Wishing You a Budget – Friendly, Appetizing Holiday
Happy Monday! With 6 days left until Christmas – I’ve decided to share a few tips and tricks on how I found a few budget-friendly Christmas Appy’s for your upcoming Holiday festivities!
Homemade Hummus:
Hummus is a great option for an appetizer because of it’s nutritional value, cost effectiveness, and it is delicious! It is super rich in protein, dietary fiber which promotes healthy bacteria and a happy digestive system. What I love about homemade hummus – is that I am not afraid to douse it in a ton of olive oil! (Olive oil is a healthy fat – and helps with the digestion of the dietary fiber)
Ingredients:
- 1 can of chickpeas (look for the can with the lowest sodium)
- 1 lemon
- A tablespoon of cumin
- Paprika, to taste
- Salt ‘n Pepaaa
- Olive Oil (I free pour)
Recipe
- Open the can of chickpeas & drain – I often rinse out as much preservative as possible by running the chickpeas under cool water
- Pour the chickpeas into a blender, add spices & olive oil till it reaches about 1/3 of the height of the chickpeas.
- Cut the lemon and squeeze all the juice into the blender.
- Blend. And maybe do a happy dance.
- Pause the blender and taste the hummus, add more paprika, or any of the spices of your choice to taste. I sometimes add Siracha salt… because it’s Siracha salt!!!
- Use a spatula to pour the creamy goodness into a bowl, use a large fork to make circular striations.
- Powder the striations with cumin then paprika, add more olive oil on top!
- Yum!!!
Homemade Lentil Dip:
Another great source of dietary fiber, I learned my lentil recipe from my bestie, B! (She just founded Wellspace Studio) These little legumes are great with cucumber slices and has a refreshing taste & profile! See below for the recipe:
Ingredients:
- 1 can of lentils (find the one with the least amount of sodium)
- Cumin
- Paprika
- Salt ‘n Pepa
- Lemon Juice
- Parsley flakes
- Dijon Mustard
- Olive Oil
Recipe:
- Open the can of lentils, rinse under cold water.
- In a mixing bowl, add the lentils with the spices
- Free pour (in a zig zag pattern) the dijon mustard, do the same with the Olive poin
- Cut the lemon open and squeeze all of it’s juice
- Mix and add more spices to taste, how simple is that?!
Prawn Skewers:
Armed with its’ protein & omega-3’s prawn skewers are a quick and easy appetizer to entertain your guests!
Ingredients:
- Frozen large prawns, find the uncooked ones in the freezer section
- 1 clove of garlic
- Parsley flakes
- Salt ‘n Pepa
- Lemon (1/2)
- Coconut oil
Recipe:
- In a non-stick pan, melt a tablespoon of coconut oil
- Dice the clove of garlic to tiny pieces, add to the pan
- Let the garlic sit till sizzling
- Take the prawns out of the freezer and lay them into the pan, cook until pink
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Add lemon juice and cook till the prawns have a brown cooked tinge, or till the lemon juice has evaporated
- Yum!
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas & a Happy Holiday Season!
Cheers,
Veronica