Christ is risen!
We just came out of a long fasting season and celebrating in the Paschal season (if you are Orthodox Christian) but I promise you that is delicious!
This cauliflower ranch dip can be eaten whether we are in a strict fasting time or not. We may have a tendency to eat a lot of pasta or hummus during fasting periods or days so this is a great dip to have to support our bodies during these times while also adding diversity to our diet…or if we are tired of the same old same old hummus dip. I doubled this recipe to use the amount of cauliflower I had on hand and to share at our church trapeza on Sunday. Let me tell you, boy am I glad that I doubled the recipe because my husband could not stop dipping in! He could not stop dipping with Mary’s Crackers or carrots.
This recipe is good for bone health, heart health and is low calorie. We don’t think about this when we are fasting for long periods of time. Protein is the thing we think of primarily when fasting. We need to incorporate variety of nutrients to stay healthy. This is a great recipe to add to help you on your health journey.
The original recipe calls for sunflower oil. I do not use seed oils in any of my recipes. It is an investment in my family’s health, including my spiritual family’s health, that is worth investing in. I will not go into it into detail except for this: these seed oils are highly processed and that is something I need to avoid since I suffer from Lyme disease. Highy processed foods increase inflammation; this is the last thing you need if you suffer from body pain, as I can affirm.
Author’s Notes: This is a low-fat, low-calorie, dairy-free ranch dip that is sure to please even the most devoted ranch lover. It goes great with vegetables, especially broccoli florets; in fact I’ve been known to eat an entire crown of broccoli so long as it’s accompanied by this dip!
Makes 1 ½ cups / 6 servings
Ingredients
1 ½ cups steamed cauliflower florets
½ cup unflavored almond milk or non dairy milk of choice
2 tbsp avocado oil or EVOO
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp hemp seeds
½ tsp Dijon mustard
¼ tsp garlic powder
Shot of hot sauce or more, adjust to taste
½ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp fresh chives, minced
Directions
- Place the cauliflower in a blender, along with the almond milk, oil, apple cider vinegar, and hemp seeds. Blend for a full minute, or until completely smooth and creamy. Add the Dijon mustard, garlic powder, hot sauce, along with sea salt and black pepper, then blend to combine.
- Taste and adjust salt and pepper if needed. Add chives and blend briefly just to incorporate, without processing the chives too much. Transfer the dip to a serving bowl or a resealable container, and refrigerate for 1 hour to chill before serving. It will keep, refrigerated, for 1 week.
Serving suggestions: This dip is especially good with fresh vegetables, particularly broccoli and carrots. It may also be enjoyed with roasted sweet potato fries or roasted carrots.
Nutritional Benefits
Feel good fact: Cauliflower is an astonishingly good source of vitamin K: 1 cup has a whopping 476.2% of the RDA! People with higher levels of vitamin K have greater bone density and a lower rate of osteoporosis.
Sources
“Superfood Kitchen”, Julie Morris
A Spiritual Steward 
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