Dip it. Dip it good.

As I always say, a spoonful of dip helps the veggies go down. Okay, I've never said that before but it is true. I've been buying a bunch of veggies and as soon as I get home, cutting them up into nice bite-size pieces, ready to go when I need a snack. If I have a dip made up, I probably eat 3 servings of vegetables a day just by snacking. Without dip, maybe a carrot or two day is all I can get down. I'm sorry, vegetables are just boring by themselves. So I just try to make healthy dips and consider it all good. Here are my favorites and they are both super easy.

Ranch:

• Heaping 1/3 cup sour cream
• Heaping 1/3 cup yogurt (I like to drain in first but again, that is because my homemade yogurt is thin, do what you want)
• Scant 1/3 cup mayonaise (Some day I'm going to try making my own lacto-fermented mayo but for now, store bought it is)
  
• 1-2 t dried parsley
• 1/2-1 t. garlic powder
• 1/2 -1 t. seasoned salt (I'm a Season-All gal myself but I suppose Lowry's would do)
  
• 1/2 -1 t. onion powder

This is my standard base. The ranges for spices are quite large but I usually start with the lowest amount, decide it isn't nearly strong enough and just keep adding, sans measuring spoons, until it tastes right so I was kinda guessing up there. It's always a little different. I've also added fresh herbs when I have them or whatever other spices I think would be good - dill, chives, pepper, etc. If it isn't thick enough, add a bit more sour cream. If you want to use it is a salad dressing instead of a dip, thin it with a bit more yogurt or some milk.

Poor man's Hummus:
I call this poor man's hummus because it isn't actually hummus. I've started replacing the tahini with peanut butter and not only do I like it just as well if not better, it's a whole lot cheaper. If you want to be authentic and make real hummus just use tahini. I've been switching on and off all summer. Or try half and half.

• 1 (16oz) can chickpeas/garbanzo beans drained (some people like to save the juice for thinning the hummus but I hate to save bean liquid because of unwanted side effects so I just use extra oil if necessary)
• Juice of 2 lemons (or ~ 4 Tablespoon from a bottle if you are that type of person, and by that type of person, I mean me)
• 2 Tablespoons natural peanut butter/Tahini
  
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced (if your food processor can handle it just throw it in there unminced but mine can't and I end up with globs of garlic)
  
• 1/2 t kosher salt
• Several cranks of pepper
  
• ~1/4 cup olive oil
  

Combine everything except the oil in a food processor and mix until it's a thick paste. Slowly add olive oil until it is desired consistency. I like mine very thick but it's up to you. You can make it a little more exciting by adding some cayenne or cumin but I like to keep my options open. It's great not only as a dip but a sandwich spread. MckMama recommended trying it on toast with fresh basil, tomatoes and cucumbers and it quickly become a favorite lunch of mine.