Healthy(er) Spinach and Artichoke Dip.

There are a few ingredients that I pick up every time I do my grocery shopping. One of them is Greek yogurt. I buy this stuff in bulk, and I can always find ways to use it all up before the expiration date. There are many, many, many delicious and healthy ways to use it (which I will be naming in another post at another time), and one of those ways is to make yummy dips with only a fraction of the fat and calories of their regular counterparts.

The other day, I got a craving for ooey, gooey, spinach and artichoke dip. Back when I lived in the dorms freshman year, they served this every few weeks in the cafeteria and oh my gosh, I would just devour it. Then my grandma started making it occasionally for family parties and sent me her recipe. Of course, there’s the stuff you order at chain restaurants, too, which just pales in comparison to the real stuff. Most versions of this are made with some combination of sour cream and mayonnaise as the base.

Not mine. I used a combination of Greek yogurt and shredded mozzarella cheese as the base. Even with the cheese, I can’t imagine it’s nearly as bad for you as fatty mayonnaise and sour cream (I doubt they’re using fat free sour cream and Miracle Whip Light at Applebee’s). I upped the vegetable content so it’s nice and thick, chunky, and filling.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups nonfat or 2% plain Greek yogurt (my favorite is Fage 2%)
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella or Italian blend cheese (use part skim for even less fat)
• about 1/2 cup grated parmesan, asiago, or some blend of grated Italian cheese
• 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 - 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 can artichoke hearts (14 oz.)
• 1 box frozen, chopped spinach (10 oz.), thawed overnight in the fridge or under warm, running water
• olive oil

What to do:

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• Heat a bit of olive oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add your onion and garlic, and sautee until it becomes translucent.
• In a large bowl combine yogurt, cheeses, and spinach.
• Drain and rinse your can of artichoke hearts, chop them roughly, and add them to the pan with the onion and garlic.
• When everything in the pan is soft and fragrant, add that to the bowl. Stir together until everything is well combined.
• Grease a baking dish and spoon the mixture into the dish. Sprinkle a bit more grated cheese over the top (if you’d like… and who doesn’t like more cheese?) and bake for 10-20 minutes, until it gets nice and bubbly and the top begins to brown.
• Serve with baked pita chips, tortilla chips, raw vegetables, or just eat it with a fork like me. You can also skip the baking step and it’s good cold, too!