Healthy Menu: Skinny Dipping

One of the most fun ways to eat food is to dip it: chips, veggies, even burgers. All are fair game for a bowl of creamy French onion or zesty ranch dip. Although we’ve all heard about the horrors of double dipping, the true crime isn’t in the dipping. It’s in the dip.

Laden with fat, sugar and calories, it’s the dip itself that makes it tough to stick to a healthy eating plan. A naked chip or a plain bag of baby carrots can get boring quickly. Fear not—the answer is in your pantry, on your shelves and in your fridge. Here are some easy skinny-dipping ideas:

Straight From the Jar

Salsa.
Sure, it’s the perfect dip for chips, but it’s also great for raw veggies or a grilled chicken sandwich. Go ahead—if no one’s looking, dip between bites.

Chutney.
It’s always the perfect low-fat spread on a sandwich, but it’s also the perfect dip if you thin it out with a few tablespoons of unsweetened apple or white grape juice. Try it as a dip for skewered meat or grilled chicken tenders. For a creamier version, mix equal parts chutney and plain non-fat yogurt. Now that’s the perfect dip for everything from pretzels to fish sticks.

Fat-free mayo and sour cream.
Both can easily be whipped up into a terrific dip. For each cup of mayo, sour cream, or a combo of the two in equal parts, add one tablespoon of your favorite spice mixture such as lemon-pepper seasoning, curry powder or jerk rub.

Fat-free vinaigrettes and bottled marinades.
They make great dips for meat and veggies. Italian-style dressing goes great with poultry, Caesar dressing with lamb, Asian dressing with beef, and pesto or peanut sauces with veggies.

Mustard of all kinds.
It makes great dips for veggies and chips: honey mustard, coarse-grained mustard, creamy Dijon or even fruit- or berry-laced mustards.

Jarred marinara sauce.
It can be the perfect last-minute dip for everything from bite-sized meatballs to pita chips. Mix it with a little fat-free mayonnaise for an even creamier dip for pita or rice crackers.

Bottled BBQ sauce.
It’s perfect with baked tortillas as well as celery stalks.


DIY Dippers

For a quick and healthy dip with baked chips or cut-up veggies, whir up a couple of jarred roasted red peppers with a can of drained and rinsed white beans, a squeeze of lime juice and a dash of ground cumin.

Puree drained and rinsed canned black beans with a small can of drained mandarin orange segments (packed in juice), some chile powder and a dash of hot red pepper sauce like Tabasco.

Canned black bean soup is the easiest dip around. Simply open a can and puree in a blender or a food processor. Want more spike? Give it a small splash of apple cider vinegar.

Canned chickpeas make the base for great hummus-inspired dips. Drain and rinse one 14-ounce can; place it in a blender or a food processor with 1/4 cup lemon juice, one tablespoon Dijon mustard and a little dill, chili powder or lemon-pepper seasoning. Blend or process and you’re good to go.

TRY IT!!!!!!!

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