Lightened Up Spinach Artichoke Dip

Spinach artichoke dip is one of those dishes that masquerades
as a healthy option. After all, what could possibly be unhealthy about spinach
and artichokes- TOGETHER? They’re vegetables, and vegetables are good.

Well yes, and no.

Traditionally, Spinach Artichoke dip contains cheese, sour
cream and mayonnaise, in varying quantities, which can pack quite the calorie
and fat bomb. This isn’t necessarily bad given that recent studies have shown
that when you consume vegetables with a little fat, you help your body absorb
key nutrients (source). However, the amount of fat in this appetizer tends to
outweigh the benefits of the vegetables in my opinion. So, I set out to make a
healthier version for our game day snack!

I started by making my own pita chips, using Heidi Swanson’s
recipe from her cookbook; Super Natural Every Day and heavily relied on Serious Eats version of Cooking Light’s original recipe. I’m a little sensitive to
overly salty snacks; this includes overly cheesy dishes (the horror! Yes, I
said it, I don’t love cheese. I need a support group). In light of these gems, I
jump at any opportunity to control the salinity of a snack, while still reaping
the taste benefits. Here are the results- I hope you enjoy them:

Pita Chips:

• 4 7-inch whole wheat pita pockets (original
  recipe calls for 3)
• 2 TBSP Butter
• 3 TBSP Olive Oil
• ½  tsp
  flakey sea salt
• 2 large cloves of garlic (original recipe calls
  for 1)

This is such an easy recipe that bears fantastic results.
Just slice your pita bread into bite sized pieces, toss with melted butter,
oil, salt, and minced garlic and spread out on a greased cookie sheet. Cook at
350 degrees for 20 minutes, tossing once. The original recipe suggests cooking
for 10-15 minutes, but I found that I needed more time to create the crispness
that I wanted.

Artichoke Dip:

• ½ of a 10 oz bag of spinach (original recipe
  calls for full bag)
• 6 oz low-fat cream cheese
• 6 oz fat-free cream cheese
• ½ cup fat-free sour cream
• 1 ½ cups part skim shredded mozzarella
• 4 oz shredded parmesan (original recipe calls
  for 6 oz)
• 1 14 oz can of artichoke hearts, diced
• 5-6 cloves garlic (original recipe calls for 3
  cloves)- crushed
• Pepper to taste

Remove large veins and chop the spinach. Transfer to strainer and
rinse. Take washed spinach and place in a large pan to sauté until wilted.
While spinach is cooking, mash together the cream cheese. Once combined, add
the sour cream, mozzarella and parmesan. Open your artichoke hearts, drain and dice. Add to mixture along with wilted spinach and crushed garlic. Add desired amount of pepper, and mix until evenly distributed.

Bake at 350 degrees, for 30 minutes & enjoy! We decided
to be classy today and poured some prosecco to accompany the appetizer.

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