Happy St. Patrick's Day!

    

     

Creamy Spinach Artichoke Dip

A fellow Paleo friend shared this recipe with me last week.  When I first read the recipe I was a bit skeptical. I honestly didn't think it would be possible to make a good tasting spinach artichoke dip WITHOUT using mayo and cheese! I already had some raw cashews on hand so I was ready for the experiment.  I'm all about healthy eating right now so I was anxious to try it.  

The results?  It was pretty darn good!!! I first tried eating it with cucumber slices (because corn chips are not Paleo or good for you) but it just wasn't the same.  I needed to splurge a bit and dip with some good, salty chips. We have to cut ourselves a little slack, right? Hey, at least the spinach dip was healthy!  

The cashew cream was super easy to whip up with a food processor and I'll definitely be making this again soon.

Thanks for the recipe, Katie!!!

Creamy Spinach-Artichoke Dip (Paleo and Vegan)

Source: Paleo Spirit

Ingredients

- 2, 10 ounce boxes frozen, chopped spinach
- 2, 14 ounce cans or jars of artichoke hearts
- 1 T. extra-virgin olive oil (I used extra)
- 1 small onion, diced (about 1 cup)
- 2 or more garlic cloves, minced
- 1 1/2 t. sea salt
- 1 t. onion powder
- 1/2 t. garlic powder
- 1/2 t. black pepper
- 1/4 - 1/2 t. cayenne pepper (to taste)
- 1 T. lemon juice
- 1 1/2 - 2 c. (approximate) cashew cream*

Instructions

1.  Defrost the spinach and squeeze out the excess water. Set aside.
2.  Drain and roughly chop the artichokes.
3.  Saute the onions in the olive oil until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for another minute.
4.  Stir in the chopped artichokes, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, and cayenne and heat through.
5.  Add in the spinach and lemon juice and stir until heated through.
6.  Stir in the cashew cream*.

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*How to Make the Raw Cashew Cream

Ingredients

- 1 c. raw cashews (whole cashews, not pieces)
- fresh, filtered water

Instructions

1.  Rinse the cashews well, place in a bowl with enough water to cover them by about an inch. Cover the bowl and soak the cashews for a MINIMUM of two hours but preferable overnight.
2.  Drain the cashews, rinse under cold water and place in a food processor with 3/4 c. of fresh, filtered water. Process on high for several minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides, until you have a very creamy texture. You can add up to 1 c. of water, depending on the consistency you like.

Makes about 1 1/2 to 2 c. raw cashew cream.

Guilt Free Chocolate "Ice Cream"

My kids love eating ice cream after dinner. They don't have it too often around here as we try to keep it as a special treat. While we were eating dinner, I told the kids we were going to have some "healthy ice cream" tonight and they were so excited and all for it!  

We've made "ice cream" before out of frozen bananas but this recipe has a little different twist. Adding in some almond butter and cocoa powder for a chocolate version.

The kids were anxious to help create this concoction and their bowls were completely empty within minutes!

Kid tested...mom approved!!!

Guilt Free Chocolate "Ice Cream"
Source: www.isavea2z.com

4 or 5 frozen bananas
1 T. almond butter
1 T. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 T. (or more) coconut milk

Cut up bananas and freeze them overnight or longer. Put the frozen bananas into your food processor and mix until you see finely shredded banana pieces. Add almond butter, cocoa powder, and 1 T. coconut milk.  Add in more coconut milk until it's the consistency you want. Serve immediately.