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Skinny Spinach Dip

9/22/2014

 
This past weekend was filled with lots of adventures which included Wade visiting, weiner dog races at a local festival, saving a turtle from the road while out driving (always on the lookout to save the turtles), the Arkansas Razorbacks winning their football game (Go Hogs!), trekking through nature to discover beautiful scenery and waterfalls, and partaking in one of the best game day meals I have had in quite a long time.  Which included this skinny spinach dip I came up with for our football feast.
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Before I get to the skinny spinach dip, I wanted to do a brief recap of these fabulous events from this fabulous weekend that left me feeling so dang happy and....fabulous!  


First, the weiner dog races.  Yes, they do exist.  And these annual weiner dog races have only grown in popularity in Bella Vista, AR each and every year.  Since Wade was visiting for the weekend, we decided to get out on Saturday and take a short drive to a local festival.  This was my first year actually attending the races when they were held at the Bella Vista Hay Days Festival.  Wade and I decided to go see what all the fuss was about with these famous weiner dog races and we met up with a couple of new friends to enjoy the show.
The races started with a short parade of the weiner dog king and queen for the year with all of the dog contestants entered into the races this year following behind.  I bet those dogs felt like royalty.  Or maybe they just felt ridiculous dressed up in costumes and being paraded around on a wagon...(I kinda have a thing against dressing dogs up in outfits.  I just...I can't.)
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healthy spinach dip recipe, spinach dip recipe, healthy dip recipe, bourbon bbq sauce, healthy football food
The event was definitely an interesting one!  How often do you get to say you've witnessed weiner dogs racing for trophies and prizes?  
After those festivities, we headed over with our friends to grab a snack for lunch at the local Dairy Queen before Wade and I headed back to the house to start prepping for the game day feast.  The menu included grilled BBQ ribs with homemade bourbon BBQ sauce, grilled corn on the cob, roasted okra, and skinny spinach dip.  While my parents prepared the ribs, corn and okra, I whipped up the bourbon BBQ sauce and spinach dip.  

By the way, these were the "best damn ribs" we have ever had.  My parents used a dry rub and baked them in the oven on low heat for a couple hours prior to grilling.  That's the secret to keeping ribs extra juicy and tender.  You know, the kind of ribs where meat just falls off the bone?  If you're looking for a recipe, try this one I found from Bon Appetit that's pretty similar to the method we used.  My mother made up a mixture of dry rub spices while I made the bourbon BBQ sauce to baste on the ribs while grilling and also save afterwards for extra sauce on the side.
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And HERE is where you'll find the recipe I used for reference in making the bourbon BBQ sauce.  I went with a Jack Daniel's Tennesee Honey Whiskey Bourbon.  It's delicious, but I managed to not take a shot of it while cooking.  Points for Kaylin.

I did change up the BBQ sauce recipe a bit from this one found on Allrecipes based off of what we had in the kitchen and my own creativity.  Either way, this recipe will get you similar results of awesome sauce.
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Best. Damn. Ribs. EVER!  Excuse my vulgarity, but these ribs deserved it. Try them, folks.  You won't be disappointed.
The other contribution I made to our football feast was the spinach dip.  Of course, I had to create my own healthy spin on it.  I wanted to cut out some of the cream cheese and cheese topping.  I'm not a big fan of cream cheese anyways.  After finding some inspiration from a few recipes around the web, I decided to replace the cream cheese with a mixture of greek yogurt and cottage cheese.  I also reduced the amount of cheese topping and included my own healthier topping of nutritional yeast.  If you don't have nutritional yeast, that's a-okay!  Just add a bit of additional parmesan and/or mozzarella on top before baking.

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Whether you're needing a dip to prepare for some weiner dog races or a football watching party, this is the perfect spinach dip.  It is very rich, so you don't need much.  But the richness is due to the fact that it's packed full of healthy nutrients; particularly healthy fats and proteins..  So you don't even have to feel guilty about double dipping.


Skinny Spinach Dip

 Ingredients:

1/3 cup onion, chopped
1 tsp. oil
10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed of water
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3/4 cup full fat plain greek yogurt
3/4 cup 2% fat cottage cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast (optional)
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

Start by sauteing chopped onion in 1 tsp. oil in pan over medium heat.  While onion is cooking, combine garlic cloves, cottage cheese, and greek yogurt in food processor and process until smooth.  



Thaw spinach and squeeze of excess water.  I did this by placing spinach in 2 layers of paper towels and squeezing water out of spinach over a bowl. 


Once onions are translucent in color and tender, add the cinnamon, pepper, salt, and spinach to pan and mix well.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Use coconut oil to grease a small baking dish.  Empty cottage cheese and greek yogurt mixture into prepared baking dish.  Add the spinach and onion mixture from the pan to the dish as well.  Gently fold the ingredients together until it's mixed well and evenly throughout.  


Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, and nutritional yeast on top.  Bake in 375 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. Serve right away with veggies, chips, or crackers for dipping.
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Healthy Recipe Tidbits

  • The cottage cheese and greek yogurt add a whopping 35g of protein to the entire dip recipe.
  • By using cottage cheese and greek yogurt in substitution of cream cheese, you greatly reduce the amount of saturated fat in this spinach dip.
  • Nutritional yeast is one of the few plant-based foods to find folic acid and vitamin b-12.  This is why nutritional yeast is a major player in the nutritional wellbeing of vegans and vegetarians.
  • Nutritional yeast is also known for being high in fiber, protein, and is a gluten-free food.

The next day was just as great as the last.  Except for having to say goodbye to Wade for now of course...he made the 3 hour drive back to where he lives that afternoon.  But Sunday started off with some trekking through nature to get the best views of some beautiful waterfalls in Bella Vista.  The sun was just peaking out around 11am after it had been raining and cloudy all morning and the weather couldn't have been more beautiful for Fall in Northwest Arkansas.  Here's a summary of our Sunday adventures in pictures.  
healthy spinach dip recipe, spinach dip recipe, healthy dip recipe, bourbon bbq sauce, healthy football food
healthy spinach dip recipe, spinach dip recipe, healthy dip recipe, bourbon bbq sauce, healthy football food
healthy spinach dip recipe, spinach dip recipe, healthy dip recipe, bourbon bbq sauce, healthy football food
healthy spinach dip recipe, spinach dip recipe, healthy dip recipe, bourbon bbq sauce, healthy football food
healthy spinach dip recipe, spinach dip recipe, healthy dip recipe, bourbon bbq sauce, healthy football food
Linking up again with the lovely Heather's Friday Favorites this week over at Housewife Glamour.  
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What is the craziest or quirkiest festival/event you've ever attended? (Like weiner dog races...)

What's your favorite type of dip?
Sonya link
9/22/2014 03:39:00 am

I love roasted okra and your healthy version of spinach dip sounds yummy. Beautiful pictures in front of the waterfall. I'd never heard of Weiner Dog races...lol. I'm sure it was entertaining. I hope you have a great week.

Kaylin
9/23/2014 08:36:10 am

I think roasted is my favorite way to have okra now, it's delicious. The races were a sight to see. Hope you have a great week as well! Thank you for the sweet compliments and stopping by!

Lauren @ i had a big lunch link
9/22/2014 02:31:32 pm

Wow this looks so good! First of all, the weiner dog races lol. That's too cute. But the dip is pretty incredible. Usually I replace just a little in order to fool people, even if it only makes it slightly healthier. But wow you went all out and it looks exactly the same! Bravo! I really need to try nutritional yeast. Just gotta keep an eye out for it at the store next time.

Kaylin
9/23/2014 08:37:41 am

Thanks for the feedback, Lauren! Yeah...I guess I felt very brave in "health-ifying" this recipe. Definitely get your hands on some nutritional yeast if you see it! I finally got my first container of it a couple of months ago and I'm hooked.

julianna link
9/23/2014 01:32:46 pm

mmm this look so good! thanks for sharing!

Kaylin
9/25/2014 08:43:52 am

You're welcome, Julianna! Thanks for stopping by and checking it out.

carrie link
9/24/2014 08:22:45 am

oh I LOVE spinach dip! This sounds fantastic! Love your checkered shirt!

Kaylin
9/25/2014 08:44:34 am

Glad I could inspire you, Carrie! Thanks so much for the sweet compliment! I love that shirt, I've had it for a couple of years now. :)

Heather @ Housewife Glamour link
9/26/2014 01:59:19 pm

Wait... weiner dog races? That's awesome! And their little outfits are too much. I love it! That spinach dip looks delicious. Thank you so much for linking up! Hope you enjoy the weekend! :)

Kaylin
9/30/2014 08:45:29 am

Haha, those weiner dogs sure got into the races. Thank you for the sweet comments and hosting the link-up, Heather!

Mir link
9/28/2014 08:41:52 pm

Those dogs are so cute!
Love this dip. I'm crazy for all spinach dip but usually skip it because it's so loaded. Not this one! Have to try it.

Kaylin
9/30/2014 08:46:24 am

Thank you, Mir! Yes, it was tough to find some inspirational ideas of other recipes online that were on the "lighter" side of spinach dips. This one I came up with pleasantly surprised me!

Mary link
10/4/2014 05:06:05 am

My boyfriend would have a field day with this recipe. He's a spinach dip fanatic, and I'm always looking for ways to make recipes a little healthier. I'll be pinning this recipe for sure.

Kaylin
10/6/2014 02:53:42 am

Glad I could give you a great recipe option for a spinach dip! Let me know if you make it for yourself and/or your boyfriend. Thanks for stopping by, Mary!

<a href="http://www.healthyarms.net">Mikayla</a> link
10/9/2014 10:53:58 am

My husband and I are currently addicted with roasted garlic and pepper dip. It perfectly pairs with pita chips and even nachos. We used to be addicted with any mayo based dips, but we have to watch our weight, so we switched with a healthier alternative. We just roast some garlic and pepper in the oven and then we would put it into a food processor with some olive oil, cumin, salt, oregano and some cayenne pepper for added kick. :)


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    enticing healthy Eating

    Happiness is Homemade

    Hi there!  I'm Kaylin, a foodie, health nut, and recent college graduate. Born and raised in Arkansas, recently moved to Texas. On this blog you'll find a lot of tasty food and recipe ideas, healthy lifestyle suggestions, and random musings of my trials and tribulations of a 20-something. 
    I hope to inspire you to create some delicious things in your own kitchen because I believe happiness is homemade. 

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