Sweet Potato Cheese Dip

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year! It felt so nice to have some time off and see my family:

Sister-brother bonding time

Since my family eats at home for Thanksgiving, we have LOTS of leftovers each year. My favorite food to eat? Sweet potatoes! And with so much leftover sweet potatoes, I enjoy making this each year!

Sweet Potato Cheese Dip

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 cups of roasted and puréed sweet potatoes

1 and 1/2 cups water

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

2 tbsp ghee

1/2 tbsp brown mustard

1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp salt

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer to a pot and cook over medium-low heat until hot all through. Serve.

 

 

Advertisement

Brussel Sprout Salad with Tahini Dressing (Grain-Free)

Now normally I avoid posting salad recipes, simply because it’s not something I put a lot of effort into while making. Usually, it’s a mixture of “whatever’s lying around.”

But this salad is absolutely amazing, so I’m posting it 🙂 With roasted brussels sprouts and pine nuts as a base, there’s a little more prepping involved. And do not omit the dressing. It really brings together all the flavors. Feel free to add more or less of any ingredient- my measurements aren’t exact (except for the dressing)- I just kinda eyeball it!

Brussel Sprout Salad with Tahini Dressing (Grain-Free)

Ingredients:

Salad

1 lb brussels sprouts

garlic powder

salt and pepper

1 tbsp avocado oil

1 tbsp pinenuts

1/3 cup fresh mango, cubed

1/4 cup raw onion, diced

3-4 tbsp feta cheese, crumbled

Dressing

3 tbsp tahini

3 tbsp water

1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

pinch of salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the stems off the brussels sprouts and slice in half. Place on a baking pan and sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Top with oil and toss altogether. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes. Take out, mix in pine nuts and cook for 5 more minutes. Set aside.

To make the dressing, whisk together all the dressing ingredients.

On a nice serving platter, toss together brussels sprouts, mango, onion, and feta. Top with about 3/4 of the dressing (use the rest for another salad recipe). Mix altogether and serve!

Cheesy (yet cheese-less) Butternut Squash Mash

Oh. My. Goodness. I cannot think of a better recipe to post to start off 2016. Just thinking about this sauce makes my mouth water- no lie.

Luckily, it requires just throwing everything in a pot and cooking until hot. And I swear, it looks and tastes like this dish is cheese-heavy. Yet, no cheese is used!

Not that I mind cheese, but I tend to eat an indecently large amount of this mash whenever I make it and I’d rather avoid that meaning that I just ate a block’s worth of cheese.

Hmmmm, I was so excited to introduce this recipe that I forgot to start off by saying Happy New Years. So Happy New Year, everyone! I’m not a big new years resolution person- simply because I start my goals whenever throughout the year- but I thought of a couple things that I want to start doing.

1. Drink green tea everyday- particularly between 3pm-4pm (the time I usually begin picking at food before dinner)
2. Listen to music more! Listening to music generally puts me in a better mood and gets me up and moving, and yes, sometimes dancing (only in private though 😉 )

Sounds simple and silly? That’s because it probably is! But these are mini improvements that I actually want to incorporate into my well-being. So, all is well.

And with that, I’ll leave you with a quote that has pushed me these last few years (and even inspired to travel to India and recently decide on new traveling destinations): “Great things never came from comfort zones.”  Here’s to 2016!

Cheesy (yet cheese-less) Butternut Squash Mash

Ingredients: 

2 cups cooked and diced meat (whatever you fancy!)

2 cup broccoli stems, diced (or another cut-up veggie)

1 cup butternut squash, mashed

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

3 tbsp ghee

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (do NOT omit!)

1 tbsp stoneground mustard 

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

Directions: 

Combine all ingredients in a pot over the stove. Cook until thoroughly heated. Serve.