Seriously Delicious White Bean Dip

For the month of October we are taking some of our followers favorite recipes, waving our Nourishing Guru wands, and transforming them into healthier versions. This week, we received a request for vegetable dip. We thought it would be a good makeover because the holidays are coming and dip is such an easy thing to bring to a party.

Marcie sent us the following request: “I need something quick and easy to bring to parties. I often resort to using Knorr’s vegetable dip recipe, but from what I have learned from you two, I know the ingredients are not healthy. I am not so good in the kitchen, but would like something tasty and easy that I could make.”

Marcie’s recipe ingredients included the following: Knorr’s vegetable mix, mayonnaise, sour cream.  We could spend a lot of time going through the harmful ingredients in the mix, but for starters, the mix contains hydrogenated oils and MSG. To  learn why these ingredients are harmful or to know more about what to look for when shopping for food, check out our Don’t be Duped by Labels Class.

We suggest a recipe using white beans as the base. You can use cannellini or navy beans for the dip, which give a nice white base. The healthiest way to make beans is to soak them overnight in water, then dump the water and cook in fresh water.

Typically, beans expand about 3 times when you cook them so whatever a recipe calls for in cooked beans, divide it by 1/3 to figure out how much dry beans you need to start with.

To cook the beans, put them in a pot and add enough water to cover them by an inch or two.  Bring the beans to a boil and skim off the foam.  Then lower the heat and simmer until beans get soft enough to mash with a fork.

On the other hand if you are in a hurry, you can use canned beans.  However, we prefer organic beans and the can must say BPA free (we love Eden organics). You will notice for the first few ingredients below there are 2 versions: one fresher and one quicker.

White Bean Veggie Dip HERE.

What we love about this dip is that it actually is GOOD FOR YOU! Its packed with fiber and protein from the beans and antioxidant-rich, heart healthy, anti inflammatory extra virgin olive oil. The addition of fresh or dried herbs and/or spices sure beats a commercially flavored processed spice pack.

Try this easy dip and let us know your thoughts! We love feedback:)