Guilt Free Spinach & Artichoke Dip

Spinach and artichoke dip is one of those things that I like to pretend is healthy. It has veggies in it so it has to be good for you, right? It's like crediting a bowl of ice cream as your daily dose of dairy. It has milk in there somewhere, that's got to count for something. Unfortunately, that logic doesn't make sense. The spinach and artichoke dip that you typically order from restaurants is insanely fatty. I don't even count calories but when the restaurants do choose to list calories on the menu, I'm usually turned-off when I realize the dip is something like 1/4 of my recommended daily calorie intake.

So rather than discount spinach and artichoke dip from your life completely, I am here with a solution. This is a recipe I learned from a healthy cooking class in college. I'm completely aware that there isn't a perfect substitute for mayo, sour cream, and cream cheese, but this dip still has a great taste and can be eaten without the "wow I shouldn't have done that" feeling afterwards.

Ingredients (serves 8)

8 oz silken tofu (half of the package)

6 oz plain non-fat Greek yogurt

2 garlic cloves

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Pinch of cayenne pepper

1 can quartered artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed and chopped

1 cup frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Procedure

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2. As the oven heats, use a blender to puree the tofu, yogurt, garlic, onion powder, and cayenne pepper.

3. Transfer to a bowl and mix in the artichoke and spinach and half of the Parmesan cheese. Mix well.

4. Transfer the mixture into a medium-sized baking dish. Spread evenly and top with the remaining cheese.

5. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes.

6. When done, serve your dip hot with pita chips (I used whole-wheat pita cut into small pieces and baked in the oven), endive leaves, slices of bell pepper, and carrots.

My friends have tried this dip and loved it. While the flavor is noticeably different from standard spinach and artichoke dip, it's delicious nonetheless. Don't be turned-off by the tofu. You can barely taste it!

~Alyssa

Spinach Cheese Rolls

I tend to cook with Pepperidge Farm puff pastry dough really often.  Any time I host a dinner party or my family has guests over, I make these pastries.  Seriously, they are really easy to make, I have not met a person who didn't liked them, and I have given out the recipe for these many times!  I highly recommend making them!

However, after making the same recipe so many times, I started to think about alternatives and luckily found one right on the puff pastry box.  These spinach cheese rolls are also really good, and they are easy to modify to your taste: you can add less spinach and more cheese.  Also, depending on the cheese that I have in my fridge, I choose from a variety of parmesan, mozzerella, cheddar, or anything else!  And if you like food with more of a kick, you can add extra pepper and make them taste a little spicy.

Spinach Cheese Rolls
Adapted from Pepperidge Farm's puff pastry recipe
Makes about 18

2 sheets of puff pasty, leave at room temperature for about 30 minutes before beginning
10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, cooked in boiling water and drained
1 cup feta Cheese
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 egg yellow
Additional shredded cheeses (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking tray with parchment paper. Work with one sheet of pastry at a time and carefully unfold them so that the dough is flat.  If it is still frozen, the sheet may separate into 3 pieces, so it is better to wait until the dough softens.

2.  In a bowl mix the spinach, cheese, green onion, garlic powder, red pepper flakes and any additional cheese that you want.

3.  Spread the cheese and spinach mixture evenly over both sheets of puff pasty.  Roll the sheets and press down the dough at the end to seal it.

4.  Cut the roll of dough into about 9 pieces of equal size and lay them on the baking tray. Using a pastry brush, rub the sides of the rolls with egg yolk.

5.  Cook for about 30 minutes or until the sides of the rolls begin to brown.

Enjoy!
~Rona