Quick and Easy Dips for Healthy Snackers

As a huge party tradition family member, one gets to learn special tricks and fast non complicated recipes. In my family, surprise parties and sudden gathering are something that happens as a normal part of any day's agenda, so we always have to take our cooking tricks out of the magic hat.

There are always some aunts and cousins willing to devour anything you place on the table, but for the ones that take more care of their health and figure, we always follow grandma's secret recipes book.

Before, it was common among many families that grandparents couldn't stand having a skinny son or grandson and some even liked to make fun of the "slim ones". The only handy solution for them was to pack everyone with big amounts of food thinking that fat was a sing of health. Thanks God, my family has a very low profile of medical records and that is due to my Grandma's best care.

Nowadays, more people are involved into the health conscience, and are willing to make more exercise and to protect themselves from high cholesterol or other conditions that can lead to heart attacks or other major disease. Since really healthy low fat recipes are really hard to find, I'm sharing some of my family's fast and healthy dip tricks with you:

The Chicken-Ricotta Dip

Ingredients:

Ricotta or cream cheese

Ripped Chicken

Red Pepper

Mix the Ricotta cheese with the rest of the ingredients. Serve as vegetable's filling for decoration (carrots, artichokes, etc.) or simply put it in a bowl surrounded by your favorite vegetables slices.

Calories per tablespoon: 35 Fat: 5 grams

The Raw Tomatoes Dip

Ingredients:

Diced fresh tomatoes

Basil

Cucumber

Garlic

Minced Carrots

Diced Green Olives

Olive Oil

Oregano (optional)

Salt

Chop basil, garlic and cucumber; mix it with the fresh tomatoes and the carrots, green olives add some salt and the olive oil. Sprinkle with some oregano. Toss it with a spoon and serve on a bowl with low fat toasts or crackers.

Calories per tablespoon 30 Fat: 0

The Green Dip

Ingredients:

Onion

Basil

Lemon juice

Salt

½ teaspoon of vegetal oil

Preparation:

Chop the onion and the basil into thin pieces. Mix all the ingredients and add salt.

This dip can be easily served with shrimps, sea food and salads.

Calories per tablespoon: 22 una cucharada Fat: 5 grams.

Spicy Yogurt Dip

Ingredients:

1 Natural yogurt
2 Green Peppers
1 Garlic teeth
1 onion (diced)
4 tablespoons of vegetal oil (or olive oil)

Salt

Preparation:

Mince the Peppers, the garlic, the onion, and the salt and mix them with the yogurt and the oil until you make an even mix. Serve with your favorite vegetables.

Calories per tablespoon: 40 Fat: 5,5 grams

The Yogurt and Mint Dip

Ingredients:

1 yogurt
1 tablespoon of onion
Pepper
Fresh Mint

Preparation:

Bit slightly the yogurt, add the onion, the pepper, and the mint finely chopped and reserve a few mints' leafs to decorate your dip. Set aside for a while before serving. If you want to dip to be thicker you can place your yogurt on the refrigerator before preparing the dip.

Calories per tablespoon: 20 por cucharada Fat: 1,8 grams

Cream Cheese Dip

Ingredients:

1/2 regular cream cheese bar

Lemon juice

Minced nuts

1 natural yogurt

Chopped Basil

Roasted Red Peppers (diced)

Preparation:

Mince the cheese until is cream, ad the yogurt forming a paste and them add the rest of the ingredients.

Calories per tablespoon: 60 Fat: 20 grams

Enjoy these recipes and don't forget to always eat healthy!