Cheesy Creamy Nonfat Dip

I learned about a new Facebook app to help people wishing to follow and maintain a healthy lifestyle. It's called Health Seeker Game and that's exactly what it is, a game! You set weekly "missions" for yourself, such as incorporating more vegetables and fruit into your food plan. (That's my mission for this week.) Then the game suggests many easy ways to do this, but I only had to choose three actions I'm willing to complete. So, for this week, I'm challenging myself to replace one lunch or dinner with a salad, to choose a snack of vegetables or fruit three times and to try one new fruit or vegetable before the week is over. The fun part is that I can invite my family and friends to join the game, allowing us to encourage and challenge each other, send kudos or share progress. As I progress, week after week, I will be rewarded and move up level by level, so positive reinforcement and motivation are built into the game. It's free to play, so check it out!

My first action was to prepare and cut vegetables for quick and easy snacking. I usually don't like just munching on raw celery, but am quite willing when it's coated with a savory, creamy dip. The recipe below is my version of Ranch Dip. It's nonfat and very high in protein and calcium because the base is simply nonfat cottage cheese. It takes only minutes to prepare and tastes great! I hope everyone reading this post will join me to play the Health Seeker Game (http://www.healthseekergame.org/) and invite all your friends to join, too.

Cheesy, Creamy Nonfat Dip

(Makes 1 serving)

½ cup non-fat cottage cheese

herbs & spices of your choice

I chose the following from my cabinet: onion powder, parsley, pinch of dill weed, dried chives, pinch of paprika, sprinkle of garlic powder, salt & pepper.

1. Place all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Serve with cut vegetables.

Nutritional Information for the entire recipe (not including vegetables): 80 calories, 6 g carbohydrate, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 410 mg sodium, 0 g fiber, 14 g protein.

Recipe by Kathy Sheehan, copyright 2011