I could, and did, eat this salsa with a spoon. It’s that good. The combination of tomatoes and avocado is one of my all-time favourites, and the mango adds a really nice, sweet twist on this dip. While it’s great with chips, I really hope you’ll try it with chicken or fish – takes what could be a bland weekday meal and transforms it!

Ingredients

1 mango, peeled and diced
1 avocado, peeled and diced
1 plum tomato, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalepeño, seeded and diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro*
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and fresh pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients and let it marinate in the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving. Serve with pita or tortilla chips or spoon on top of chicken or fish.

*Cilantro is one of the few foods on this planet I cannot stand. I omitted it from my version, but left it in the recipe above in case you want to add it!

Source: Gina’s Skinny Recipes

Hey :) I say this about pretty much every recipe I post, but … you have to make these. The fact that one of my girlfriends is vegan has pushed me to try so many new recipes (thanks, K!) and I truly think these are better without the egg & butter. They’re super moist and chocolatey but not too rich at all. I made minis and was easily able to eat four in one sitting :) You could also make them full-sized of course. Perfect little treat for a party!

Ingredients

1 cup soy milk (I used chocolate)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract, chocolate extract, or more vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan with paper or foil liners. Whisk together the soy milk and vinegar in a large bowl, and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. Add the sugar, oil, vanilla extract, and other extract, if using, to the soy milk mixture and beat until foamy.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet and beat until no large lumps remain (a few tiny lumps are alright). Pour into liners, filling 3/4 of the way. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Source: Adapted from Chow

What can I say about this dip? You have to make it. One of my close girlfriends Becky (she is a new mom! so exciting!) makes this dip all the time, hence the title of this post. It’s so good! The perfect blend of cheeses and you can add any combination of extras you want (I’ll add my favourites below). This dip best served warm with pita bread or pita chips. Crackers & vegetables also work. Make this dip!

Ingredients

1 brick cream cheese at room temperature (I use light)
1 ½ cups shredded cheese (use cheddar, mozzarella or a combination of the two)
1/3 cup mayo (again, I use light)
Bacon bits
Green onion
About half a red pepper, chopped
Clove of garlic

Saute bacon bits (use your judgement on how many you want), garlic and chopped red pepper. Mix the cheeses and mayo, and add in the sauteed items along with chopped green onions (again, use your judgement). Bake at 350 until bubbly, about 20 minutes.

The dip also works well as stated above but without the red pepper, or without the bacon (I’ve made it this way lots of times to be vegetarian friendly). You can also skip the red pepper & green onions and use sauteed spinach instead – or try flavoured cream cheese! So many combinations and every one that I’ve tried works. Happy cooking!