Dips 'n Sticks

My son James likes dipping things into ‘goo’, whether its soldiers in a dippy egg or his whole hand in a pot of yoghurt! One of his favourite lunchtime meals is dips ‘n sticks. Crudities are a perfect ‘stick’ for any dip. Look out for vegetables that add a burst of colour, and are of different shapes and textures. Why not try some different vegetable sticks; carrots, cucumbers and peppers get boring! Why not try fennel, kohlrabi, asparagus or mouli? All of these dips are nutritious and a great way of getting vegetables into your child’s diet.

Here are a few ideas for some dips;

Roasted Beet Dip

250g beetroot

½ tsp. ground cumin

2tsp chopped dill

150ml full fat greek yoghurt

Method – Trim the leaves off the beetroot, and scrub the skins. Wrap each beetroot individually in tin foil. Put the tin foiled covered beetroots into a roasting tray and cook for 50-60minutes or until tender. Let them cool.

Put the cooled beetroot into a food processor and blend until smooth. Add the ground cumin, chopped dill and swirl in the greek yoghurt.

Pair this dip with some lightly toasted pita sticks.

Simple Guacamole

1 avocado

½ clove garlic

¼ lime

1 tsp. chopped coriander

Method – Cut the avocado in half, remove the stone and scoop the flesh out of the skin into a bowl. Mash the flesh with a fork. Crush the garlic & chop the coriander. Add to the avocado, squeeze in the lime juice. Mix together.

Pair this dip with lightly grilled tortilla strips.

Green Hummus Dip

250g raw broccoli

250g raw courgette

400g drained canned chickpeas

3tbsp tahini

3tbsp lemon juice

125ml water

½ tsp. ground cumin

2tbsp olive oil

1tbsp chopped coriander

Method- Cut the courgette and broccoli florets into equal sized pieces, put in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Add the remaining ingredients to the processor and blend until you have a smooth consistency. Add more water as needed.

Pile this dip on top of sticks of celery!

Carrot and red lentil dip

1 carrot roughly chopped

1 red onion roughly chopped

1 clove garlic roughly chopped

1 tsp. ground cumin

½ tsp. ground coriander

½ tsp. sea salt

2tbsp olive oil

100g dried red lentils

Method – Preheat oven to 180c. Mix together carrots, onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, salt and oil in a bowl. Spread mixture on a baking tray and cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes, until carrots are just tender.

Increase over temperature to 220c and cook for 10 more minutes, until the carrots are golden brown. Remove mixture from oven and let cool for 10 minutes.

Transfer mixture to food processor and process until chunky.  Meanwhile, cook the lentils in boiling water for 5 minutes, until just tender. Let sit in water for 10 minutes, then drain well. Add lentils to carrot mixture and process until well combined.

Pair this dip with slightly warm chunks of chapati.