chickpea dip

This is a nice dip if tahini is ok for you.

Ingredients

1 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup soup broth
1 clove of garlic
2-3 T tahini paste
a generous amount of fresh dill
salt and fresh pepper (to taste)

Blend ingredients in a blender or food processor until desired consistency is reached.  If you want it thicker, add more tahini.  If you want it thinner, add more soup broth.  Serve with ic friendly crackers or vegetables.

veggie borscht

A healthy and comforting wintery soup.  Typically a sour soup, this variation has no vinegar but the beet-dill combination gives it a nice flavor.  This soup is easy to make, but requires a lot of chopping so you might want to listen to the radio or something as you chop away.        Serves 7


Ingredients

8 cups vegetable broth
half of a green cabbage
4 beets, peeled
2-3 carrots
about 3 cups fresh dill

Chop cabbage and julienne beets into small matchstick sized pieces, about 2 inches x 1/4 inch.  Bring broth to a boil and reduce heat.  Add the cabbage and beets and let them simmer while you chop the carrots.  Julienne carrots in matchstick sized pieces and add to the pot.  Simmer about 15 more minutes.

Meanwhile, wash and chop the dill and add to the pot.  Simmer another couple of minutes.  Taste test to see if everything is cooked and serve.  I like to put a few individual portions in the freezer for later as well.

date coconut hedgehogs

I got the idea for these cookies from some I had once at a raw food restaurant. They're tasty and pretty easy to make since they don't require baking.

Ingredients

4 medjool dates (no preservatives)
3 T almond butter
1/8 t cinnamon (optional - if tolerated)
1/8 t vanilla
1/4 cup almonds
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut (no preservatives)
1/4 cup cashews

Soak the dates in a bowl with warm water for a minimum 1 hour, or until the skins come off easily.  Drain the water, remove the skins and pits.

Mash together the dates, almond butter, cinnamon (if using) and vanilla with a fork until well blended.

Measure the almonds whole and then finely chop them and add them to the date mix.  Squish and knead the almonds into it with your hands.  Add the coconut and squish it in, too.

Measure the cashews whole and then finely chop them.  Knead the cashews into the mix.  You can add a few more chopped cashews here or not, depending on how dry or sticky your mixture is at this point.

Spread a thin layer of shredded coconut on a plate.  Roll the mixture into little balls with your hands (about 1 inch diameter) and then roll them in the coconut.  Makes about 9 cookies.