Toasted Sesame and Pumpkin Dip with an Easy Holiday Crudités Platter

 This post was sponsored by Harvest Snaps. Thank you for supporting the partnerships that allow Brewing Happiness to grow and exist. xoxo.

Can I be honest? I’m really tired of hummus. It is a feeling I thought would go away with time, but we’re now going on six months or so. I don’t know what happened, but I just can’t anymore. I’ve found workarounds by using edamame hummus and making hummus out of yellow split peas, but the regular stuff I can’t stomach.

So I’ve been brainstorming other dip concepts that mimic the idea of hummus, but aren’t chickpea based and have a different flavor profile. I tried a toasted sesame dip about a year ago and thought it had such an interesting flavor (nothing like tahini). So I’ve kept that concept in a note on my phone for a year, coming back to it every once in a while to see if I could complete the idea. So, finally, when Harvest Snaps talked to me about creating a holiday recipe – it hit me. PUMPKIN.

I’ve been obsessed with pepitas (aka. roasted pumpkin seeds) recently. I put them on everything – toast, eggs, salads, dessert. So I thought, why don’t I mix those in with the toasted sesame flavor, along with some pumpkin puree and see what happens?

Well, I’ll tell you what happens.

The dip of your dreams is created. It’s super unique, and the perfect bright addition to your Easy Holiday Crudités Platter. Dip vegetables or (even better) Harvest Snaps in it and you will have your mind blown. Plus, the platter is just so pretty that all of your friends/family will think you are a culinary genius. And isn’t that always the goal around the holidays? Prove to your family that you’re a real adult who can cook?

Friendsgiving. Christmas. Hanukkah. Kwanza. New Years. ETC. It’s perfect for all the holidays! ENJOY.

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Toasted Sesame and Pumpkin Dip with an Easy Holiday Crudités Platter

Move over hummus, this Toasted Sesame and Pumpkin Dip with an Easy Holiday Crudités Platter is the perfect appetizer to serve at your holiday party!

Course Appetizer, Not So Normal, Snack

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 6 people

Author Brewing Happiness

Ingredients

for the Toasted Sesame and Pumpkin Dip

• 1 cup pepitas, raw
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

for the Easy Holiday Crudités Platter

• 8 rainbow carrots, halved
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 bag Lightly Salted Harvest Snaps
• 1/4 pomegranate
• 1-2 cups broccoli florets
• 1/2 green apple, sliced
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 3 figs, quartered
• brie cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425. 

2. Slice your carrots in half, lay them on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil, cinnamon, smoked paprika, chili powder and salt. Bake for 20 minutes. 

3. Heat a pan over medium-low heat. Add sesame seeds and pepitas and toast for 5ish minutes, or until nice and golden brown. Toss often. 

4. After, add all dip ingredients to a blender or food processor. Pulse or blend until mostly smooth. You will have to scrape down the sides and mix intermittently in order to do so. 

5. Add your dip to a bowl and top with sesame seeds and pepitas. 

6. Serve with roasted carrots, Harvest Snaps, sliced pomegranate, broccoli florets, green apple slices, dried cranberries, figs, and brie. 

7. EAT UP. 

I write some iteration of this post every year. It is because year after year the same feelings arise in me, so I know they must rise in others. It is because family brings out some baser iteration of us. It is because food can be wonderful, but it can also be triggering.

If I know one thing about the holidays it is there will be food and there will be family and there will be feelings. So here in this week before Thanksgiving, as we dive head first into the holiday season, let me make one thing clear: YOU’RE WORTH IS NOT CONTINGENT ON ONE MEAL. 

It doesn’t matter how much you eat on Thanksgiving. It doesn’t matter how many cookies you eat between now and Christmas. It doesn’t matter if you skip some workouts because it is cold. You are not any less valuable as a human. Your value isn’t tied to this season or the food on your plate or the calories you consume. Your value is intrinsic.

The holidays are already a time of stress – finishing deadlines, spending too much money, and dealing with family dynamics. There’s no need to beat yourself up over what you eat on top of it.

Of course, there is a place for moderation. And intuitive eating. And exercise. But there is also a place for self-compassion at the table. There is a space for kindness and understanding. You do not have to be perfect (no matter what your family says). You do not have to eat perfectly. You do not have to do anything but show up as you – in all of your humanness.

Because the truth is that the holidays, Thanksgiving even, isn’t really about the food. (Although we as a culture are good at obsessing over that.) But the truth is that the food is simply the means by which we gather around the same table. It is the sustenance that bonds.  Food is a great unifier.

If you are a person with a brain like mine, there will be moments during this season in which that fact is hard to remember. There will be moments you feel tired and over-sugared and bloated and like you “made mistakes” with what you ate. Unfortunately when you have had an unhealthy relationship with your body and food – no matter how recovered you are now – the holidays can trigger old thoughts.

So I ask that you breathe. I ask that you look up from your plate and into the eyes of those who love you. I ask that you find value in the symbiosis that meals create, instead of what you put in your mouth. There is no “right” way to get through the holidays.

Be kind to yourself.

Eat like you love yourself.

Let go of the rest.

Your worth is not contingent on one meal. Or season. Be gentle. (And happy Thanksgiving, ya’ll.) xo.