All credit goes to Jessie Snyder

This post was sponsored by the American Pecan Council. I feel like having a few good dips on rotation in your fridge is a way to ensure you always have a satiating snack. Seeing as so many of you have requested more snack ideas this year, I thought I would deliver today with a nut paté/hummus hybrid using toasted pecans and smoked hot paprika to wow you ;). It’s creamy and nutty with a good amount of spice to handle whatever veggies you have around for dipping. I would imagine this would be tasty spread on some crackers or a sandwich too. Maybe it could even be served on the side of a salad or with roasted veggies (yum!). I love using pecans here because they are so creamy and nutty. Their softness makes them easy to blend, and the bits that don’t get perfectly blended are pleasant to bite into. They deliver beneficial whole-food fats, fiber, thiamin, and zinc! I just extra love them, and think they go so well with the spices in this dip too.

Thank you to everyone who congratulated me this past weekend on my recent vegan-iversary! Even if it was just in your heart, thank you :) I was so excited to celebrate six years of this abundant and conscious lifestyle. I ended up celebrating Scott too for having supporting me (and being 98% plant based himself) from the very beginning. He has been such a trooper and I’ve seen such a transformation in him that I am so proud of. I think it’s important to celebrate these kinds of things, the choices you make to better yourself, someone else, the planet, or for another positive reason – celebrate! Whether it’s been a week, a month, or a decade, every bit of time commitment is worth recognizing. It gives you an opportunity to reflect upon how far you’ve come as well. Everyone’s journey looks a little different, and we all have our own set of challenges to overcome along the way. Know that wherever you are at, I’m cheering for you. Because if we aren’t cheering for the good of each other – what are we doing, right?

Lately I’ve been focusing on a few areas of my health that need to “get better”. A few internal scars leftover from years of bad habits and poisoning my body, but also areas of my life I haven’t touched upon yet that are just as poisoning – such as my thoughts, ways I manage stress (or don’t), and really overall my emotional well being. This last part has been huge, can you relate? Yoga and deep breathing exercises have been transformative. Also realizing areas of my life that caused me stress, and analyzing how I really just don’t handle them at all. Things get buried, my nerves get sensitive, and instead of dealing with these feelings I let them accumulate until they manifest themselves physically. So I’ve been working on handling this better, and really applying myself fully to reorient my habits and priorities. Hence this bit of quietness here and on other platforms since the new year. I had no idea how much effort it would take! But its too worth it to ignore. I hope this is encouraging to you in some way if you’re currently battling with any of the struggles above. Being gentile with yourself is key, as I’m trying to do, because healing takes time. But as long as we are all rooting for each other, I have total faith in both the process and the results being used for good :). Sending love and encouragement to you this week. – xo

SHOP MY PANTRY >>

This post was sponsored by the American Pecan Council. All words and opinions are my own, and I absolutely love pecans. Thank you for supporting Faring Well through your support if its sponsors.

SMOKY PECAN DIP
Makes about 3 cups.

3 cups chickpeas, rinsed & drained
1 cup raw pecan halves
2 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 heaping teaspoon smoked hot paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
sea salt, to taste
1/4 to 1/2 cup filtered water

to serve: raw veggies, roasted veggies, or add to a salad/sandwich

Preheat the oven to 300F. Spread the pecans on a parchment lined baking sheet, and toast in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove and let slightly cool.

Make the dip. Add the cooled, toasted pecans to a food processor with the remaining ingredients for the dip. Blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides and help the mixture along as needed. (You could alternatively use a Vitamix/high speed blender for a creamier consistency, I preferred more of a texture in this dip so I used the processor).

Add any additional amount of the ingredients above if needed to suit your taste buds, and blend again. It can be served immediately, or stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week.