Fast, Healthy Dip
It seems like there’s always a time when I need to whip up a quick, tasty dip for guests. But, as I’m sure you understand, I can’t just throw a container of pre-made dip onto the table. There’s sooooo many gross ingredients in those! What kind of NTP would I be if I was setting out a much of junk food?!?!?!? In fact, let’s just take a look . . .
Ingredients in French Onion Dip
SOUR DRESSING (NONFAT MILK, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL, MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, TAPIOCA FLOUR, GELATIN, LACTIC ACID, MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, SODIUM CASEINATE, PROPYLENE GLYCOL MONESTER, GUAR GUM, CITRIC ACID, ACETIC ACID, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, POTASSIUM SORBATE TO PROTECT FLAVOR, CARRAGEENAN, POTASSIUM PHOSPHATE, ARTIFICIAL COLOR), MAYONNAISE (SOYBEAN OIL, WATER, EGG YOLKS, VINEGAR, CORN SYRUP, SALT, SPICE, CALCIUM DISODIUM EDTA TO PROTECT FLAVOR), WATER, TOASTED ONION, SEASONING (SALT, SUGAR, ONION POWDER, HYDROLYZED CORN, SOY AND WHEAT PROTEIN, SOYBEAN OIL, GUAR GUM, POTASSIUM SORBATE, XANTHAN GUM, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, PARSLEY, WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE [MOLASSES, VINEGAR, CORN SYRUP, SALT, CARAMEL COLOR, GARLIC, SUGAR, SPICES, TAMARIND, NATURAL FLAVOR], MALTODEXTRIN, CITRIC ACID, SPICES, YEAST EXTRACT, CARAMEL COLOR, LACTIC ACID), VINEGAR, MODIFIED CORN STARCH.
Yes, that’s just a cut and paste from a common dip. No, I didn’t scour the internet to find the worse. I picked one a dip brand I knew and the first flavor that popped up. I’m sure there’s better and worse dips out there but this is a pretty standard pre-packaged offering.
Breaking This Dip Down:
BAD – partially hydrogenated soybean oil. This is trans fats. BAD DIP – BAD DIP – BAD DIP. And, yes that’s one of the first ingredients. Consumption of food containing trans-fat has unequivocally been shown to increase the risk of heart disease by raising levels of LDL (bad cholesterol), and lowering levels of HDL (good cholesterol). Learn more about trans fats here.
BAD – artificial color. These pose a risk for hyperactivity in children, cancer, and allergic reactions. We don’t need fake colorings.
BAD – Check out the ingredient list, you’ll discover new words to add to your vocabulary. Many of theses ingredients are required to increase the shelf life of the product and improve the flavor that disappears when food is not fresh. This is a highly processed “food”.
BAD – Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). This is used as a preservative to retain color. It may irritate the skin or cause skin rash and even asthma. It is on FDA’s list of food additives to be studied for toxicity. If the FDA is still studying it, I don’t want to eat it!
BAD – Potassium sorbate. This is used as a mold inhibitor. Some studies have shown that it has mutagenic effect on DNA.
BAD – Industrial caramel coloring. This is made by reacting sugars with ammonia and sulfites under high pressure and temperatures. The chemical reactions create 4-methylimidazole, which in government-conducted studies caused lung, liver, or thyroid cancer or leukemia in laboratory mice or rats. This is why California requires foods containing caramel color to be labeled as potential cancer-causing agents.
BAD – Corn syrup, natural flavors, MSG-like ingredients . . . it’s a long list (there’s actually more issues but you didn’t visit here to get a sermon; you came for a great recipe).
Let’s just suffice it to say, this type of dip isn’t going to be served in my house – PERIOD!
But, how about a four ingredient miso dip recipe that you can blend up in just minutes?
Now, we’re talking!
Miso Dip Recipe
Ingredients:
- ½ cup roasted nut butter
- 1 ½ Tbs mellow white miso
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ¼ cup warm water
Directions:
- Blend ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
Super simple, right?
And super delicious!
This dip recipe is fabulous with vegetables, crackers and chips. Enjoy!
Sources:
Feingold BF. Hyperkinesis and learning disabilities linked to artificial food flavors and colors. Am J Nurs 1975; 75-5: 797-803.
Harley JP, Matthews CG, Eichman P. Synthetic Food Colors and Hyperactivity in Children: A double-blind challenge experiment. Pediatrics 1978; 62: 975-983.
Hasegawa MM, Nishi Y, Ohkawa Y, Inui N. Effects of sorbic acid and its salts on chromosome aberrations, sister chromatid exchanges and gene mutations in cultured Chinese hamster cells. Food Chem Toxicol. 1984 ;22:501-7.
Hu FB, Stampfer MJ, Manson JE, Rimm E, Colditz GA, Rosner BA, et al. Dietary fat intake and the risk of coronary heart disease in women. N Engl J Med. 1997;337:1491–9.
Judd JT, Clevidence BA, Muesing RA, Wittes J, Sunkin ME, Podczasy JJ. Dietary trans fatty acids: effects of plasma lipids and lipoproteins of healthy men and women. Am J Clin Nutr 1994;59:861-8.
Kitano K, Fukukawa T, Ohtsuji Y, Masuda T, Yamaguchi H. Mutagenicity and DNA-damaging activity caused by decomposed products of potassium sorbate reacting with ascorbic acid in the presence of Fe salt. Food Chem Toxicol. 2002;40:1589-94.
Kobylewski S, Jacobson M. Toxicology of food dyes. Int J Occup Env Heal 2012; 18-3: 220-246.
Lichtenstein AH, Ausman LM, Jalbert SM, Schaefer EJ. Effects of different forms of dietary hydrogenated fats on serum lipoprotein cholesterol levels. N Engl J Med 1999;340:1933–1940.
Mamur S, Yüzbaşioğlu D, Unal F, Yilmaz S. Does potassium sorbate induce genotoxic or mutagenic effects in lymphocytes? Toxicol In Vitro. 2010;24:790-4.
McCann D, Barrett A, Cooper A, Crumpler D, Dalen L, Grimshaw K, Kitchin E, Lok K, Porteous L, Prince E, Sonuga-Garke E, OWarner J, Stevenson J. Food additives and hyperactive behavior in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the community: a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet 2007; 370: 1560-67.
Mensink RPM, Katan MB. Effect of dietary trans fatty acids on high-density and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in healthy subjects. N Engl J Med 1990;323:439-45.
Mozaffarian D, Katan MB, Ascherio A, Stampfer MJ, Willett WC. Trans fatty acids and cardiovascular disease. N Engl J Med. 2006;354:1601–1613.
Schab DW, Trinh NT. Do artificial food colors promote hyperactivity in children with hyperactive syndromes? A meta-analysis of double-blind placebo-controlled trials. J Dev Behav Pediatr 2004; 25: 423-434.
Scopp AL. MSG and hydrolyzed vegetable protein induced headache: review and case studies. Headache. 1991;31(2):107-10.
Sonuga-Barke EJS, Hollis C, Brandeis D, Konofal E, Cortese S, Lecendreux M, Daley D, Wong I, Ferrin M, Sergeant J, Holtmann M, Stevenson J, Danckaerts M, Van Der Oord S, Dopfner M, Dittmann R, Simonoff E, Zuddas A, Banaschewski T, Buitelaar J, Coghill D. Nonharmacological interventions for ADHA: Systematic review and meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials of dietary and psychological treatments. Am J Psychiatry 2013; 170-3: 275-289.
Stevens LJ, Kuczek T, Burgess JR, Hurt E, Arnold LE. Dietary sensitivities and ADHD symptoms: Thirty-five years of research. Clin Pediatr 2011; 50:279-293.
Williams JI, Cram DM, Tausig FT, Webster E. Relative effects of drugs and diet on hyperactive behaviors: An experimental study. Pediatrics 1978; 61-6: 811-817.
Zock PL, Katan MB. Hydrogenation alternatives: effects of trans fatty acids and stearic acid versus linoleic acid on serum lipids and lipoproteins in humans. J Lipid Res l992;33:399-4l0.
Questions and Answers on Monosodium glutamate (MSG) http://www.fda.gov/food/ingredientspackaginglabeling/foodadditivesingredients/ucm328728.htm
Natural Flavorings on Meat and Poultry Labels http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/food-safety-education/get-answers/food-safety-fact-sheets/food-labeling/natural-flavorings-on-meat-and-poultry-labels
