In an attempt to get more protein in my diet I decided to delve into preparing protein packed bean dips at home. Dips are available in array of flavours for purchase at your local and speciality grocery stores, but often times there is a lot of additives, preservatives, and not to mention added fat.
Making dips at home also saves you money, when buying pre-made dips in store you are literally just paying for connivence, and they can cost you up to 5$ or more for just one small container. With just as little as a can of beans, and some basic ingredients you probably already have on hand you can enjoy this delicious dip at home (and you can pronounce all the ingredients!)
I found this recipe online, and naturally made a few adjustments, by using spinach instead of kale, and then adding jalapeno peppers for a bit of kick.
http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=639119
Ingredients:
1 can of navy beans (rinsed and drained)diced4 gloves garlic, pressed (or to taste)half a cup of Spinach (I used the frozen nuggets)sea salt, to tastegroundcracked pepper, to taste 2 Tbsp or so of water or oil (to thin out dip if necessary)
Directions:
For pete’s sake do not forget to rinse those beans!!! Trust me on this one, this step is not to be skipped.
Saute onions and garlic in canola oil until the onions are translucent and remove from heat.
I used frozen spinach nuggets because I didn’t have kale on hand, and so I needed to defrost them in the microwave. I used 3 nuggets and defrosted the spinach in the microwave in a tablespoon of water.
Put all ingredients except the beans into a food processor, and puree.
Slowly start adding the beans into the processor, and puree until desired consistency is reached. The dip will thicken when placed in the refrigerator as well. The earlier you prepare this dip the better because the longer it sits in the fridge the more the flavours go together.
Serve with fresh cut up veggies (added fibre), warm pita, or crackers.
The nutritional information below states that this recipe serves three, but I would argue that this recipe would serve a lot more than three people. Especially if you are serving the dip with veggies instead of crackers, as the fibre from the veggies would fill you up quicker.
Nutritional InfoServings Per Recipe: 3Amount Per ServingCalories: 180.4Total Fat: 7.4 gCholesterol: 0.0 mgSodium: 173.3 mgTotal Carbs: 23.2 gDietary Fiber: 8.3 gProtein: 7.7 g
For more on Protein check out this previous post: http://shortpresents.blogspot.com/2011/10/nuts-about-protein.html#more
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ShortPresents/~3/oxudcGdRWwM/navy-bean-and-spinach-dip.html