Knead to Cook

Food & fitness obsessed girl.

Spinach Cumin Hummus.

by Filed Under: Dips, Gluten Free, Vegetarian, Vitamix 3 Comments

I admit, I do love a good hummus and be to honest, I much prefer making it at home to purchasing the store-bought versions.  Homemade hummus is not only so easy, it is incredibly flavorful and you control the ingredients – so it’s healthier.

My oldest daughter and I are attending a party tonight and I wanted to bring an appetizer to share with our host.  This will be perfect to share although I may need to make another batch because I keep eating this one. Perks of styling food today.

Ingredients:

1 can of low sodium chickpeas, drained
2 cups of fresh baby spinach (I used organic)
1/4 cup of tahini
3 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of low sodium soy sauce
1/3 cup of water
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of salt
ground pepper
Optional garnish ideas:  Drizzle olive oil, pine nuts or walnuts on top.
Directions:

Add all of the ingredients to your food processor or Vitamix.  Pulse until you have the consistency that you wish to have.  Taste and adjust the seasonings.

Serve with crackers, veggies or pita chips.

— Knead to Cook

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Hummus.

by Filed Under: Desserts, Dips, Snacks, Vitamix 4 Comments

Hummus doesn’t always have to be savory.  My kids love it and let’s face it… it’s better than a cookie for a snack.  This creamy hummus will captivate the youngest of taste buds and have them coming back for more.  Easy recipe, unbelievable flavor.  Great for your next party!

Ingredients:

1 can of drained and rinsed garbanzo beans
1/2 cup of all natural peanut butter
1/4 cup of maple syrup, agave or honey
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Pinch of sea salt
1/3 cup of dark chocolate chips

Directions:

Into your food processor or Vitamix, blend the first 5 ingredients until smooth.  Then by hand stir in the chocolate chips.  Serve with graham crackers, apple slices or cinnamon and sugar tortilla chips.

— Knead to Cook

Pineapple Orange Chobani Smoothies.

by Filed Under: No bake/cooking required!, Smoothies, Vegetarian, Vitamix 4 Comments

Another Monday, another smoothie flavor for my sweet girls after-school snacking.  Today I went with a pineapple orange blend with some added Cho for protein!  These were gone in less than a minute flat!  Guess that’s a success in their books.

Ingredients:

2 cups of fresh pineapple
2 oranges, peeled
1/3 cup of Chobani vanilla yogurt
1 scoop Whey protein powder
1 banana
8 ice cubes
1 cup of vanilla almond milk

Directions:

Place all of the ingredients into your Vitamix or blender and blend on the smoothie setting.  Pour into glasses and enjoy.

 

— Knead to Cook

Kale & Basil Pesto.

by Filed Under: Pasta, Sauces, Vitamix 6 Comments

 

I found this recipe in my Vitamix cookbook.  I was a bit suspect because I was worried that my girls would not like the flavor combination but I was totally wrong.  Vitamin-packed and rich in beta carotene, vitamin K and C, lutein and rich in calcium.  Still paired up with the traditional basil and I used walnuts instead of pine nuts.  The taste is unbelievably good and low in fat thanks to the broth.  Pair this up with whole wheat pasta or top chicken or fish and you are all set!

I prepared this in my Vitamix but a food processor works just as well.  I adapted this recipe from the original Vitamix recipe.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup of chicken broth
1/2 cup of light and fluffy grated parmesan (not packed)
5 garlic cloves, peeled
2 cups of basil leaves
2 cups of kale, spine removed
3 tablespoons of walnuts
1/2 teaspoon salt
Black pepper
Lemon juice

Directions:

Place all of the ingredients in the order as listed into your blender, Vitamix or food processor.  Blend until creamy and smooth.   Toss with fresh pasta or store in a tupperware container in the fridge.

— Knead to Cook

Almost Minestrone Soup.

by Filed Under: Soups, Vegetarian, Vitamix Leave a Comment

 

This soup started out with the best of intentions of being a Minestrone soup.  Well with my latest purchase of my Vitamix that has this awesome soup setting & fabulous cookbook… I thought I would try this.  Well it evolved into a crazy vegetable packed Minestrone soup.  Ha ha.  My goal was empty out my veggie bin before my trip to the farmer’s market tomorrow.  Pureed vegetables can’t be picked out by my youngest too… so a great OTHER benefit to this soup.  Adapted from a Vitamix recipe.

Ingredients:

3 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
6 fresh tomatoes or roasted tomatoes
4 cloves of garlic
3 carrots
1 onion
Ground black pepper
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
1/3 cup of fresh basil leaves
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
1 14 ounce can of chick peas
1 small zucchini
1 can of kidney beans, dark or light red
1/2 can (7-8 ounces) of yellow corn
1/2 cup of grated parmesan
2 cups of baby spinach leaves

Directions:

If you have a Vitamix add the broth, tomatoes, garlic, carrot, onion, pepper, oregano, basil, salt and tomato paste to the vessel and place the lid on.  Select variable speed 1 and proceed through 10.  If you have a unit that has the soup setting, I pureed for a few seconds and then turned that on and let it run through. If you have a blender, add all of the ingredients and puree.  Then add chickpeas, beans, zucchini, corn and cheese.  Pulse 2-4 times quickly.  Then add to a Dutch oven, add your spinach leaves and put on your stove set over a low flame and let it simmer for 1-6 hours.

— Knead to Cook