3 Simple Healthy Holiday Recipes to Impress Without the Stress

Although the holiday season is frequently laden with sweet and rich indulgences, it doesn’t mean we can't find snacks and sides that are light, healthy, or uncomplicated. 

On this post today, I'm sharing 3 interesting recipes that I found on other blogs that I thought were perfect for entertaining now and during the holidays. 

I had a dinner party last night with 15 guests. I tried two different recipes that I found on Pattie's blog ( A blog that I follow) called Olla-Podrida.  Both recipes were well received.

Cannellini Bean Dip with Black Olive (vegan) calls for just a handful of healthy ingredients. The dip is savory and creamy with the delicious taste of olives. It's perfect for scooping with crisp veggies or your favorite chips or crackers (all gluten-free of course). It's an easy recipe to keep on hand. Follow the link to find her recipe. Cannellini Bean Dip with Black Olive

Next, an interesting Artichoke Salad with Hearts of Palm features hearts of palm, marinated artichokes, a variety of olives, and cherry tomatoes- a delightful mix of textures and delicious flavors. Light, refreshing, and festive, it’s perfect for balancing out all those rich holiday meals. Follow the link to see her recipe. I did make some personal taste changes. See my notes at the bottom of the post for my personal changes.Artichoke Salad with Hearts of Palm

The third recipe I found on another blog that I follow, Jeff the Chef's blog - Make it Like a Man. I have not made this incredible looking food design recipe yet, so I don't have a photo to share with you - but click over to his blog to see this beautiful Caprese holiday wreath made of cherry tomatoes, mozzarella balls,  (vegans can substitute vegan feta cheese) and edible greens. So creative, and definitely is cheerful, festive, and makes a great presentation during the holidays. I think it's a show stopper!! 

 Whether you're wanting a festive appetizer or a light, colorful salad, these simple dishes are the perfect balance of healthful ingredients and holiday cheer.

My Notes: 

Re: Artichoke Salad with Hearts of Palm. 

I made a few changes when I made the recipe. 

First, I used a jar of marinated artichoke quarters. I used some of the marinade from the jar in place of the suggested dressing for the recipe.

Re;Cannellini Bean Dip with Black Olive . I left out the oil and I thought it was still very creamy. Next time, I might try using green olives or Kalamata olives in this easy bean dip recipe. 

Discovering Jicama: The Crunchy, Versatile Veggie You’ll Love

Is it a potato? A brown beet? a turnip? No!! It's a jicama!!

Have you even tasted jicama? 

It's a root veggie that you might have seen in your local grocery store or farmers' market, but never knew what to do with it. It's not pretty on the outside, but it is crunchy and delicious and slightly sweet on the inside. Like a carrot, it can be eaten raw or cooked. 

Elevate Your Dishes with Homemade Tofu Ricotta Cheese: A Versatile Vegan Delight

Elevate Your Dishes with Homemade Tofu Ricotta Cheese: A Versatile Vegan Delight

Do you love cheese but are trying to cut back on high fat foods and inflammatory dairy? Try this 2 ingredient, easy, delicious alternative.

Roasted Carrot Appetizer With Cumin Seeds and Tahini Maple Dip

I am truly excited about this roasted carrot appetizer recipe and you should be too! Why? Because it is not only absolutely easy to make, it is absolutely crazy delicious. 

If you are a reader of my blog, you will know that the last week I made a delicious dip (link)with tahini, maple syrup, and lemon juice. 

Yesterday I was shopping in Costco and I noticed an interesting bag of little bag of multi colored carrots. They were from Guatemala and were hand picked and shaped. They looked so cute, I decided to buy them and make them for an appetizer for the dinner party I was having. 

At first, I thought I would serve them as a vegetable side dish drizzled with the tahini sauce which would have been great ! 

But then I realized that they would also make an amazing appetizer as well, and I needed an appetizer for a party I was giving. (I forgot to take a good photo) 

All of my guests raved about the carrot appetizer. These beautiful looking roasted carrots with cumin seeds were the BIG hit!

I served the roasted carrots as an appetizer along with my maple tahini sauce for dipping which totally enhanced the flavors of the carrots! 

Ingredients: 

1 bag of cocktail carrots (as seen above)

1/2 cup of acquafaba (the liquid from cooking chickpeas or from canned chickpeas- I use it in place of olive oil) 

2 tablespoon of cumin seeds 

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Cover a large cookie sheet with parchment paper 

Wash and dry the carrots 

Brush carrots with acquafaba ( If you use oil, spray with olive oil spray) 

Sprinkle on the cumin seeds and salt

Place in the oven and roast for  20 -25 minutes until carrots are soft.

Remove from oven. 

My Notes: 

• For a side dish, arrange carrots in a serving dish and drizzle with the tahini maple syrup sauce. 
• For an appetizer, arrange the carrots on a flat serving dish and put the tahini maple syrup dip in a small bowl for a dip.

Tahini Maple Party Dip- Easy and Delicious

The flavors of creamy tahini and sweet maple syrup are a match made in heaven!

13 Healthy Plant-Based Super Bowl Snack Ideas

Super Bowl time is almost here, and you can be a super hero by eating and serving healthy plant based snacks and appetizers while watching the game this year. Take a look at some of my easy healthy recipes, and see if any of these appetizers/snacks appeal to you. 

Apple Nachos (link to recipe) with a chocolate date sauce.

Easiest Mexican Black Bean Dip Made in Minutes

With the holidays and holiday parties just around the corner, you will be happy to have this quick and easy guilt-free Mexican black bean dip on hand that can be made last minute and in minutes to help spread the cheer! Tired of hummus? 

My 2nd Best Hummus Recipe Is Oil-Free

Are you looking for the best, yet easy, homemade lower fat hummus recipe? Well there is a reason I call this my second best (which is great).

Homemade hummus is so easy to make and most people like it.

The weather has been warm enough to invite family and/or friends to our deck for some casual outdoor dining. Homemade hummus is usually one of the appetizers that I like to serve to give guests when they get here to give them a chance to mingle and take the edge off their appetite before the meal. 

My new updated hummus recipe is light and creamy, absolutely delicious, and is always a hit!

My deck and chairs and table

My peonies are in full bloom 

Influenced by recipes from our Middle Eastern heritage, I am happy to share what I consider my 2nd best homemade hummus recipe because it is made without tahini or olive oil and is not strictly traditional like my Best Homemade hummus (recipe link).

I still like the hummus recipes that I've  previously shared with you on the blog. However, I'm always modifying my chickpea hummus recipe, so it is easier to make, uses less ingredients, and contains less oil and fat making this recipe heart healthy, weight watchers friendly, and oil-free. Of course all of my recipes are always gluten-free and now totally vegan since 2019. 

One easy way to reduce the calories is to reduce the fat. I did that in this recipe without sacrificing taste. I had 5 test tasters for this recipe and all concurred that is was a "5" out of 5!! (Included my 2 older grandkids)

This recipe calls for only five ingredients: 

Cooked chickpeas, whole sesame seeds, aquafaba (the starchy liquid that is a result of cooking dry chickpea or the liquid in the can of chickpeas) freshly squeezed lemon juice, and whole cumin seeds (plus any seasoning you like such as salt, pepper, or garlic powder). 

I Use Sesame Seeds Instead of Tahini Paste

You may have noticed that this delicious recipe omits one of the  traditional ingredients in hummus- tahini !

I do like the taste of the thick white tahini paste, but did you ever open a container of it? It's swimming in oil. 

For this recipe, I've eliminated  the intensely caloric tahini from my recipe. However, I brought the sesame flavor back in with some whole sesame seeds. 

Great Flavor 

Truthfully, I was surprised that I could leave out the tahini and still create a great  authentic tasting hummus that was simple and healthy.

I used my food processor and processed everything until I reached a very light, smooth, and creamy whipped consistency.

The aquafaba (cooking liquid from the chickpeas)  is the secret. It really adds a lovely flavor and a little extra starch to the recipe.

At the end, I always love to garnish the dip with some whole cooked chickpeas and a little salt. 

If you are looking for a healthy dip to serve to company or as a snack for yourself- THIS IS IT!!

It feels like summer!!

Ingredients: 

2 cups of cooked chickpeas (or one 15 ounce can)

(save 6 chickpeas for garnish) 

2 tablespoons of whole sesame seeds

1/4 cup of cooking liquid from the chickpeas or can (aquafaba)

1/4 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon of cumin seeds (plus more for garnish)

Optional: salt, ground pepper, or garlic powder to taste

Directions: 

Place the sesame seeds and chickpeas in the food processor. Pulse until begins to come together. With the motor running, slowly begin to add the lemon juice. Then add as much of the aquafaba as needed to get a thick yet creamy whipped consistency. (you may only need a tablespoon of the 1/4 cup). Add the cumin seeds and pulse once. 

Spread on a flat plat, decorate with a few chickpeas and additional cumin seeds if desired. 

Again, if you are looking for my absolutely best traditional hummus recipe follow the (recipe link for hummus)

My Notes: 

Tahini contains

 90 calories/tablespoon. 8 grams of fat and 2 grams of fiber 

Sesame seeds contain

 52 calories/tablespoon, 1.6 grams of fat and 1.06 grams of fiber 

My friend Laura spills off all the oil from her tahini paste to reduce the calories leaving thick dry paste.

This recipe is oil-free, gluten-free, vegan, kosher, -perfect for most of your guests. 

Best Oil-free Hummus in Three Flavors

This easy to make homemade hummus will knock your socks off. It's really tasty and contains no added oils.  I made a plain hummus, a carrot hummus, and a beet hummus. 

I've been learning to cook and prepare food without oil ( but I still use fats such as avocado, olives, nuts, and seeds). You may have read my previous post that explains why. 

Basically oil is one of the most caloric foods you can consume and has zero fiber and very few nutrients. Better to eat the olives than the concentration of oil. I'm learning to make food without oil. 

This oil-free hummus is outstanding. I watched a video by Brittany on The Jaroudy Family Youtube. I adapted her recipe to suit my own tastes.  

Your can visit her Youtube channel to see her recipe. I love learning from her and love her recipes.

It's also fun to add vegetables to the hummus. For example, you can add a cup of beets or drained cooked carrots and omit or greatly reduce the liquid.

I eat this high protein hummus for lunch with cut up celery and carrot sticks or I dilute it to make a salad dressing for my salads or cooked vegetables. I also control the thickness by the amount of liquid I add. Somedays I make it thinner and some days much thicker. 

I enjoy making a cooked vegetable stacks using sliced cooked beets or slice air fry roasted eggplant or both!!

The following recipe is oil-free and tahini-free. If you would like a recipe that contains both olive oil and tahini (sesame seed paste), you can try my previous authentic rich Middle Eastern hummus recipe which is delicious.

Ingredients: 

4 and 1/2  cups of cooked chickpeas (or about 1 and 1/2  15 ounce cans  drained) 

1/4 cup of water or liquid from the chickpeas 

2 large cloves of fresh garlic 

1/2 teaspoon of onion powder

Juice of 1 juicy lemon

1 tablespoon of organic gluten-free miso 

1/2 teaspoon of cumin 

cracked black pepper to taste 

optional: 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric. 

Directions: 

Using the metal blade in a 6 cup food processor, add all the ingredients and process until smooth and creamy. Adjust spices to taste. 

Notes: 

1, Miso is adds a salty taste so no additional salt is needed.

2. Add small amounts of additional water or chickpea liquid to desired consistency. 

3. To make beet hummus add 1 cup of cubed cooked beets 

4. To make carrot hummus add 1 cup of sliced cooked carrots, drained of all water

5. I steam the beets and the carrots in my steamer 

Have You Been "BOOed? ???

Have you been Boo-ed??

We had just finished dinner on my older son's backyard deck (with  him and his family). 

As they walked us to our car in their driveway to say good night, the kids started to scream with excitement, 

"We've been BOO'd"!!!! what a great idea for safe Halloween fun!

Egyptian Dukkah - An Interesting Dip

If you love nuts, seeds, and Middle Eastern spices, Dukkah may well become one of your new favorite dips. Eaten with bread (gluten-free) and olive oil, dukkah is a popular Egyptian favorite. Dip you bread in olive oil and then dip it into the Dukkah! Yum!

You can also add dukkah to salads, sprinkle it on vegetables, add it to rice or quinoa dishes. 

Mashed Cauliflower Hummus

This is an interesting idea that is all over Pinterest for making cauliflower hummus. You simply use a recipe for homemade hummus but substitute steamed cauliflower.