Roasted Red Pepper Hummus (Paleo)

In honor of Father’s Day, I have a recipe my dad asks me to make weekly: Roasted Red Pepper Hummus.

When I can, I try to prep my meals and snacks on Sunday. Unfortunately, this hummus does not often make it to Monday as my dad tends to eat the whole thing by Sunday night.

No exaggeration, I now divide the dip into 2 containers and stow one in the back of the fridge so he won’t see it. Shhhhhh! 

Now, you can make it traditional by using white beans, but I prefer making it with an artichoke base instead (the hummus tastes the same either way!)

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus (Paleo)

Ingredients:

1 (14oz) can of artichokes, drained and squeezed of excess water (or white beans)

3/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers (from jar)

1/2 cup water

3 tbsp tahini 

juice from 1/2 of a lemon

1 tsp salt

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp paprika

Directions:

Combine all ingredients into a food processor until smooth.

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Paleo “Hummus”

The weather outside is killing me right now. 

It’s so nice and sunny and just…not cold. I have the strongest urge to go out and ride me bike for hours. 

Unfortunately, an annoying thing called homework is keeping me at bay 😦 

But, in the spirit of warmer days, I’ve got a light and refreshing “hummus” dip for you, featuring garden-dried basil, lemon juice, and sunflower seeds.  

Paleo “Hummus” 

Ingredients: 

1 and 1/2 cups raw cauliflower 

1/2 cup reserved steamed water 

1/3 cup dried basil 

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp sunflower seeds 

1 garlic clove

salt and pepper, to taste  

Directions: 

Steam cauliflower until tender. Combine with the rest of the ingredients in a food processor until smooth. 

 

Caprese Hummus

Caprese salads always remind me of the beach.

A few years back, my mom and I went on a day trip to Ocean City. We stayed later than we thought and decided to eat dinner on the boardwalk before returning home. Problem was, we didn’t have a lot money on us and all the cheap food was pizza and fries. As greasy boardwalk food does not agree with my stomach (remember, we did have to drive home) I thought I was SOL.

Luckily, a little cafe had just opened that year. Not only did they have air conditioning, but they also had caprese salad topped with shrimp! I had never heard of caprese salad (yes, apparently I live under a rock) and thought it was the best light-dinner-idea ever. Since then, my mom and I visit our little cafe every year for our tomatoey goodness 🙂

Since caprese salads use more of an assembling process than an actually recipe, I decided to try making it in a dip form.

Note: I realize true hummus is made with chickpeas. However, I cannot stand the taste of chickpeas, no matter how much I try to disguise the taste. Seriously, they (along with greasy foods) make me feel nauseous for some reason. So instead, I always sub in cannellini beans. Feel free to use chickpeas though if you have no aversion to them 🙂

Caprese Hummus

Ingredients:

1 15oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup tomatoes, diced and divided

1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped (or more, to taste)

1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded

2 tbsp olive oil + more for drizzling

salt and pepper

Directions:

Blend cannellini beans, 1/4 cup of the tomatoes, basil, mozzarella, salt, and pepper in a food processor until smooth. Add in the rest of the tomatoes by pulsing a few times. If desired, drizzle more olive oil on top of dip before serving.