Cut avocado around the middle, lengthwise. Twist the two halves in opposite directions to open.
Remove the pit and scoop out flesh with spoon, into a food processor or blender.
Add cashew, salt, and lemon juice.
Blend until creamy and smooth.
Dollop over soup or anywhere else you'd use sour creme as a topping. Alternately, it can be used as a spread on toast or a dip with crackers or pita wedges.
Chutney is a traditional accompaniment to curry dishes that balances and cools. Topping Curry-in-a-Hurry with fresh coconut ginger chutney makes this quick curry dish special, so don’t leave it out… it takes only five minutes!
Coconut Ginger Chutney has a sweet and flavorful element that recipe testers said they not only enjoyed the first bites, but the lingering flavor too!
Add baked squash pieces, steamed carrot chunks, chopped tomato or chopped green onion (near the very end of simmering).
Directions:
In a heavy pot or skillet, sauté onions and garlic in water. When the onions are soft, add the salt and
spices and cook another minute or two, stirring.
Add the canned chickpeas and stir.
Use a hand blender to puree most of the mixture leaving some whole if you wish. (This step is optional if you would rather have the texture of the whole chickpeas. Traditional curry is typically pureed.)
SLOW COOKER OPTION:Sauté onion and garlic (as above). Place all other ingredients in a Slow Cooker. Simmer on low for 6-7 hours, or high for 2-3 hours. Puree with hand blender.
½ cup slivered almonds, chopped or pulsed in grinder
½ cup fruit jam, your choice!
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Prepare almond coating by finely chopping with a knife or pulsing in a spice or nut grinder. Place in a suitable bowl for rolling dough balls.
Mix together dry ingredients.
Cream nut butter, syrup and almond extract.
Add dry ingredients and combine well. The dough will be sticky.
Using moistened hands, form 1” balls. Roll each ball in chopped almonds. Press gently with thumb to make a dent on top of cookie. Set each cookie on cookie sheet.
Bake for 12-15 minutes until lightly browned.
Cool completely and fill with your choice of jam or fruit butter!
So simple! So delicious!! Chia seeds not only thicken fruit to make jam, they provide omega 3 fatty acids and lots of dietary fiber to your breakfast, snacks, or treats!
Welcome to Victoria’s Whole-food Nutrition Kitchen where you will discover both a weekly *Health Bite* as well as a plant-strong, gluten-free recipe and delicious inspiration!
Today’s Health Bite – The mighty *APPLE*
The quintessential symbol of nutrition. Sweet and crunchy, one-a-day is said to keep the doc away. So why is this once-forbidden yet-now-so-common fruit a healthy choice?
One of reasons nutritionists recommend a regular apple intake is because of the phytochemical “quercetin,” which is a flavonoid, part of the Vitamin C complex. Quercetin (pronounced: keer-ci-tin) helps reduce the release of histamine and other inflammatory chemicals in the body making it, and therefore apples, delicious allergy and asthma fighters.
Pesticide alert! Apples are near the highest of the Dirty Dozen list (see: Environmental Working Group) for pesticide and herbicide contamination. Choose non-sprayed apples whenever possible.
Today’s Whole-food Recipe…
(Slow-Cooker) Apple-Butter ~ makes: 6-8 cups ~
from: Real-Life Vegan by: Victoria Laine, p.220
Use up your excess apples and enjoy a delicious, thick apple-jam all year round! Commercial apple-butter, while delicious, can be pretty pricey, likely because it takes so many apples for each batch. Use your slow-cooker to use up excess or over-ripe apples without having to watch over them as they reduce down into concentrated, spreadable sweetness.
5 lbs chopped apple (about 12-15 cups, cored and quartered)
1 cup dry unrefined sugar cane (Sucanat, Rapadera, etc)
1 cup water (or omit sugar and use apple cider)
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp each: ground cloves, nutmeg, and allspice (opt)
pinch salt
1. Note: Don’t remove the valuable skin from your apples! Wash apples, cut them into quarters and remove the cores. Alternately if you own an apple corer…well, you’ll know what to do!
2. Place the quartered apples in the slow-cooker insert. Add liquid and other ingredients. Stir with a wooden spoon and put the lid on. Simmer apples on LOW for about 10-12 hours, or overnight.
3. Remove the lid and allow to simmer another several hours to thicken. This can vary depending on the juiciness of the apples, so be patient, even another 3-8 hours potentially.
4. Turn off the heat and allow to cool in the slow cooker. Blend apple puree using an immersion hand-stick blender, or transfer cooled apples to a blender. Process until smooth. Transfer to clean glass jars and refrigerate up to 2 months. For longer term storage, freeze in ziplock style bags or suitable freezer containers.
Hi, I'm Victoria Laine, whole-food educator, author, and health blogger.
My website is the home of all things delicious and nutritious, celebrating the pleasure of food and well-being.
You'll find recipes, menus, books, and courses, as well as private nutrition counseling for Celiac disease, inflammatory conditions, allergy eating, plant-based lifestyles, and more.
I'd love to hear from you if you have questions or suggestions!
