Paleo and vegan carrot dip takes about 5 minutes to make, tastes gourmet and uses about $1 worth of ingredients. There's a lot to love!
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Stay with me I haven't totally changed my eating habits over night. I'm not one to latch on to the latest craze diet, in fact I'm quite against them in general.
My idea of a diet is eating as well as you can most of the time with a few (ok sometimes more than a few) treats thrown in. As my mum says ALL. THE. TIME. 'everything in moderation' and I'll add Nigella's 'even moderation.'
I don't think that the Paleo/cave man diet is a new thing but it's new to me as I tend not to be across the latest diets. I'd heard the word a few times and so set off to Google to find out what it was all about.
If you've never heard of it, the basic premise is that eating like a cave man is good for you. If you couldn't hunt and gather the food (given that you had the skills - I'm no spear thrower myself), then you can't eat it.
The food that you do eat, should be as close to its natural state as possibly ie free-range and organic.
The reason?
The theory is that our bodies/digestive systems haven't evolved much since then and giving it all these new things like refined sugar, processed foods, wheat, most dairy and saturated fats send it into melt down and lead to a myriad of health issues.
As diets go, I'm not against this one. You already know that I've converted to free-range meat only but I've also been researching the link between what we eat and our health.
The old adage 'you are what you eat' makes sense to me. As we found out (I say we but I don't mean me) recently, if you put petrol in a diesel car it don't go so well.
I think it's safe to say the same for our bodies - feed them rubbish and they won't perform at their best.
I know it's pretty plain and simple but with no wedding to focus on this year I'm going to focus try and increase my arsenal of healthy recipes and give me a project because I love projects.
If I'm going to make healthy things I want them to give me big health bang for my buck and be super tasty because if they're boring I won't eat them.
Dip is something I eat a lot of. When I say a lot I mean I have it every night between afternoon tea and dinner. In our house we have 'cocktail hour' where we have a little snack and a drink to keep us going until dinner.
For me it's usually some rice crackers and homemade dip so I thought I'd do some experimenting.
I found this carrot dip on a Paleo website. I was extremely wary wondering how a few carrots, spices and garlic could make a tasty dip but wow was I surprised.
It was sweet and had a nice depth to it as well as a little punch from the garlic.
I loved it. Here's the best part - it cost about $1 to make.
Even if you use all organic ingredients it's still about $1 for 1 cup of pure, healthy, delicious organic dip. Oh and making it is as simple as throwing it in the blender. Enjoy!
What do you think of all those diet plans out there? Have you ever done any of them?
Try this dip with delicious homemade water crackers.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 g carrots peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
- 1 clove garlic peeled
- Juice of ½ a lemon
- 1 ½ tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ⅛ teaspoon ground coriander seed
- ⅛ teaspoon smoked paprika
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Steam the carrots until soft.
- Throw everything in the blender and process until it reaches the desired consistency. Either leave it chunky or make it nice and smooth.
- You may need to add a little extra oil.
- Refrigerate until cold then server with biscuits or veges.
Joan Maguire says
I love carrots and many other vegetables; however, I can't eat them because of the Fructose, Fructans and Polyols in them. Is there a way to cook them to make them Fructose, Fructan and Polyol friendly? I have just started eating fruit again after 40 years without them by cooking them in Glucose syrup and Dextrose powder/Glucose powder. I am also a Type 2 Diabetic with IBS. Any suggestions?
Claire says
Hi Joan. I'm sorry but I'm don't have any experience with that sort of thing so would feel under-qualified to comment.
K says
Monash University tested carrots as safe for all FODMAP levels, including fructans, fructose, and polyols. The garlic could be left out if you used garlic infused olive oil instead of regular olive oil. You might have to check some other ingredients.
Stacey says
I'm going to try this! I don't do diets, I try to eat as healthy as I can, I even make a lot of paleo stuff, but I do mess up a lot on my eating. I hate diets because I have never been able to stick to one
Claire says
I feel exactly the same way Stacey!
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
I love carrots but have yet to make a dip with them - great idea, I love the spices you added!
Claire says
Me either Laura. It's very tasty!
Stephanie @ henry happened says
i bought a paleo cookbook awhile back but totally forgot about it - i wanted to make the cauliflower mashed potatoes. Love this idea - I can give Sam the plain carrots and trick the older kiddos into eating it too! :)
Claire says
Yes definitely Stephanie. It would pass I reakon. My sister loves cauliflower rice!
Krista says
I don't do Paleo, but several of my family members do and love it. :-) I'm just too fond of the occasional homemade pie, cookie, and cake. :-) I love this dip though! It reminds me of a Turkish one I made a while back. So simple yet so savory. :-)
Claire says
Yes me too Krista. I could do it part time. Maybe one day a week?
Gluten Free Julia says
Simple food often tastes the best - provided enough herbs and spices are used! The Paleo diet/lifestyle compliments gluten free and lactose free diets really well as both refrain from processed food. Thanks for this super easy recipe!
Claire says
That's true Julia. It doesn't take much to make a delicious meal!
Martine @ Chompchomp says
My friend has only recently introduced me to the concept of Paleo. Considering my fructose malabsorption and gluten intolerance, it actually looks like it would compliment my already existing needs anyway? Dunno, like you Im not a fan of fads and prefer to make "lifestyle changes" And those must include chocolate lol
Claire says
Totally agree Marine. Lifestlye changes must include chocolate! Yes it probably would be similar to your diet although there's no chocolate in there (unless it's about 80% cocoa).
Kirsty @ The Natural Foodie says
Gotta love a good dip Claire!
The paleo thing has been around for a while, although i think you'll find the real 'hard core' paleolithics see it more as a "lifestyle choice" rather than a "diet", much like being a vegan or vegetarian.
While I can see the benefits, I do think some of the theories are pretty flawed. We may have started as hunter/gatherers but it didn't take us long to figure out that we could farm and harvest!
Claire says
Oh yes I forgot to mention that for a lot of people it's more a lifestyle than a diet but I think it's still used for weightloss in a few circles. Very true we have to have developed to some extent!
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says
I would be wondering the same thing but good to know that it came out nicely! And a bonus of the price too :)
Claire says
I was very wary Lorraine!
Amy says
It is a good theory. What I don not understand is the Paleo exclusion of legumes and pulses? What is wrong with the humble chickpea??
Claire says
Hm yes I'm still yet to work that out but apparently they don't do too well in our guts hence the 'beans beans the muscial fruit' jingle!