Monday, July 13, 2015

Sweet Potato or Pumpkin Fruit Dip Recipe- Paleo, Sweetener Free, Vegan, Nut Free

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Any moms probably already know that one of the most annoying and stressful things about kids is... that they're ALWAYS hungry and ALWAYS want something to eat. And if that wasn't bad enough, I'm finding that without our staple rice cakes now that we're doing Paleo for 30 days, my kids are hungry even more often. I can't even count how many apples I've cut up for them in the last week.
I was doing some asking around, trying to figure out how to keep my kids more full on the Paleo diet, and not just by giving them extra meals in the middle of the day (because as it is, cooking 3 full meals a day plus snacks is giving me a conniption), and I was recommended to give them more fat to keep them full longer.
So I figured- why not make a dip for their apples, so that they'd be able to eat their apples and stay full afterwards, and not just ask for another apple in another 20 minutes.
I threw this together, first with leftover sweet potatoes and tahini, and they loved it- said "it tastes just like peanut butter" (peanut butter is a no no on the Paleo diet), but then I ran out of cooked sweet potatoes and had some baked pumpkin, and then made it with that as well. In my opinion, it tasted a little better with the sweet potato than with the pumpkin, but my kids liked it both ways. I'm sure it would also taste fabulous with butternut squash as well, I just don't have any at home to try it out with yet, but it's in the plans.
This is now going to be a staple in our house.
Oh- and by the way- it also tastes amazing just eaten straight off the spoon. Not that I've actually tried that or anything... :-P

This is great for so many diets- vegan, Paleo, and even GAPS if you use pumpkin or butternut squash instead of the sweet potato- and even if you're on no diet at all, since it is healthy, low cost, and delicious, and maybe will also save your sanity if, like my kids, your kids are constantly asking to eat...

Sweet Potato or Pumpkin Fruit Dip Recipe- Paleo, Sweetener Free, Nut Free

Ingredients:
1/2-3/4 cup baked pumpkin or sweet potato or butternut squash
1/4 cup tahini paste
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoon chia seeds (optional)
1/8 teaspoon salt (optional)

Instructions:
1. Blend up your pumpkin, squash, or sweet potato. If you're using sweet potato, a food processor isn't necessary- just mashing works. But if you're using pumpkin, use a food processor or blender.

2. Add your tahini paste, cinnamon, and salt if desired.

3. Mix in your chia seeds if using.

4. Dip in your fruit, and enjoy!

If you like healthy dips for fruit- check out this healthy cookie dough dip recipe as well- though it's not vegan or Paleo, just yummy and cheap.

Do you find your kids are also constantly hungry? What do you give your kids to fill them up? Ever give your kids dips for their fruit?
Does this look like a recipe you'd try?

1 comment:

  1. Thank you for the recipe! I just made this with pumpkin and everyone loved it.

    ReplyDelete

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