Healthy Food Choices for Dips

Video Transcript

MICHELLE COOPER: Next, we are going to talk about dips. Most commercial dips are high in fat and sodium. However, you can make your own healthy alternatives to those or you can purchase those that are made with healthier ingredients. Take salsa, for example. Salsa, there's virtually no fat and is made with tomatoes. Tomatoes are a great source of lycopene, which is an antioxidant, and antioxidants help our bodies fight diseases like cancer and heart disease. Another good choice would be something like bean dip, a great source of protein, high in fiber, low in fat. Another one of my favorites would be the hummus. Hummus is made from garbanzo beans or chick peas which are a great source of protein and fiber while being low in fat. You can make your own spinach dip. And you can also use these great, lower fat, lower sodium dips for your fresh vegetables and your fresh fruits which are naturally high in antioxidants and a lot of the vitamins and minerals that we use. So when choosing dips for any occasion, you want to look at ones that are made with lower fat ingredients such as non-fat yogurt, low-fat mayonnaise or reduced calorie dressings. You want to find those that are rich in foods that are high in antioxidants and vitamins like salsa, which is rich in tomatoes and lycopene, or the bean dip, which gives us protein and fiber, or the hummus, which also gives us protein and fiber without giving us all the fat and sodium. So next time you want to dip your vegetables, go ahead, just use one of these healthier alternatives.