AIP vegan "Queso"

Meet the AIP vegan “Queso” sauce/dip

Who thought a pandemic would be a good time to try new things to benefit our health?

A few months ago, I found myself stuck at home with my gut inflammation that refused to go away. After doing another round of online research, I decided to try the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) Diet. It's an elimination diet, and while I've tried others before I thought to give this one a go. In the *old world* it was really hard to do an elimination diet, especially during long days with work and gigs. Now since I am home all the time, I didn't have any excuses.

I decided I did not want to be hungry despite the limited choice of food you can eat. So, I filled the house with AIP compliant foods and ingredients and spent most of my waking hours researching recipes. I wanted to be creative and have fun with it. I could finally unleash the crazy kitchen scientist in me. 

What did I miss the most? CHEESE. It's impossible to find something to fulfil this craving for cheese. All the vegan cheese replacements have SO many additives that are not allowed in this diet (and things we should avoid in general anyway). I was really shocked by how I couldn't find ONE cheese replacement that didn't have all this sh+t. 

After some trial and error, I created the perfect "queso" that really helps with my cheese cravings. The butternut squash and coconut milk make it creamy, the sweet potato makes it sweet, and the nutritional yeast and salt make it tangy. 

I like it so much that I started to make double batches. Actually, even Dave is hooked and he's not on AIP! 

I hope you like it. Don't forget to tag/comment and let me know what you think!

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 cup sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 can butternut squash puree1/2 cup coconut milk ("full fat", usually in a can)
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp sea salt (be generous with the salt. add more if needed!)

What to do:

1. In a medium pot warm the olive oil on low heat
2. Add the diced onion and sauté until soft
3. Add the sweet potato and sauté 3 minutes with the onion
4. Add butternut squash puree and coconut milk and raise the heat to boil
5. Reduce heat and let simmer for 20-30 minutes, until sweet potato is very soft
6. Add nutritional yeast and salt
7. Remove from the stove and with an immersion blender make a smooth dip (a regular blender can work too, it's just more of a mess to clean up)

Serving suggestions: