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Cheesy Spinach Dip

Story Created: Jul 26, 2010 at 12:07 PM CDT

Story Updated: Aug 23, 2010 at 12:17 PM CDT

By Scott Koeneman / Fight The Fat Foodie

I recently got an email from a friend, including this recipe, asking me my thoughts. When I saw it, my first thought was WOW, this looks healthy and tasty.

One of the worst things you can do if you're trying to lose weight or live a healthy lifestyle is let yourself get too hungry. To avoid that, keep healthy, tasty snacks readily available. This recipe is perfect for that. Make up a batch and keep it in the fridge for those times you need a little something. Have it with some baked whole wheat pita chips or healthy crackers.

I made it last night, tweeking some as I went. I added some non-fat ricotta cheese to smooth it out a little (you might try half as much low-fat cream cheese), as well as some red onion. I'm a huge fan of balsamic and have some 12-year-old on hand, so I doubled the amount in the original recipe. It came out a beautiful deep green, creamy, and very delicious. A heaping 2 tablespoon serving of this came out to only 40 calories with 1 gram of fat and 1 of fiber.

Let's eat!

Cheesy Spinach Dip
Makes about 20 servings
Ingredients:
1 teaspoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 10-ounce bag fresh spinach or 2 (6-ounce) bags baby spinach (pre-washed)
1 (14.5-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
½ cup red onion, diced
½ cup non-fat ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon (or more) fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add spinach and cook on low heat until fully wilted --do not overcook. Remove spinach to a bowl to cool.

Combine the cooked spinach mixture, beans, cheese, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper in a food processor. If it all doesn't fit at first, pulse a few times with 1/2 the spinach, and then
add the rest.

Blend until mixture is to the consistency you like. Serve with tortilla, pita, or veggies.

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