A Healthier 7-Layer Dip for Game Day

By Chef Meg Galvin, Healthy Cooking Expert at SparkPeople.com


Football and snacks go hand in hand, but so can game-day noshing and healthy eating. Nachos, pizza, even wings can be a part of your healthy game-watching menu.

One of my favorite football snacks is layered Mexican dip. I always make a beeline for this dish at game-day parties. With layers of beans, cheese, black olives, sour cream, guacamole, and onions, the dip is made with healthy, whole ingredients.

Then I checked out the nutrition on the dish.

Even with baked chips, a cup of this dip has a whopping 562 calories, 42 g fat and 824 mg of sodium!

Do you know how much I probably have consumed of this dish at parties? So much that I decided to make it over before this year's football season.

My Skinny Fiesta Dip with Baked Lime Chips has all the flavor of the original, but it's much easier on the waistline.

Original dip (1 cup):
562 calories
42 g fat
19 g saturated fat
824 mg sodium

New dip(1 cup):
211 calories (fewer than half!)
9 g fat (about 1/5 the fat)
4 g saturated fat
405 mg sodium (less than half!)

The swaps were simple:

  • Low-fat sour cream for full fat

  • Nixed the cheese

  • Diced fresh avocado instead of store-bought guacamole to cut the salt

  • Swapped fat-free refried beans for regular and added black beans

  • Whole-wheat tortillas instead of white

  • Homemade, salt-free taco seasoning instead of a packet

  • Chopped tomatoes and shredded lettuce to add more veggies to the dip

  • Eliminated the black olives (empty calories in this recipe)

  • Added cilantro for a boost of fresh flavor

  • Squeezed fresh lime over the tortillas before baking to add flavor


Skinny Fiesta Dip with Baked Lime Chips

Ingredients
16 ounces refried beans, fat free
1 cup sour cream, reduced fat
1 tablespoon taco seasoning
1/2 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
3 green onions, chopped (both white and green parts)
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 avocado, chopped
1 tablespoon cilantro, washed and chopped
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 cup green leaf lettuce, shredded
2 whole-wheat tortillas
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Slice each tortilla into six wedges. Place wedges on a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Spray the tortillas with a light mist of nonstick cooking spray and a pinch of salt (optional). Bake for five minutes or until crisp. Remove from the oven and immediately squeeze the juice of half a lime over the chips.

Combine the taco seasoning with the sour cream and mix well. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Rinse and drain the black beans. Combine the chopped avocado with the juice of the remaining half of a lime and the chopped cilantro, then set aside. Line the bottom of a 10-inch round dish with the refried beans. Layer on the sour cream mixture, black beans, and green onions. Top with chopped tomatoes, lettuce and avocado. Serve chilled. Makes 6 one cup servings with 2 baked lime chips.

What dishes do you serve up on game day? Why do you think that eating is so closely associated with football rather than other sports?


Related links:

12 Healthy Game Day Recipes

Slim Down Your Dips

The Perfect Party Food: Chili Con Carne


SparkPeople Healthy Cooking Expert Meg Galvin is a World Master Chef, culinary instructor, and the author of " The SparkPeople Cookbook: Love Your Food, Lose the Weight." A farmer's daughter and marathon runner, she lives in northern Kentucky with her husband and three teenage sons.