Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Sunflower Seed Dip Recipe- Raw, Vegan, Gluten Free

I'm kinda doing a no shopping challenge now- we've had an expensive past few months and unfortunately not the biggest income to make up for it... so to counteract that, I'm attempting to spend as little money as possible now to balance the books. For groceries, therefore, I am trying to manage predominantly with the foods we already have in the house, supplementing them with things I forage and some free past prime produce I get here and there, and only going to the grocery store as a last resort.

People like Jeff Yeager, author of the Ultimate Cheapskate, calls such things "spending fasts" and encourage people to do similarly every once in a while- to cut back from the standard spending we revolve our life around, and take a break and just work with and enjoy what we have.

Fortunately we're well stocked in the dry goods department in our house, and I'm able to make a variety of flours with my grain grinder, so there's plenty to eat, but I'm getting a little more creative and trying to use some of the bulk foods we have at a faster rate than I would have otherwise. I have a 50 lb sack of sunflower seeds in my house, and while I use them to make sunflower milk, I don't do much with them by way of actual food, because unless they're soaked to make them more digestible, they bother my stomach. And I'm often too lazy to remember to soak them...

But since I've been better about soaking them lately, I've been coming up with food ideas with the sunflower seeds. This was one that I made that was such a hit that my kids were gobbling it up by the spoonful.

What does it taste like? I'd have to say a cross between hummus and sourcream dill dip. In short, good.

You can use it as a spread on sandwiches or wraps, or as a dip for veggies or chips.

Sunflower Seed Dip Recipe- Raw, Vegan, Gluten Free

Ingredients
3 cups soaked sunflower seeds
Juice of 1 lemon, or more or less to taste
3/4 cup water
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2-1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoon dried dill or equivalent amount fresh

Instructions:
1. Soak sunflower seeds overnight or for 24 hours, ideally.

2. Blend up in the food processor or blender until smooth. Add liquid from the recipe 1/4 cup at a time to help it blend up, but don't add the whole amount at once.

3. Add the rest of the ingredients.

Enjoy!

What is your favorite way to prepare sunflower seeds?
Ever go on a spending fast? Do you hate it or enjoy it or both? 

6 comments:

  1. That looks really good! I love hummus and sour cream with dill so I know I would like it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Awesome! Let me know how you like it when you try it out! My kids were eating this by the spoonful- they preferred it that way to on veggies!

      Delete
  2. Probably a dumb question, but are the sunflower seeds already shelled?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dumb question, but are the sunflower seeds already shelled?

    ReplyDelete
  4. We have no food allergies, but my sons school is nut free, so I use Sunbutter - peanut butter made from sunflower seeds. I am sure you could make it!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love this. Will add it to my salatim list. Used fresh garlic and dill. Added loads. This filled 2 500g containers

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for leaving a comment on your blog. Comments are moderated- please be patient to allow time for them to go through. Opposing opinions are permitted, discussion and disagreements are encouraged, but nasty comments for the sole purpose of being nasty without constructive criticisms will be deleted.
Just a note- I take my privacy seriously, and comments giving away my location or religion are automatically deleted too.