It seems wrong that giving up fat means giving up dips and pâtés.
At least, that’s what I thought when I was a chubby child warned away from what I considered the best part of tagging along with my parents to adult parties. It never mattered to me what I was dipping – crackers, veggies or chips. They were just spoons for the dips.
My favorite was anything sour cream and onion. Ranch was a close second.
By high school, I smartened up and was watching my diet. But refusing to give up my dip habit, I mixed low-cal powdered salad dressing mixes (cue the sour cream and onion) with fat-free yogurt. I’d dip carrot and celery sticks in it.
It wasn’t all that memorable. And it wasn’t real dip.
By now, I’ve learned it is possible to have your dip and be able to fit into your jeans too. Fat-free sour cream and mayonnaise aren’t such bad things. Nor is fat-free cream cheese, when combined with the right flavors.
These recipes from LowFatLifestyle.com show you can cut the fat and keep the flavor. Both rely on fat-free cream cheese for body, and seafood for rich, savory flavor. Serve these with fresh crusty bread, slices of baguette, crackers or sliced vegetables.
Shrimp Dip
Adapted from lowfatlifestyle.com Start to finish: 1 hour, 10 minutes active. Serves 16.
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds cooked shrimp, peeled and finely chopped
4 ounces fat-free cream cheese, softened
Juice of 1 lemon
3 green onions, minced
1 cup low-fat mayonnaise
Splash Worcestershire sauce
Splash hot-pepper sauce
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions
Place the shrimp in a food processor and pulse several times to chop roughly. Add cream cheese, lemon juice, green onions and mayonnaise, and pulse until well mixed but still chunky.
Season to taste with Worcestershire sauce, hot-pepper sauce, salt and pepper. Chill about 1 hour.
Smoked Salmon Pâté
Adapted from Lowfatlifestyle.com. Start to finish 10 minutes, plus chilling. Serves 12
Ingredients
4 ounces smoked salmon, flaked
Two 8-ounce packages fat-free cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
3 tablespoons lemon juice
Dash of hot pepper sauce
Directions
In a food processor, combine half the salmon and all remaining ingredients. Pulse until mostly smooth. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Transfer the pâté to a bowl and mix in remaining salmon. Cover and refrigerate several hours to let flavors develop.
Nutrition information per serving: 49 cal., 1 g total fat, 5 mg chol., 280 mg sodium, 7 g pro., 3 g carbs., 0 g dietary fiber.
