Healthy Homemade 7-Layer Dip

by Noor H. Salem

Whether it’s a gathering with your friends to watch the Superbowl or a family social on a weekday night, it’s easy to reach for unhealthy options without thinking twice about the health consequences. Instead of ordering deep-fried boneless wings, potato wedges, and store-bought dips and condiments, try preparing scrumptious snacks at home instead.

Once you get in the habit of cooking and baking, you will come to realize not only does your meal or snack taste better, it’s far more comforting knowing what ingredients are being used in your food.

Unfortunately, most restaurants may use low-quality products for profit, such as corn oil or vegetable oil for frying. If you can’t help but have deep-fried potato wedges, fry them at home in organic cold-pressed avocado oil! You save yourself from consuming genetically engineered oils, which are linked to cancer, liver toxicity, food intolerance, obesity, and more.

Purchasing store-bought dip is no different; whether it’s a bean dip or a jarred cheese dip, it’s best if you strive to make them at home instead. This layered dip is mouth-watering, loaded with protein, dietary fiber, healthy fats, vitamins, and more. It will leave you feeling healthy, energized, and satisfied with every taste bud.

Layering the beans on the bottom makes it easier to add your sour cream and other layers atop without destroying the presentable look it offers. It's highly recommended that you soak the beans overnight, or at least several hours if possible. This helps to reduce the phytic acid and ease digestion as well.

Adding spices like ginger, ground mustard seed, and red pepper all add to the flavor, and also make it easier to digest the beans. Mustard seed and ginger are also wonderful in that they carry anti-inflammatory benefits. The avocados and extra virgin olive oil fill this scrumptious snack with healthy fats- granting you satiety and heart health benefits.

This dip is bursting with four remarkable foods mentioned in my book, Sunnah Superfoods: ginger, garlic, onions, and extra virgin olive oil. Ginger adds a unique pungent flavor to this dip, while providing you with better digestion (perfect for this bean dip!), heart health benefits, and much more. Garlic gives an even stronger taste, and carries remarkable anti-bacterial cleansing aid, and is wonderful for your heart. Extra virgin olive oil is the star of the night, remarkably healthy for so many organs in your body. It grants you satiety and balances blood sugar after meals.

Onions, like garlic, carry natural anti-bacterial benefits and are full of unique antioxidants and nutrients.
This dip is loaded with dietary fiber, healthy fats, antioxidants, nutrients and more; it makes a perfect choice at your next gathering, or even your family dinner.

It’s undoubtedly a much healthier snack choice than chips and crackers full of ingredients and additives difficult to pronounce.

Try this dip, and you’ll find it tough for your taste buds to accept a lower quality of the store-bought versions. I enjoy swapping the black beans with other beans, changing up the spices, and adding new herbs like dill or cilantro.

Enjoy this at your next social gathering. Serve immediately for optimum taste.

Ingredients:
Protein Bursting-Bean layer:

• 2 cups black or kidney beans (soaked overnight if possible)
• 1 teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
• ½ teaspoon ginger, ground
• 1 teaspoon garlic, ground
• ½ teaspoon rosemary, ground
• 1 teaspoon mustard seed, ground
• ½ teaspoon red pepper, ground
• 2 tablespoons organic cold pressed avocado oil

Antioxidant Avocado Layer:

• 2 avocados
• 1/3 cup lemon or lime juice (freshly squeezed)
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 teaspoon ginger, ground
• ½ teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt
• 1 small red onion, peeled

6 Remaining Layers:

• 1 cup organic sour cream
• ¾ cup organic chunky salsa
• 2 cups shredded lettuce
• 1 cup organic sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• ½ cup fresh tomatoes, diced
• ½ cup black olives, sliced
• ¼ cup green onions, chopped

Directions:
1. In a small skillet, cook the beans with ½ cup water. Add salt and remaining spices. Allow the beans to cook about 5-6 minutes, or just until they’re tender. Drizzle with the organic Avocado oil, and mash them with a fork. Transfer to a presentable serving platter and flatten using the back of a spoon.
2. In your blender, place the avocados, lime/lemon juice, cilantro, onion, and spices and pulse until smooth and creamy. Place an avocado layer atop the beans, and use a spatula to even it out.
3. Add an even layer of sour cream, followed by salsa, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, black olives, and green onions.
4. For optimum taste, serve immediately. This dip goes great with fresh cut vegetables, organic pretzels, or good quality organic crackers.

Noor H. Salem is an author, speaker, and Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, from
Michigan. Noor works with clients in better understanding their bodies and healing with natural
Foods through her wellness practice, Holistic Noortrition.

She presents various workshops,
school lectures, group coaching classes, and community lectures on the topic of holistic health.
Noor, recently published her book, SUNNAH SUPERFOODS, a culmination of life-changing
recipes and remedies, with a foreword by Dr. Waleed Basyouni.

Her book consists of prophetic
hadith, modern research, and delicious recipes, and is in the process of being translated into
other languages.