MJ Recipes Home-made dips are so easy to prepare, and are often healthier and tastier than the store-made varieties. Whip up a few for a dinner party, or as a healthy sandwich spread. Serve with fresh vegetables or bread slices for a nutritious snack. Each dip recipe has been analysed for its nutritional content. The MJ icons give you an easy idea of how each dip serve adds to your daily exchanges. Remember you can always scale your exchanges to fit in with the rest of your day. For those super savvy individuals who want more information, we ve also supplied a more detailed numerical breakdown. Most of the dips will make between 15 and 20 serves, which is an amount more appropriate for entertaining a group of people. The average serve size is approximately 25g (or 5 tsp). You can always scale the recipe amounts up or down if cooking for more or less people; or change the amounts of specific ingredients to create a dip with the flavours you enjoy. One point to remember is that 3 water crackers 5 Sakata rice crackers are equivalent to ½ a Starch or Extra Exchange. Happy Eating!!
Creamy Spinach Makes 17 serves (1 serve = 25g or 5 tsp) 175g frozen spinach, defrosted ⅓ cup extra-light cream cheese ⅓ cup low fat ricotta ⅓ cup extra-light sour cream ¼ tsp ground nutmeg ¼ tsp ground black pepper Pinch dried chilli flakes (optional) Place defrosted spinach into a colander and squeeze out all excess water. Then place all ingredients into a food processor and process until smooth. Serve or refrigerate. 122kJ (29cals), 1.5g Protein, 2.3g Fat, 1.5g Saturated Fat, 0.6g Carbs, 0.5g Sugars, 0.5g Fibre, 39mg Sodium Source: Healthy Food Guide Dec 09 Healthy Hommus Makes 15 serves (1 serve = 25g or 5 tsp) 400g can chickpeas, rinsed, drained 1 clove garlic, crushed 1 Tbs tahini 1 Tbs olive oil 2 Tbs lemon juice 2 Tbs water 1 tsp sumac or ground cumin (optional), for garnish Place all ingredients except sumac into a food processor. Process until very smooth, serve and garnish with sumac/cumin. 0.75 156kJ (37cals), 1.3g Protein, 2.4g Fat, 0.3g Saturated Fat, 2.9g Carbs, 0.2g Sugars, 1g Fibre, 41mg Sodium Source: Healthy Food Guide Dec 09
French Onion Serves 15 (1 serve = 25g or 5 tsp) ½ cup extra-light sour cream ½ cup fat-free natural yoghurt ½ packet French onion soup mix 1 clove garlic finely chopped 1 green onion, finely chopped Place all ingredients into a bowl and combine well. Chill in the fridge for at least one hour before serving. 100kJ (24cals), 0.9g Protein, 1.7g Fat, 1.1g Saturated Fat, 1.4g Carbs, 1g Sugars, 43mg Sodium Source: Healthy Food Guide Dec 09 Date: 11Nov09 Coriander and Chilli Pesto Serves 17 (1 serve = 25g or 5 tsp) 5 cups coriander leaves, chopped 5 shallots, thinly sliced 200ml sweet chilli sauce 75ml fish sauce (3 ¾ Tbs) 100ml lime juice (5 Tbs) Place all ingredients into a bowl and stir until well combined. Source: Taste.com.au Dec 06 77kJ (18cals), 0.6g Protein, 0.4g Fat, 0.1g Saturated Fat, 2.7g Carbs, 2.2g Sugars, 0.6g Fibre, 570mg Sodium
Tzatziki Serves 14 (1 serve = 25g or 5 tsp) 1 clove garlic, crushed 200g low fat natural yoghurt 1 lebanese cucumber, finely grated ½ red onion, finely diced 1 Tbs chopped flat leaf parsley 1 Tbs chopped mint Free food! 42kJ (10cals), 0.9g Protein, 1.2g Carbs, 1.1g Sugars, 0.2g Fibre, 12mg Sodium Combine in a bowl and lightly season. Source: CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet Cream Cheese and Sweet Chilli Serves 18 (1 serve = 25g or 5 tsp) 300g low fat cream cheese 1½ spring onions, finely sliced 6 Tbs sweet chilli sauce 1½ Tbs chopped chives Mix cream cheese and spring onion together in a small bowl. Place in a serving dish, pour over sweet chilli sauce and sprinkle with chives. 167kJ (40cals), 1.5g Protein, 2.9g Fat, 1.9g Saturated Fat, 1.9g Carbs, 1.6g Sugars, 0.3g Fibre, 150mg Sodium Source: BBC Good Food Channel
Roasted Capsicum Dip Serves 20 (1 serve = 25g or 5 tsp) 3 roasted capsicums, at room temperature 125g low fat cream cheese, softened 2 garlic cloves, crushed ½ cup basil leaves Salt and pepper to season Place all but basil in a food processor and process until smooth. Finely chop 1/3 cup basil leaves and stir into capsicum mixture. Refrigerate, top with extra basil before serving. 74kJ (18cals), 0.9g Protein, 1.1g Fat, 0.7g Saturated Fat, 1g Carbs, 1g Sugars, 0.3g Fibre, 22mg Sodium Source: Good Taste Oct 98 Date: 11Nov09 Tabouli Serves 17 (1 serve = 25g or 5 tsp) ⅓ cup burghul (cracked wheat) 1½ cups flat leave parsley leaves, chopped ⅓ cup mint leaves, chopped 1½ tomatoes, chopped ¾ small white onion, finely chopped 3 tsp olive oil ¾ lemon, juiced 92kJ (22cals), 0.5g Protein, 0.9g Fat, 0.1g Saturated Fat, 2.7g Carbs, 0.5g Sugars, 0.6g Fibre, 2mg Sodium Place burghul in a small bowl, cover with cold water and stand for 15 mins. Drain and use the back of a metal spoon to press out excess water. Transfer burghul to a large bowl, and add all other ingredients. Mix well until combined. Source: BBC Good Food Channel
Guacamole Serves 17 (1 serve = 25g or 5 tsp) 1½ avocados, halved and roughly chopped ½ small red onion, finely chopped ½ long red chilli, deseeded, finely chopped 1½ Tbs chopped fresh coriander leaves 1½ Tbs lime juice 1 Tbs sour cream (optional) Mash avocado until smooth. Add other ingredients and mix until well combined. 1 203kJ (49cals), 0.5g Protein, 5.1g Fat, 1.2g Saturated Fat, 0.2g Carbs, 0.2g Sugars, 0.3g Fibre, 1mg Sodium Source: Super Food Ideas Nov 06 Salsa Serves 15 (1 serve = 25g or 5 tsp) 2 medium ripe tomatoes, finely chopped 1 green shallot, finely chopped 1 Tbs tomato paste (no added salt) 1 Tbs water ½ tsp sugar 2 tsp taco seasoning Free Food! 21kJ (5cals), 0.3g Protein, 0.7g Carbs, 0.7g Sugars, 0.3g Fibre, 2mg Sodium Combine ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until the mixture thickens slightly. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Refrigerate and serve. Source: Good Taste Mar 03
Baba Ghanoush Serves 20 (1 serve = 25g or 5 tsp) 1 large eggplant 1½ garlic cloves, crushed, 1 Tbs tahini 1½ Tbs lemon juice 1 Tbs olive oil ¼ tsp sweet paprika 84kJ (20cals), 0.5g Protein, 1.6g Fat, 0.2g Saturated Fat, 0.7g Carbs, 0.6g Sugars, 0.7g Fibre, 2mg Sodium Pierce eggplant all over with fork or skewer; place on oven tray (spray tray with olive oil to prevent sticking). Grill about 30 mins or until skin blackens and eggplant is soft, turning occasionally. Stand 15 mins. When cool enough, peel eggplants discard skin and drain flesh in colander 10 mins. Blend with other ingredients until just smooth. Source: Women s Weekly Cook Date: 18Nov09 Vietnamese Soybean Serves 15 (1 serve = 25g or 5 tsp) ¼ cup whole fermented soybeans (Asian market) (or ⅓ cup hoisin sauce) ½ cup water ⅓ cup evaporated coconut flavoured skim milk 2 Tbs rice vinegar 3 Tbs chopped yellow onion 2 Tbs sugar (use none if using hoisin sauce) Free Food! 67kJ (16cals), 0.3g Protein, 0.3g Fat, 0.1g Saturated Fat, 2.6g Carbs, 2.3g Sugars, 0.7g Fibre, 96mg Sodium Place all ingredients into a blender. Process until the mixture is smooth. Transfer to a saucepan and bring to a boil over moderate heat. Reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce thickens enough to coat a spoon (about 5 mins). Add a little water if too thick. Set aside to cool. Serve with chilli flakes if desired. Can keep up to 2 weeks if refrigerated. Source: MedicineNet.com Date: 18Nov09
Crab and Sweet Corn Serves 19 (1 serve = 25g or 5 tsp) 200g can of creamed corn ¼ cup skim milk powder ¼ tsp Tabasco sauce 1 tsp cornflour 1 chicken stock cube 200g fresh or tinned crab meat 2 shallots, chopped Put creamed corn, skim milk powder, Tabasco sauce, cornflour and stock cube in a food processor or blender. Mix well. Pour the mixture into a saucepan and add the crab and shallots. Bring the mixture to the boil and simmer for 1 min. 74kJ (18cals), 1.7g Protein, 0.2g Fat, 2.2g Carbs, 0.8g Sugars, 0.4g Fibre, 116mg Sodium Source: Cookery Art Date: 18Nov09 Corn Relish Serves 22 (1 serve = 25g or 5 tsp) 250g jar corn relish 300ml low fat sour cream 1 chicken stock cube Combine ingredients in a bowl and chill for 1 hour. Source: BestRecipes.com.aut 0.5 185kJ (44cals), 0.8g Protein, 2.8g Fat, 1.8g Saturated Fat, 3.8g Carbs, 2.6g Sugars, 0.2g Fibre, 58mg Sodium