SnackFood

Roasted Sweet Potato & Garlic Hummus

/ Sandi Knight / Leave a comment

I’ll admit, the first time I tried hummus I wasn’t impressed.  It very dry, over-powered with garlic and rather unpalatable — not a recipe I felt obliged to try! But after sampling a few store bought varieties  — roasted red pepper, caramelized onion — I thought maybe hummus wasn’t so bad after all.  Then I found a recipe for Sweet Potato Hummus at Alaska from Scratch  which converted me to the ‘pulse side’ of snacking!  I adapted it to use heart-healthy canola oil and incorporated a few great tips from a Roasted Butternut Squash Hummus recipe at Nita at Carrots & Cake. The result — a family favourite, kid-approved, delicious, addictive, smooth and creamy hummus! 

Roasted Sweet Potato & Garlic Hummus

Main Ingredients:

  • 1 medium sweet potato (approx 1 lb or 500 grams), drizzle of canola oil
  • 1 – 19 oz (540 ml) can chickpeas, drained & rinsed
  • 3 cloves *roasted garlic or 1 raw garlic clove
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 1 lemon, juiced (about 3 tbsp)
  • 1/4 cup hemp hearts (optional)

Spice Mixture:

  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
  • pinch of nutmeg

Garnish options:

  • Parsley
  • Green onions
  • Hemp hearts
  • Roasted chickpeas
  • Grated or ground nutmeg
  • Paprika
  • Cayenne Pepper
  • Cinnamon
  • Lemon rind

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
  2. Scrub the sweet potato & dry thoroughly. Pierce the skin 2-3 times with a knife or fork and lightly coat with a drizzle of canola oil.
  3. Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake 45 min — 1 hour, until tender.  (If you cut sweet potato in half, reduce time to ~ 30 minutes)
  4. Let cool, peel off skin, cut off any dark spots and cut into 4 —5 cm pieces.
  5. *If roasting garlic, toss cloves with a bit of canola oil, wrap in foil & place on baking sheet with the sweet potato. Garlic will take less time to roast so remove from oven after about 30 minutes.
  6. Drain & thoroughly rinse chickpeas.
  7. Toss chickpeas, sweet potato, garlic, canola oil, lemon juice, hemp hearts (if desired) & spice mixture into blender or food processor
  8. . Blend well, scraping down as needed. If it isn’t as smooth & creamy as you’d like, add more canola oil (or water), a tablespoon at a time, until it reaches desired consistency.

To serve, drizzle with canola oil and top with your choice of garnishes. Serve with crackers & raw veggies. This also makes a wonderful spread for sandwiches or wraps. Basically this hummus is so good, you will get very creative in finding ways to use it, other than just eating it ‘straight-up’ with a spoon — which, by the way, is totally acceptable!

Notes:

  • Roasted garlic is sweeter & less overpowering than raw garlic, hence only use 1 clove if opting for raw.  My family loves it either way!
  • Hemp hearts will add a nutty flavour & slightly change the consistency of the hummus, but they also add protein, fibre & healthy fats.
  • Encourage creativity in the kitchen by letting the kids help. They love to personalize their snack by choosing their own garnishes, crackers & veggies.

Storage:

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 -5 days, if it lasts that long…

Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins

/ Sandi Knight / 2 Comments

If you are looking for a hearty, healthy, flavourful, pumpkin muffin recipe — this is it!  Perfect for breakfast, snacks and dessert too! These muffins are family favourite and always a welcome addition to university care packages. 

 Adapted from a recipe found on food.com several years ago. 

Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins

2016-10-14-13-18-00

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup canola oil
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1 – 398 ml can of pumpkin puree (1 2/3 cup)
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup whole barley flour or whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup quick-cooking oats
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp ginger
  • 1/3  cup mini-chocolate chips

Directions:

  1.   Pre-heat oven to 375°F (190ºC)
  2.   Grease or line a 12-cup muffin tin with large parchment baking cups.
  3.   Whisk together canola oil, sugar and eggs.
  4.    Fold in pumpkin puree and milk; mix thoroughly.
  5.   In separate large bowl, combine flours, oats, baking powder, baking soda,     salt, spices and mini-chocolate chips. 
  6.   Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients, stir just to combine.
  7.   Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon, scoop the mixture evenly into    the muffin liners.
  8.   Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, until toothpick or cake tester inserted into the     center of a muffin comes out clean.
  9.   Set tins on cooling rack for 5 min. before removing muffins to cool    completely.

Notes:

  • Be sure to use pure pumpkin puree, not canned pumpkin pie.
  • Check out the amazing health benefits of barley flour here.
  • Don’t have any  barley or whole wheat flour? Substitute with all-purpose flour.
  • Feel free to switch out the mini-chocolate chips with raisins or nuts.

Storage:

Can be stored in a covered container for 2 to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months. If the kids are home or company drops by, you likely won’t have to worry about that though…

Three-Grain, Berry-Amazing Muffins

/ Sandi Knight / Leave a comment

When strawberry and saskatoon season collide, your favourite muffins get a make-over! 

Three-Grain, Berry-Amazing Muffins

Muffins & Berries

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup quick-cooking oats
  • 1/2 cup barley flour
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 cup yogurt, plain
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1/3 cup canola oil
  • 1 tbsp finely grated lemon rind
  • 1/2 cup strawberries, diced
  • 1/2 cup Saskatoon berries 
  • 1 tbsp flour

Directions:

  1.   Pre-heat oven to 375°F (190ºC)
  2.   Lightly grease or line a 12-cup muffin tin with large paper liners.
  3.   Thoroughly mix oats, flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt and                      cinnamon in a large bowl.
  4.   In separate bowl, whisk together egg, yogurt, brown sugar, canola oil and     lemon rind.
  5.   In small bowl, coat berries evenly with flour.
  6.   Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients, stir just to combine. Gently  fold in berries.
  7.   Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon, scoop the mixture evenly into    the muffin liners.
  8.   Sprinkle tops with oat or barley flakes.
  9.   Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, until toothpick or cake tester inserted into the     center of a muffin comes out clean. Muffins should be golden brown.
  10.   Set tins on cooling rack for 5 min. before removing muffins to cool        completely. Although, you may want to sample one while slightly warm…

Notes:

I love barley flour and have been substituting it for half of my all-purpose flour in all my baking since learning of its heart-healthy benefits.

Baking should be fun – don’t be afraid to get creative and use what you have on hand. Can’t find barley flour in your supermarket and have no whole wheat flour, just use all-purpose flour in its place. No plain yogurt?  Any berry flavour, lemon or vanilla works great too.  Orange rind can easily lemon rind.  The one cup of berries can be any combination of fresh or frozen you like – try raspberries or blueberries. Play with the flavours and create your own favourite version!

Storage:

Can be stored in a covered container for 2 to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months. If the kids are home or company drops by, you likely won’t have to worry about that though…