Have you ever watched a little kid at a party where there's salsa and chips? Or cheese dip? Moths to a flame. Something about plunging a pretzel into a communal bowl (usually several times—kids are terrible double dippers) is irresistible. Why not give them a whole bowl of nothing but dip for lunch?
These can all totally be a full meal; they're nutritious, and a few even have sneaky ingredients in there that your children might not eat otherwise.
Note for adults: Isn't there something kind of decadent about eating an entire bowl of dip on your own? No jockeying for pita chip position. No sharing. We love this kind of lunch, eaten with a variety of dippers (carrots... crackers... fingers...).
• 1. Creamy Artichoke Dip, from Everyday Food. Accessible artichokes, which can be intimidating to young kids but have great flavor. This dip is served room temperature, not hot (like most artichoke dips), so it could go in a lunchbox. Plus, there are anchovies whipped in here!
• 2. Creamy Avocado Yogurt Dip, from Two Peas & Their Pod. Incredibly healthy, with greek yogurt, avocado, and cilantro.
• 3. Edamame Hummus, from Babble's Family Kitchen. We make a version of this often; it's high in protein and tastes so, so good with baby carrots.
• 4. White Bean Dip with Broccoli Trees, from Gourmet. Just a reminder that your dippers don't have to be chips. And this white bean dip has silken tofu in it to make it extra creamy and filling.
• 5. Broccoli Dip, from Real Simple. The binder in this dip? Cottage cheese! So easy and good for you.
What dips do you serve to your kids?
Related: How to Make Hummus
(Images: MarthaStewart.com; Maria/Two Peas & Their Pod; Brooke McLay; Ditte Isager; Kana Okada)
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My boys love olives (even the little one, who doesn't like most things!) so they like tapenade. I add nuts, parmesan, roasted garlic, balsamic...very healthy and addictively delicious!
They also love chickpeas. I don't make actual hummus very often, because tahini is oddly pricey, but I have quite a few variations on chickpea dip that they love!
My standard dip is usually the traditional hummus or sometimes, a variation using edamame or white beans. These are all great ideas to mix it up-so to speak.
No kids yet, but I love a yogurt dip for veggies. Plain non-fat Greek yogurt, garlic salt, dried dill or oregano and a squeeze of lemon.
I make hazelnut or almond lemon hummus, very often, also a green dip (arugula, basil, garlic, goat cheese or cream cheese), they make a great dip or sandwich spread and I've been shocked when kids like them but they do.
I regularly send my son to school with "five-layer" dip (or my modified version of it) A hearty portion of refried beans (watch salt & fat) salsa (homemade or jarred, depending on the time of year, again, watch salt) diced avocado, a few small dollops of greek yogurt (when I can sneak it past instead of lowfat sour cream) and a little shredded cheddar cheese.
I layer this up to the top of a small reusable snapware container, pack a container of tortilla chips, and off he goes - totally happy with a lunch that's mostly vegetables.
I love roasting veggies and pureeing into a dip with some olive oil, so healthy to start a meal!
Definitely going to try some of these. :)
By the way, is my kid weird? She REFUSES to double dip. EVER. I don't mind, but it's just so un-kid-like :)
I love the edamame/edamole dip! A nice twist on an old standby. I also just made Lentil Dip with Curry, Apples & Coconut (blogged about it here http://repleteeats.wordpress.com/)-- pretty darn tasty! Great with veggies or as a condiment on other stuff. Yum!
@bread&butter, thanks for that! I have roughly um,...say...about 400 tons of red lentils that I've begun to despair of ever using (long story. Involves buying Bob's Red Mill on Amazon in bulk and ignorance.). I mean, I love dhal, and all, but jeez... can't wait to try yours. Can't wait to try all of these, actually.
Double dipping... it 's not just for kids anymore...
@thatkris Wow! That's a lot of lentils... I've actually considered purchasing the french green lentils on Amazon as well, but I will make sure to check the total quantity before I commit. I don't actually know how long they last since mine usually never last more than a couple months (I'll buy a 5 lb bag of red lentils from a local Indian store and supplement with garden variety brown lentils from the grocery). I use lentils in a number of my recipes, so if you're looking for ways to use them up... (sorry shameless self promotion again).