Healthy Holiday Dips
Healthy & Festive Holiday Dip Ideas
Entertaining (or being entertained) this holiday season? If you’re minding your nutrition, you’ve probably heard the advice is always to make or bring something that fits with your nutrition goals, right? How ‘bout whipping up one of these crowd-pleasing (and festively colored) dips? They’re a convenient and delicious way to consume a wide variety of anti-inflammatory vegetables, spices, and healthy fats. While I love the convenience of purchased dips like packaged hummus, these flavor profiles are more interesting and, well, homemade feels more special. So if you’ve got the bandwidth, why not try these?
Lemme take a minute to drop some dip knowledge. The best dips begin with a creamy base made from foods such as beans, lentils, avocados, edamame, and roasted vegetables (eggplant, carrots, squash, zucchini, peppers, cauliflower) that are blended with oil or another liquid. Add flavor boosters such as tahini, garlic, hot sauce, nut butters, nuts and seeds, lemon or lime juice and zest to add dimension. Finish by seasoning with fresh and dried herbs, spices, salt and pepper and your dip is complete. Here are some of my favorite combinations:
Avocado, AKA guacamole! I love the healthy fats in avocado, but the calories can be intimidating. Cut the amount of avocado in half by adding defrosted edamame beans – you’ll decrease the calories and increase the protein and fiber. Win, win! Add some greens to keep your dip bright and fresh. This Kale and Avocado Guacamole is a fan favorite . . . and it’s bright green!
Roasted vegetables – Baba ghanoush is the ultimate example here – it’s a combination of roasted eggplant, tahini, lemon, and garlic. Other roasted vegetables that work well in dips are butternut squash, cauliflower, zucchini, carrots, and peppers. Roasting them deepens the flavor, and allows you to process vegetables until creamy. Make this in a flash by starting with store-bought roasted red peppers for this nutrient-dense and super-flavorful Roasted Red Pepper Walnut Dip.
Now . . . what to dip with? Sure, there are always pita triangles, chips, and crackers. But I’m trying to get you to level up your nutrition game WHILE you’re celebrating this season. So how ‘bout trying some of these as dipping “vehicles?”
Carrot chips or sticks – You can purchase prepared crinkle cut carrot chips or slice carrots on an angle. Baby carrots work too.
Cucumber chips – Slice cucumbers on an angle to maximize surface area for scooping. I like English cukes the best – crispy skin and tiny/no seeds!
Broccoli or cauliflower – You can use these raw, or lightly steam or blanch these vegetables to bring out their sweetness - you want them to still have the firmness necessary to dip. Purchasing pre-cut florets speeds up the process here.
Green beans – Remove stems, rinse, and dip. If you prefer, you can lightly steam/blanch these as well, and again, pre-cut green beans will save you time.
Endive – This nutrient-dense vegetable is the ultimate chip replacement – perfect shape, size, and sturdiness.
Peppers – Red, yellow, and orange peppers provide a variety of phytonutrients and are milder than green peppers. Cut them into wider slices so you have more surface area for dip!
Celery sticks – Firm and crisp, celery is a go-to vehicle.
Snap peas – These can be consumed raw or lightly steamed/blanched.
Cherry tomatoes – I love using grape tomatoes on crudités platters, but dipping them can be tricky. Using toothpicks can help keep your fingers free of dip. Go all-out and get some frilly/fun/festive picks.
