Sunday, November 16, 2008

Spinach dip

I've got another "healthy alternative" and a use for the leftover yogurt from the naan and crispy yogurt chicken.

I love the spinach dip made with knorr vegetable soup mix, but it's not the healthiest of dips. Replacing the sour cream/mayo with yogurt healthens it up and doesn't change the taste much. It is a bit tarter, but still yummy. The trick, which isn't even necessary, is to drain about half of the yogurt with a cheesecloth to thicken it up. If you don't drain it, it's still perfectly fine. In fact, I always reserve the liquid I drain out in case I want to add some back later for consistency reasons.

And to make it super healthy, serve it with carrot and celery sticks instead of chips, crackers or bread!

This spinach dip makes a great snack to munch on while watching football and Melissa of Made by Melissa is hosting a fun event called Snack Food Sunday every Sunday until the Superbowl. Check out her blog to see other great football snack ideas.

Recipe:

1 pkg frozen chopped spinach, drained and squeezed dry
1 pkg Knorr's vegetable soup mix
1 small can water chestnuts, chopped (I skipped this because we aren't water chestnut fans)
1 container of yogurt (I used fat free)

This part is optional: take half of the yogurt and put it in cheesecloth over a bowl to drain some of the liquid. Save the liquid in case you want to add it back later.
Pour in the soup mix, water chestnuts and spinach. Mix thoroughly and refrigerate for at least four hours. Add back some of the liquid from the yogurt if necessary. Stir before serving.

7 comments:

ICook4Fun said...

Gaga, thanks for stopping by at my blog. I love spinach dip and you are right. The one serve at the restaurant is not as healthy :) This is a better version.

Olga said...

That looks great. Your dip and my hummus would make one fun party :)

veggie belly said...

great idea! i love spinach dip, but its usually so unhealthy and cheesy. I will be trying this. I love knorrs mix too!

Anonymous said...

Great idea to make a beloved, but fattening, staple more healthful. I wonder if using Greek yogurt would be good, too, as it's already drained, and thus nice and thick.

gaga said...

Yes, I bet greek yogurt would work perfectly!

test it comm said...

I like that there is so much spinach in your spinach dip!

Sharon said...

Perfect football food! I do like water chestnuts, so I'll have to try it with them.