It's A Plant-Based Party
Summer is the time for delicious outdoor living, and whether it’s on the patio, at the beach or in the backyard with friends, we gravitate to quick and easy snacks and appetizers. Whether you follow a plant-based diet or just want to be a good host by having something everyone can eat, these three local companies are making plant-based dips and spreads that make sharing with all your friends a cinch. That is, unless you find them too delicious and want to keep them all to yourself.
Sin Queso
Kristen McDermid is a private chef and nutritionist. Often called upon to provide a range of dishes to meet dietary needs and preferences, she had a dairy-free alternative for nacho cheese as part of her repertoire for her private clients.
During the pandemic when working in other peo- ple’s homes was no longer possible, she took a leap and, encouraged by friends and clients, brought Sin Queso to the market in a move that she calls a “silver lining.” After enrolling in Vancouver Farmers Markets’ Spring 2021 bootcamp, McDermid launched a Sin Queso market stall in the summer of 2021.
“As a nutritionist, I wanted to develop something that was more than just a bunch of whipped oil, and use whole food ingredients as much as possible,” McDermid says. The dip itself is made from a mixture of potatoes, carrots, onions, cashews and grapeseed oil, flavoured with jalapeños, nutritional yeast, garlic and sea salt.
The name comes from days travelling in Mexico, when McDermid, who eats dairy-free, found herself asking for her meals to be prepared “sin queso” (without cheese) while eating out. A friend replied, “This should be your brand name.”
In addition to being a no-brainer for nachos, Sin Queso provides a quick solution for a dairy-free mac ’n’ cheese, and can be just as easily poured over cauliflower or broccoli for a plant-based take on a classic. And for the meat eaters out there, McDermid adds, “it’s really good on burgers.”
Sin Queso Plant Based Dip
sinqueso.ca | @eatsinqueso
Find it: Be Fresh, The Gourmet Warehouse, Stong’s Market (Vancouver), Nature’s Fare Markets (White Rock)
A Restaurant Favourite at Home
Vancouver grocery shoppers will be delighted to find the delicious hummus they are used to enjoying at popular Lebanese restaurant Nuba now available for purchase at some of Vancouver’s favourite organic and local grocery stores. Ianna Vazquez, catering manager at Nuba, says that Vancouver “has responded very well with a lot of love for the product.”
Available in three flavours — Traditional Lebanese, Jalapeño and Herb and Pomegranate and Sumac — the hummus is made with natu- rally grown Canadian chickpeas, sourced from Vancouver’s Flourist.
During the pandemic, the popular restaurant developed meal kits for people to eat at home. Post- pandemic, it was a natural progression to bring the hummus to retail.
Nuba’s team worked on the recipes for a few months before launching, “playing with the flavours and getting the right balance,” Vazquez says, also acknowledging some of the differences that go into making the product suitable for grocery.
The hummus undergoes a high pressure pasteurization process to ensure the longer shelf life necessary for a retail product. Not that you’ll actually let it last very long.
The same flavour and texture persists when you break out the pita and dive in.
Nuba
nuba.ca | @nubatown
Find it: Be Fresh, Organic Acres, La Fabrique St. George Winery (Vancouver) and online
Organic Functional Spreads
Functional foods, or foods that arry benefit beyond what’s included on the nutrition label, are at the heart of a new line of organic plant-based spreads from Avafina Organics.
Functional foods contain vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, amino acids and healthy fats. Laura Cuñer DuBois, owner of Avafina Organics, outlines what she feels is the main difference in the approach explaining that all of its spreads are “catered towards healthy functioning bodies.”
Cuñer DuBois set up Avafina Organics in 2007, selling or- ganic ingredients such as seeds, spices and seaweed. “The spreads were born from my kitchen,” says Cuñer DuBois, who is passionate about the importance of organic agriculture. After a vegan retreat in California, she adopted a raw vegan diet and began experimenting with fermenting nuts and seeds. Recognizing the difficulty and effort required to prepare these foods from scratch and seeing a gap in the market, the plant spreads were born.
In addition to several flavours of cashew-based cream cheese, the line of certified organic spreads includes two other innovative products made from chia and quinoa.
Qummus is a hummus-style product, made from quinoa, a complete protein that contains all nine essential amino acids our bodies require. It is offered in four flavours including Roasted Red Pepper, Mild Bombay Curry, Beets and Balsamic and Supergreens, which contains spinach and is infused with moringa, an antioxidant supplement.
With chia, Avafina has created Chiavar The Vegan’s Caviar, which Cuñer DuBois describes as “the luxurious accessory for everything.” It gets slightly salty flavour from added seaweed and has what Cuñer calls the “eggy-ness of caviar.”
Avafina Organics
avafinaorganics.com | @avafinaorganics
Find it: Whole Foods, Nesters Market (Vancouver), SPUD (online), Stong’s Market (Vancouver and North Vancouver), Nature’s Fare (White Rock) and online
