my favorite blogs http://www.theppk.com/.  I tweaked it for my needs and it turned out so delicious!  It reminds me of a creamy chicken soup - except there is no chicken.  I made it for my parents and a non-vegan friend of theirs and it was definitely a hit!  My mom is not a big fan of chickpeas, but she loved the soup!  The chickpeas are so creamy they almost seem to melt in your mouth.  And if you are new to kale - this is a good recipe to try.  This is one soup you will want to make over and over again!

Chickpea and Rice Soup
Prep time:  10 minutes
Cook time:  1 hour
Makes:  4-6 servings

Ingredients:
3/4 cup cashews, soaked in water for 2 hours or overnight
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried rosemary
3/4 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp salt
Fresh black pepper
3/4 cup brown rice, rinsed
3 ribs celery, thinly sliced
1 cup carrots, diced chunky
5 cups no chicken broth (Better Than Bouillon)
2 15 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (about 3 cups)
4 cups chopped kale

Directions:
Drain the cashews and place them in a blender with one cup of fresh water. Blend until completely smooth, scraping the sides of the food processor with a spatula occasionally to make sure you get everything. This could 1 to 5 minutes depending on the strength of your blender.

Preheat a stock pot over medium heat. Sauté onion with a pinch of salt for about 5 minutes, until translucent. Add garlic, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper and sauté a minute more.

Add rice, celery and carrots and then pour in the broth. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, bring down to a simmer, add the chickpeas, and let cook for about 30 more minutes, or until rice is cooked and carrots are tender.

Add the cashew cream and kale, and simmer until kale is wilted, 3 to 5 more minutes. You may need to add water to thin the soup if it seems too thick. Taste for salt and seasonings and let sit for 10 minutes or so to allow the flavors to marry.

It thickens as it cools, so if you have leftovers, just thin with a little water when you reheat.

Cake Batter Dip

 

Ok, This recipe might sound strange because of the ingredients, but it is ohhhh...soooo....goooood! 

 

I can't take the credit for this one though.  One of my favorite recipe creators (Chocolate Covered Katie http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2012/07/12/healthy-cake-batter-cookie-dough-dip/) came up with this one!  However, I tweaked it a little.  I was having a hard time coming up with a thick dip, so I changed it a little for may taste. 

 

I am telling you this girl is a GENIUS (Katie - not me)!  Who can say "no" to ANYTHING with SPRINKLES!  This dip is especially good with little sugar cookies or animal cookies - and I love apples with it, especially tart ones. 

 

The chickpeas might worry you a bit, but I'm telling you this dip is delicious and has a lot of yummy protein for your kids who are hungry for an after school snack!  I also like to use the cake mix to give it an extra cakey taste, but oatmeal is yummy too.

 

P.S.  Good luck trying not to eat this all with just a spoon! 

 

 

Cake Batter Dip

Makes: approx. 3 1/2 cups

Ingredients

3 cups chickpeas or white beans (1 can)
3 tbsp cashew butter or a butter-type spread like Earth Balance
1 tbsp applesauce (or omit and increase cashew butter to 1/4c)
2 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/8 tsp baking soda (for flavor)
heaping 1/8 tsp salt
3/4 cup xylitol or sugar
1/4 tsp butter extract
1/2 cup quick oats (or ground flax or rolled oats, or even 1/2c cake mix)
optional: sprinkles!

Directions

Drain and rinse beans very well. Blend all ingredients in a food processor until very, very smooth and creamy.  I sprinkle some sprinkles into the dip and pulse quickly a couple of times to sort of stir them in.  I then put it in a bowl and add more sprinkles on top to make it look pretty!

Dip apple slices or crackers or pretzels, spread on a banana or toast or pancakes or cookies, or eat with a spoon!  Anything your heart desires!

Asian Salad Bowls

Sometimes when I've had a busy day, cooking dinner is one of the last things I feel like doing.  But I don't want us all to have to go without dinner!

A robot like Rosey from the cartoon The Jetsons would be nice.  Probably not going to happen anytime soon (or ever - unless my engineer daughter makes me one)!

So, besides maybe a bowl of cereal (my family would probably protest) I like to try to keep it simple.  So here is a quick and easy dinner for those nights I feel lazy.  It's so delicious and a nice light meal for a summer night too!

Asian Salad Bowls
Serves 4

1/4 cup water
1Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce (I like to use Kikkoman from the Asian aisle)
2 rounded cups chickpeas
1 8 oz. can water chestnuts, coarsely chopped
Crunchy chow mein noodles
2 carrots, shredded
spring salad mix

Whisk together water and cornstarch in a bowl until smooth.  Stir in teriyaki sauce.  Add chickpeas and water chestnuts, stir to coat.  Marinate for 30 minutes. 

Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Pour the chickpea mixture into skillet and heat until it is heated through, about 10 minutes.

Serve the hot chickpea mixture over the spring salad, carrots, and chow mein noodles (in that order) in individual bowls.

Chickpea Lasagna

My favorite food is pizza, but lasagna is a very close second.  Lasagna has to be one of the unhealthiest things a person can dive into, but ohhh.... so delicious!  I really hated the thought of not being able to splurge on this heavenly dish, so I made it my mission to try and find a vegan way to make it. 

When I first started out as a vegan, I was eating a lot of soy and was able to find some really yummy vegan lasagna recipes with tofu.  But after a while I decided maybe soy wasn't for me and so I needed to find a way to make lasagna without tofu.  I think I have been able to come up with a good alternative.  My real test was having my kids try it.  When they ate almost a whole 9x13 inch dish of it I figured it was a winner!  Surprisingly the chickpeas are delicious in this lasagna.  It is really creamy and oh so good!  It isn't the normal "American" lasagna that everyone loves, but it is much healthier and yes healthy (at least in this case) is a good thing!  You don't have to be vegan to enjoy this recipe, sometimes it is just nice to try something different and healthier.  I would love to put some chopped mushrooms in this recipe, but my kids hate mushrooms.  So for now I am going to enjoy my kids' delight when I make lasagna for them and leave out the mushrooms, but I highly suggest putting some in the sauce if you'd like.

If you are one of my many non-vegan friends, you can replace the Vegenaise with regular mayo since you probably don't have Vegenaise in your fridge.  Nutritional Yeast is a very good source of vitamin B12 and has a "cheesy" flavor - so I highly suggest you give it a try.

Chickpea Lasagna

Ingredients

9 whole wheat lasagna noodles
12 oz. can tomato paste
2 cans of water
1 pkg. spaghetti sauce mix
4 ½ cups chickpeas
3 Tbsp lemon juice
3 Tbsp nutritional yeast
4 ½ Tbsp Vegenaise
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
1 Tbsp parsley
½ Tbsp minced garlic
18 oz. pkg. Daiya mozzarella (optional)

Directions

Cook noodles according to package directions. 

In a medium saucepan, stir together the tomato paste, water and spaghetti mix.  Let it simmer for 10 – 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Pulse the rest of the ingredients (except for the mozzarella) in a food processor until there are no more whole chickpeas and you have a somewhat chunky paste.  It is OK to have small chunks of chickpeas left.

Spoon just enough sauce to cover the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan; top with 3 of the cooked lasagna noodles.  Spread with 1/3 of the chickpea filling.  Sprinkle with a handful of cheese if you are using it.  Repeat layers twice more, except after the last chickpea layer spread the red sauce over it then sprinkle the cheese.  I usually have some leftover cheese when I am done, but feel free to use the whole package if desired.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Let stand for 5-10 minutes to set layers.