Making the decision to limit or completely eliminate processed foods from your diet is one of the best things you can do for your health. Many processed foods, which some Americans consume on a daily basis, contain hydrogenated oils, animal products, and a variety of unhealthy chemicals. Removing these foods from your diet is a great step in a healthier direction.
Not everyone has the discipline to stop consuming processed foods cold turkey, especially when it comes to dips and condiments. Whether it is salsa, whipped cream, salad dressings, or hot sauces, chances are they all contain a lot of processed ingredients. Lucky for you, we have some amazingly delicious plant-based dips that can hopefully replace your common processed versions.
#1: Swap Out Cheese Dip With Nooch Dip
If you have ever used nutritional yeast, you know that it has a flavor that is similar to cheddar cheese. It can be combined with a variety of ingredients to create plant-based cheese sauces or dips. For the dip, you’ll need:
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- ¼ cup raw cashews (that have been soaked for 2 hours)
- 1-2 tablespoons of water
Blend the ingredients in a food processor until you get a smooth, creamy, “cheesy” dip.
#2: Swap Ranch For Tahini Ranch
Tahini was made for creating delectable dips. Not only does it provide the perfect creamy base, but it is also free of animal-based saturated fats! Additionally, tahini is a great source of calcium and protein. For the tahini ranch, you’ll need:
- ½ cup raw tahini
- 1 garli clove, minced
- juice from 1 lemon
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- dash of onion powder
Add all of the ingredients to a blender and process until you have a thick-ish dip that could also pass for a dressing. If you want to make this a thinner dressing, add 1 tablespoon of filtered water.
#3: Swap French Onion Dip With Cashew Garlic Onion Dip
In case you haven’t been paying attention to plant-based dips, sauces, and more, cashews are hot items. They are rich in magnesium, contain healthy fats, and they are perfect for creamy recipes. For this cashew dip, you’ll need:
- ½ cup raw cashews (that have been soaked for 2 hours)
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- black pepper and sea salt, to taste
Blend all the ingredients in a food processor and enjoy this GMO-free, additive-free, healthy take on French onion dip.
#4: Swap Thousand Island For Sun-Dried Tomato Garlic Dressing
This is probably one of our favorite dips because we love sun-dried tomatoes. Rather than dousing your veggies in ketchup and mayonnaise (essentially what thousand island is), make this delicious dressing. You’ll need:
- ½ cup raw cashews (that have been soaked for 2 hours)
- ½ cup raw tahini
- 6 sun-dried tomatoes (not the ones soaked in oil)
- 1 unsulfured date, pitted
- 1 garlic clove
- a pinch of black pepper
Blend all of the ingredients together in a blender until you get a smooth consistency. Enjoy on your salads!
You don’t always have to resort to processed foods because you can easily create healthy, vegan versions of them. Try some of the recipes out and let us know how you like them.
