Kale Butter

This is for all you kale “cult members” out there! There seems to be two kinds of people when it comes to kale – those who have no idea what it is and those who are obsessed with it. I don’t have much experience in between the two, only one or the other. We eat kale almost everyday so I suppose that puts us in the “cult member” category.

I found this recipe in the Engine 2 Diet book. It’s really good on crackers, pasta, veggies and sandwiches/wraps. I smear this on my toddler’s sandwiches with white beans and soy cheese and she devours it!

Ingredients:

* 1 bunch kale, rinsed and chopped (I use black/lacinato kale – use stems too)

* 1/2 cup walnuts

* 1/2 cup water – (use water leftover from steaming kale!)

* Salt, to taste

Directions:

– Steam the kale for 5 minutes, until tender

– Blend the cooked kale with the walnuts and 1/2 cup of the green water from steaming. Blend until smooth.

– Add salt to taste, if desired

My toddler LOVES this! Can you tell?

 

Chipotle Hummus

I love chipotle chili powder! I like to sprinkle it on my popcorn with wheat germ and a little salt. Anytime I see a recipe with chipotle in it I have to try it. This Chipotle Hummus is from one of my favorite vegan food blogs Melomeals: Vegan For $3.33 A Day. She has really delicious recipes and she teaches you how to eat healthy for really cheap by making a few base sauces and using them for other recipes. I pressure cooked a pound of chickpeas (cost me about $1.50) and I used half of them to make this delicious hummus.

My husband loves this hummus! He puts it on sandwiches, tacos and eats it with chips or crackers. I like it with jicama and lime juice or pita chips.

I used a batch of this hummus to make Cheezy Chipotle Broccoli Quinoa Soup (also from Melomeals) which turned out to be an absolutely delicious soup! Tastes like a cheesy broccoli soup with a little chipotle kick! My husband had two bowls and asked if I would save the leftovers for him!

Chipotle Hummus

  • 2 large cloves garlic
  • 1 t Tony’s creole seasoning
  • ¼ t cumin
  • ¼ t coriander
  • 2 c HOT chickpeas (reserve ½ c cooking liquid)
  • 1-2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
  • 4 T tahini or peanut butter (I used tahini)
  • 2-4 T chickpea cooking liquid as needed or Olive Oil if you aren’t watching  your calories
  • Juice of 2 limes ( around 3 T )
  • ¼ c chopped cilantro (optional)
  • Salt/pepper to taste

Method:

* I blended all the ingredients at once in my VitaMix blender and it turned out great!

* If you don’t have a VitaMix, here’s her food processor instructions:

  1. Pulse garlic and tony’s in food processor until garlic paste is formed
  2. Add the rest of the ingredients and puree until totally smooth
  3. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add more lime juice if needed.