Dips, Delicious, Dollop

Fresh vegetables are great, but even better when accompanied by healthy dips that make it even tastier! So here's two recipes for two of my favorite dips!

First off, hummus. Hummus is mainly made from chickpeas and tahini. Tahini is a paste made from ground sesame seeds. While many say they don't like hummus, I find that if you make it yourself, you can adjust it to your liking! So here's a basic recipe, but I tend to add a bit more garlic and lemon juice and sometimes even add some lime juice. And it is best made in a food processor or blender.

Serves 4

2 large garlic cloves, peeled
464g (15.5 oz) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
45 mL (3 Tbsp.) water
30 mL (2 Tbsp.) lemon juice
15 mL (1 Tbsp.) tahini
2 mL (1/2 tsp) salt
pinch cayenne

Add the garlic to a food processor/blender and pulse until finely chopped. Add the remaining ingredients and process until smooth. Transfer the hummus to a medium bowl and stir in additional water, 15 mL (1 Tbsp) at a time, if hummus is too thick.

Here's the nutritional information per serving (1/4 cup, 60 mL): 149 Cal, 4 g Fat, 0g Sat Fat, 0 g Trans Fat, 0 mg Chol, 407 mg Sod, 22g Carb, 5 g Fiber, 7 g Protein, 57 mg Calcium.

And here's a picture of my final product:



My other favorite dip to make and eat is tzatziki dip! It's super easy to make! I don't have exact quantities though because I just wing it, but generally you can taste test it to see if you like it!

So, first off I start with a container of non-fat plain yogurt. I put it in a large bowl. Then I take a clean cloth and grate cucumber (usually half the cucumber, sometimes all of it) onto the cloth, using a cheese grater. Then you take the cloth, wrap it up and wring it out into the sink to get rid of all the juices (picture below).

Then I add the cucumber to the yogurt, add about 2 Tbsp. garlic, 3 Tbsp. lemon juice (lime juice is good too!) and i finely chop up fresh dill (dried dill can be used too) and add it along with some salt. Then I taste it and add more of whatever I think needs to go in. And then I mix it all together, and voila! You have tzatziki!
And there's two fun recipes to try out. They are both great with fresh cut veggies or crackers! Give it a try and let me know what you think! :)