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Healthy Snacks

Creamy Avocado Gazpacho with Spicy Croutons

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+ Creamy Avocado Gazpacho with Spicy Croutons inspired by Tori Richie from Appetite for Adventure on The Food Network +

creamy-avacado-gazpacho-from-WhipperBerry

There is nothing better on a hot summer day than a cool, refreshing gazpacho! What is gazpacho? It’s a cold soup that is typically made with pureed vegetables or even fruit. It is fresh, clean and so delicious! Here is my take on Tori Richie’s Avocado Gazpacho recipe…

Creamy Avocado Gazpacho with Spicy Croutons
 
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A creamy and light cold soup that your friends and family will love!
Author:
Recipe type: soup
Cuisine: Mexican
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 2 large cucumbers - peeled & seeded
  • 3 avocados
  • 2 limes - juiced
  • ½ cup vegetable stock
  • 1 small jalapeño - seeded and chopped
  • 3 green onions - white and green
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon cumin
  • ¼ teaspoon chili powder
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • olive oil
  • 4-5 grape tomatoes - diced
  • ¼ cup queso fresco - crumbled
  • 4 large slices of crusty bread or pumpernickel bread
  • ½ stick of butter
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon mexican oregano
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
  1. Clean and prep all your veggies and roughly chop each one. Add the cucumber, avocado, lime juice, vegetable stock, jalapeño, green onion, salt, cumin, chili powder and pepper to the jar of a blender. Blend until pureed. If the mixture is too thick, you can add more vegetable stock until you reach your desired consistency.
  2. Chill in the refrigerator for a least 30 minutes.
  3. For the spicy croutons... Cut bread into small bite sized pieces. Place in a 450˚ oven for 10 minutes.
  4. Melt butter and add chili powder, cumin, crushed Mexican oregano and salt.
  5. Remove croutons from oven and drizzle with butter mixture and toss to coat.
  6. Put croutons back into the oven for an additional 5 minutes.
  7. Remove from oven and let cool.
  8. When you are ready to serve the gazpacho, place the soup in small bowls, drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and top with spicy croutons, diced tomatoes and crumbled queso fresco.

Fiesta Scallop and Shrimp Cocktail

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+ Fiesta Scallop and Shrimp Cocktail recipe inspired by Marcela Valladolid from The Food Network’s Mexican Made Easy +

whipperberry-spicy-shrimp-and-scallop-cocktail

This is a fun new take on your basic shrimp cocktail and it’s super easy to make. The recipe was inspired by one of my favorite Food Network Chef’s Marcela Valladolid from  The Kitchen and Mexican Made Easy Fame.  I of course had to put a little WhipperBerry spin on it. Instead of poaching the scallops, I actually pan seared my scallops and then chilled them. It added a little more depth to the flavor of the scallop and I love it. Also, rather than starting from scratch with my cocktail sauce, I use a commercially prepared cocktail sauce as my base and then doctored it with some of Marcela’s ingredients. Here’s the recipe…

Fiesta Scallop and Shrimp Cocktail
 
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Surprise your guests with this fun and spicy to take on the classic shrimp cocktail!
Author:
Recipe type: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 lb. cooked shrimp (peeled, deveined, tail off)
  • 8 large sea scallops
  • 3 cups cocktail sauce
  • 1 large lime (juiced)
  • ½ of a serrano chili (finely diced)
  • ¼ teaspoon of Tabasco Soy Sauce
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl or large canning jar, mix your cocktail sauce, lime juice, serrano chili, and spicy Tabasco soy sauce. Mix well, cover and let chill in the refrigerator for a least 30 minutes.
  2. Prepare scallops by rinsing gently with cold water, removing the "foot" a little flap that you will find on the side of the scallop. Just pull it off and discard. Completely dry the scallops and set on paper towel to absorb any moisture.
  3. In a skillet, add olive oil and set over high heat. Once the pan it hot, add the scallops and turn down the heat to medium high.
  4. Let the scallop cook for 2 minutes or until seared (brown) on one side and then flip over to sear the other side for another 2 minutes. Remove from the pan. Let cool and then store in an air tight container with a paper towel at the bottom, in the refrigerator until chilled and ready to use.
  5. When ready to serve, cut the scallops in half and place in a medium sized bowl. Add the shrimp making sure they are rinsed, dried and tail removed, into the bowl. Cover with cocktail sauce and combine. Place in serving cups with a small stock of celery to garnish.

Chocolate Cherry Pudding Pops + Gluten and Dairy Free

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+ This gluten-free dairy-free Chocolate Cherry Pudding Pops recipe post brought to you by Silk +

Silk-Cocolate-Covered-Cherry-Pudding-Pops-1

Nothing makes my summer heart happier than when the cherries finally come into season. Yep, I’m one of those girls that will always run for the cherry flavored ANYTHING the first chance that I get. The lack of tiny little seeds that get caught in my teeth first drew me in when I was a kiddo. Don’t get me wrong I’m an equal opportunity berry lover as well. I adore strawberries and raspberries, but my hear belongs to my favorite cherry. (Yes, I know… Cherries aren’t technically berries. I just tend to lump them in the same group. They are actually from the prune family and are called drupes. Go look it up. Drupe just doesn’t roll off the tongue like berry does.)

When my father introduced the idea of chocolate covered cherries when I was little, I nearly died and floated off to cherry heaven. I’ve spent many of Christmases as a kiddos curled up in a chocolate cherry sugar coma. It was my Dad’s favorite Christmas treat, so I guess the apple doesn’t fall to far from the tree. I was always the first in line when that special box came out. I was a puppy dog really following him around awaiting the spoils from my master.

Needless to say, I have grown up with a love for the flavor combination of chocolate and cherry. Remind me… One of these days, I need to post my Chocolate Cherry Cake for you guys. It’s mind blowing!!

Now, with the new summer crop, I was hoping to have my favorite flavor combination but in a bit of a healthier way. I thought, why not make a gluten-free, dairy-free chocolate cherry pudding pop? Pudding’s not dairy-free you say… Well, if you mix your pudding with Silk Soy Milk it certainly is!

Silk-Cocolate-Covered-Cherry-Pudding-Pops-2

Not only that but you are adding plant protein power to your popsicles! Here’s how I made them…

First, I washed and prepped my cherries by pitting them and cutting them into quarters. I took 2 cups of Chocolate Silk Soy Milk and whisked in 3-4 tablespoons of pudding powder mix. I placed the cherries, roughly about three cherries per pop, into the popsicle mold. Then I poured the Silk Pudding mixture into the mold. I used my Zoku so it went super quick, only 7 minutes. If you are doing it the traditional way, place your pops into the freezer for at least 4 hours.

Silk-Cocolate-Covered-Cherry-Pudding-Pops-3

The kiddos and I enjoyed this scrumptious summer treat and man, were they good. The cherry chunks were tasty mixed in with the chocolate pudding base, I couldn’t be happier.

Are you a Silk fan? Are you looking for more ways to use Silk Soy, Almond or Coconut Milk in your diet? You need to visit Silk’s Facebook Page for all kinds of recipes and ideas for ways to add more plant protein power to your diet. You can even sign up for the Silk fan club and receive coupons and fun ideas right in your inbox. Total score!

What kinds of frozen treats would you like to make with Silk? Leave a comment with your fun summer treat idea!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.

Zucchini Hummus Recipe

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// Zucchini Hummus Recipe brought to you by Pompeian Olive Oil //

Zucchini-Hummus-with-Pompeian-Varietals-Collection-Olive-Oil-3

A few months ago, I had the exciting opportunity to travel to Israel to go on a food tour of that amazing country.  Our first full day there, we were on a quest to find the best hummus in the country. Now hummus in Israel is a BIG deal! Here in America  when we get hungry we head out to some fast food joint and grab a burger to eat on the go. In Israel, they have little hummus huts and that’s where everyone goes when they want to grab a quick bite to eat.  Our quest took us to Jaffa…

jaffa israel

… Just outside of Tel Aviv. Here is where the famous Abu Hasan Hummus hut is located, hidden within the winding streets of this ancient city.

Abu_Hassan Humus Hut

Abu Hassan is famous for one thing… Hummus! That’s about all they make and they make it well. Everyday people line up outside this little hole in the wall shop to get their hummus and when the hummus pot is empty, the shop closes for the day, so you have to get there early!

abu hasan humus

Abu Hasan’s hummus is unlike any hummus I have ever tried in the US. It’s rich and creamy with a flavor that just grabs you and then haunts you forever. They top the hummus with chickpeas, garlic, paprika, parsley and then they float a full flavored olive oil on top. It’s truly an amazing culinary experience.

When I returned home, all I could think about was that hummus. What I would give for one more taste of that magical creation. I TRIED to recreate it with a few tricks that I learned while in Israel and it was good, but not Abu Hasan good.  So, I kind of gave up my quest until the other day.

This last week I spent some good quality time with Aimée and Bettijo from Paging Supermom, while we were attending SNAP, the creative blog conference.  While we were sitting at Café Rio in the Salt Lake City Airport, Aimée mentioned one of her favorite recipes and it kind of blew my mind… Zucchini Hummus! Yea, that’s what I said… Zucchini Hummus, for real?

I have heard of making hummus out of white beans instead of chickpeas, but I have never heard of making it with zucchini! I was intrigued and had to give this new idea a go. I did a little research and then put into practice the hummus tricks I learned in Tel Aviv at the Dan Gourmet School of Culinary Arts and came up with my recipe for Zucchini Hummus.

Now, one of the keys to this tasty and good for you treat is the olive oil. For this application, you need a good, full flavored olive oil that is fruity and can hold up to the bold flavors from the garlic and cumin. I used a fabulous full flavored olive oil from Pompeian’s Varietals collection. The magic of the premium Varietals collections is that each type of oil is pressed from one single type of olive. I used the Koroneiki oil which is from the first cold press of the Koroneiki olive.

Pompeian Olive Oil

It’s bold and fruity with a peppery finish that is just perfect for my zucchini hummus. I used it in the hummus as well as floating some on top as a flavor booster as well as a garnish.

Zucchini Hummus

I was BLOWN AWAY when I tasted it for the first time. It truly took me back to Israel. It’s not Abu Hasan, but to me it’s a fresher, even healthier way to savor the flavors of one of my favorite place. Here is how you make it…

Zucchini Hummus
 
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This fresh take on humus will blow you away and have you constantly coming back for more!
Author:
Recipe type: light meal
Cuisine: Israeli
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • 1 cup Tahini
  • 2 medium zucchini
  • 1 lemon
  • ½ teaspoon citric acid
  • 2 tablespoons of garlic paste
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • 1 tablespoon of Pompeian Varietials Koroneiki Olive Oil
Instructions
  1. Peel and chop your zucchini and add to the bowl of your food processor.
  2. Juice your lemon and add half of the lemon juice to start to the zucchini.
  3. Add the tahini, citric acid, garlic paste, cumin, sea salt and pepper and blend slowly adding the olive oil while blending.
  4. Taste the hummus and see if the seasoning needs some adjustment. You may need to add a little more of the reserved lemon juice or possibly salt. You can tweak it to your taste.
  5. Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil.
  6. Serve with veggies and pita chips or use as an addition to salads or sandwiches.

Disclaimer // This post is sponsored by Pompeian, I received product and payment for this post.