Snacking is a necessary activity that prevents overeating and poor food choices. Dips are usually around when it comes to snacking. Let’s take a look at lower calorie dip choices and what foods are best for dipping.
When we think of dipping foods, usually the first things that come to mind are snacks like potato chips or corn chips. Today’s selection is getting healthier with baked chips and multigrain chips, which are better than fried chips. Other lower calorie choices for dipping include fresh vegetables like raw carrots or green beans. Raw vegetables can be made more flavorful with the addition of certain dips. It may be easier to convince your kids to eat their vegetables if they are allowed to use a dip with them.
However, if you’re watching your weight, you should keep in mind that commercially prepared dips can be extremely high in fat including saturated fat and not very high in nutrients. If you like dips with your raw vegetables, then you will want to consider healthier, less fattening alternatives such as dips made from yogurt, instead of cream or mayonnaise.
For example, consider a guacamole dip which is made from avocadoes, tomatoes, lemon juice, and salt. This dip is an excellent source of Vitamins E and C. Additionally, it contains no cholesterol. Hummus is another healthy dip which is made from chickpeas, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. This dip is high in protein and offers no cholesterol. Both of these dips do have fat and average 50 calories a tablespoon, so limit serving size to a quarter cup or about four tablespoons. Lastly, salsa is a very low calorie, fat-free dip which has around 5-10 calories per tablespoon. Salsa is made from tomatoes, onions, lemon juice, olive oil, chili peppers, garlic, salt and pepper. Besides being a good dip, salsa makes a great low calorie topping for salads and baked potatoes.
Whichever snack you choose, as long as it is healthy and nutritious, there should be no harm in a snack in between meals. Just be careful to choose something that supplies your body with its daily nutritional needs.
Rebecca
