New Year, New Possibilities feat. Mediterranean Surprise Dip

With the ever exciting New Year upon us, a lot of us are thinking about what we might do different in the year 2013. Some may even call these New Years Resolutions. I am personally not a fan of making them because I find it very hard to stick with them. Instead I just give myself a list of things that I would like to see change in the new year. Mostly its things like see my family more, clean the house more, put away the laundry after I'm done it, actually DO laundry, ect. My newest addition to the list is eat fewer chips, they are my weakness and I should really try to cut back. I am not going to kid myself and say I am going to quit altogether because who am I kidding, I don’t want too. I feel like the decision has to come on its own, and I can't force it.

This is how I cut out peanut butter from my diet. When I became vegan I was addicted, it was one of foods that helped me transition into veganism. In the beginning I wasn’t going to give it up (no matter how many times Ashley suggested it), but just this past month I began to really recognize that it was making me feel very ill every time I would eat it. I couldn’t concentrate at work, my stomach hurt and I felt really tired. That’s when the light bulb went came on, PING! No more peanuts. It took me a while to get there, but the decision was my own and I wanted to do it!

Of course there are some of you out there who also want to make health changes but might not know where to start. I would suggest watching the Vegucated documentary, its about 3 ‘normal’ New Yorkers who go vegan for 6 weeks. The movie isn’t that long and I found it quite funny at times. I will warn you that there is some graphic footage (I covered my eyes and my husband let me know when it was okay to re-open them, so I will now suggest a buddy system when you watch it, if you are sensitive like me!). You can find it on Netflix and probably on the internet too.

While watching, I heard one of the woman say something that has really stuck with me:

"A lot of people think veganism as a religion, which is totally wrong, its not that you have to live by certain rules. Its about minimizing suffering, it’s not about being perfect”

She is right, it’s about being happy and comfortable with the way you live your life. Furthermore, it is a total different experience for each person. If you want to make a change to vegetarian/vegan and not sure where to start, why not just minimize the suffering? Gradually eliminate things from your diet at a pace you are comfortable with. For me chicken was the first to go, it was something that always bothered me so that made it easier to cut out. Another easy way to minimize suffering in you house hold is buying wild game. My husbands family are now wanting to eat more wild game such as deer, moose or wild boar, for environmental and ethical reasons. We can all share it as a family which makes it more affordable and by eating wild you are not contributing to the slaughter houses. 

My recipe today is inspired by a conversation I had with my friend Rebecca the other day. She transitioned into vegetarianism in July and she expressed that she wanted to go vegan in the new year. This got me excited! Another person to share recipes with, Woo Hoo!

She then asked me “how do you deal with going to family functions and being vegan?” This is something I get asked a lot because its one of the main hurdles people have when going vegan.  My solution is to bring your favourite dish and share with everyone. If they like it, then great you are giving them a chance to try something new! If they don’t like it, then more for you!
One of my favorite dishes to take to family functions is my Mediterranean Surprise Dip, its very simple to make and is really tasty! 

Mediterranean Surprise Dip 

Humus - store bought or you can use my recipe below
1 tomato, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1/2 cucumber, diced
2 green onions, diced
1/2 cup of kalamata olives, diced and de-seeded
Balsamic Vinegar

Humus
1 can of chick peas
1 clove of garlic
3 tbsp of tahini 
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup of water

Put all of the humus ingredients into a high speed blender and blend until smooth. 

Spread all of the humus onto a flat serving tray, then evenly sprinkle the veggies on top. The last thing is to drizzle balsamic vinegar all over. This is a trick I stole from the restaurant Original Joes, it adds a sweet and tangy taste to the dish, and you can use ANY flavor of balsamic vinegar! Serve with pita bread, or my favorite choice, fresh zucchini and cucumber slices. 

Thanks for reading!
xoxo -N