A great way to get kids to eat fruits and veggies is to cut them into sticks and dip.  And dips are so easy, even I can do it!

Sneaky secret – when I worked at a deli and made those fancy fruit plates, we made loads of fluffy strawberry dip.  People would ask for the recipe but we wouldn’t reveal it.  Probably because it was embarrassing – 1 tub of Cool Whip plus one package of strawberry jello powder.  The ultimate in sugar loaded fake food.  And of course, there’s the classic sour cream plus dessicated onion soup mix packet schmear that graces every pot luck table.

But dips don’t have to come from from an envelopes and bottles full of MSG and other fillers.  Here are some healthier dips made with real food that will whip up in just a few seconds.

You don’t really need a recipe.  I just plop, pour, stir, and then adjust to taste.

Fruit dips:

Peanut butter + maple syrup (great for apples!)

Lime juice + honey (awesome for jicama)

Basic ranch dip:

Sour cream + buttermilk to thin a bit + onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper

Spicy dip:

Sour cream + salsa

Dilly dip:

Lemon juice, plain yogurt, dill (great for green beans, asparagus spears, or zucchini sticks)

Pizza dip:

Tomato paste thinned to dipping consistency with water, garlic powder, oregano.  Top with a sprinkle of Parmesan or mozzarella.

Easy cheese ball/spread:

1 package cream cheese, chopped bacon bits or ham, chopped green onions.  Smush together and form a ball.  Make it the night before and store in the fridge to let the flavors meld.

Tex Mex cheese ball:

Cream cheese, chopped green chiles, finely diced tomato.  Same method. Smush, form, fridge.

Taking a dip works for me!

Linking up:

Kitchen Steward’s Real Food for the Holidays Progressive Dinner- appetizers

Get your posts ready for tomorrow’s Glamour of a SAHMer!  What’s Glamour of a SAHMer?

Link up and tell us what the dirtiest, weirdest, or worst thing you did last week.  Grab the graphic and link back, or you can just post in the comments.

It actually encourages me to know I’m not alone in a sea of grape jellied clothes and mucky dusty toilet bolt covers.

Glamour of a SAHMer will run on the first Thursday of the month- you can choose an old post if you like just link to me and then link to the URL of your post (not your blog’s homepage.)