Dips Without Chips

Serving dips can have a magical effect on people. Want to get a party started? Serve dip. Want something to snack on while you are preparing dinner? Bring out a dip. Have a few friends dropped by but you aren’t prepared to serve a meal? Bring out a dip.

The problem with most traditional dips is two-fold. First, they are served with chips. In nutritional parlance, chips are basically a crunchy vehicle for salt and grease. Hey, I guess someone had to say it. The second problem is the dip itself. Usually some combination of herbs, salt, mayonnaise or high-fat sour cream, and sometimes cheese and fatty meats, dips deliver even more salt and fat to an already high-calorie chip. It’s entirely possible to overeat on chips/dips before you have the first bite of a meal.

Here are two alternatives to dips, and later we’ll discuss some healthier alternatives to chips. The first one is simplicity itself – two ingredients. The second is a twist on an old classic – Hummus.

Five Bean Dip
1 HMR Five-Bean Casserole entree
1 Tablespoon non-fat sour cream

Add ingredients to food processor. Process a full minute, stopping once to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

215 calories

Hummus
1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained
2 to 3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons PB2*
1 lemon, juiced
Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of kosher salt
¼ to 1/3 cup water

*PB2 is de-fatted peanut butter powder available from your HMR Program

Chop the garlic and garbanzo beans in a food processor for 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl down once. Add the PB2, lemon juice, black pepper, and salt. Add the water slowly until it reaches the consistency of mayonnaise.

425 calories

As tempting is it might be to go at these two dips with a spoon, it may be more socially acceptable to use something else. My solution: Crudités! (a.k.a. raw vegetables cut into bite-sized strips and served with a dip) Here’s a list of yummy vegetables that are a hit with dips.

Asparagus tips
Bell peppers: green, yellow, orange, red
Broccoli florets
Carrots: baby or sticks
Cauliflower florets
Celery sticks
Cucumbers
Fennel
Grape tomatoes
Green onions
Green beans
Jicama
Mushrooms
Radishes
Small romaine lettuce leaves
Snow peas
Zucchini

If you crave a salty, crunchy alternative to chips, lightly spritz your crudités with water, and then very lightly sprinkle with kosher salt.

Both recipes on this page are “in the box” for the Healthy Solutions^® diet in Phase 1, as well as Phase 2. If you have any recipe you would like to share, please post them here. Look for “Share Your Healthy Recipe”.
 

by KeithVanGasken on 10/03/2011 | Share Story With a Friend

tags: Weight-Loss, Recipes, Diet Tools, motivation, in the box, mood, strategies