Plant-based Spinach Dip

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The other night we went to an ABBA house party-crazy fun! The costumes were out of this world.  Kinda made me wish we could bring the styles back.

My sweet friend Karen, the hostess, asked me to make a vegan spinach dip to commemorate the 70’s and those crazy fun appetizers they ate then.  I was just a young’n in the 70s so I don’t remember. 😉  Making this recipe, dressed in my psychedelic shirt and polyester flare pants, made me feel like I was Rebecca in “This Is Us”.

I love that you can virtually make anything vegan that isn’t, just with some creative ingredient swapping.  I was also very encouraged to see that she had divided the table into a vegan end and a meat lovers end… and… it was even!  Half vegan, half non-vegan!  We are creating a stir! This recipe is a mixture of a couple recipes I found online.

The usual animal product based spinach dip recipes tend to contain cream cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream and some even contain bacon.  Bleck.   In case you need a quick reminder, animal products are a huge drain on the environment, hell for the animals, and in consuming them you are doing a serious disservice to your body.  Why not try the plant-based version.  It’s delicious and soon you will prefer it over the taste of animal by-products.  Promise.

Here is an informative link to remind you of the perils of dairy and below is a 2 minute video of  how cheese consumption has immediate negative effects on your body.  Take 2 minutes and watch it.

Here are the steps I went through to make the spinach dip.  I find that defrosting the spinach is easiest in the microwave if you forget to take it out early.  Make sure to squeeze it out like you are squeezing out a cloth in your hands.  It needs to be well drained.

I prefer the Yoso brand of cream cheese, but Daiya will work in a pinch.

Water chestnuts for the classic crunch.  Love this little dicer machine.  It is a huge time saver.

Plant-based Spinach Dip

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Serves: 12+ Prep Time: 20 minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 8 ounces plain vegan cream cheese (Yoso brand is a nice choice- ingredients: lightly toasted organic cashews, water, organic coconut oil, lemon juice concentrate, sea salt, organic sunflower oil)8 ounces of Silken tofu or medium tofu 1/2 cup vegetable broth1 tablespoon tomato paste (or sauce if you don't have paste open)1 leek, use only white portion1 small shallot or 1/3 of an onion chopped1 garlic clove, optional1 small carrot8 ounce can of water chestnuts, drained16 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained very well3/4 teaspoon salt1/2 teaspoon chicken or steak seasoning (hahaha)pepper to tastea few drops of hot sauce to taste1 round pumpernickel or sourdough bread, a circle cut into the bread to make a bowl and the part removed cut into pieces for dipping

Instructions

1. Place the first 4 ingredients in a high speed blender and blend until smooth.
2. In a food processor, pulse the leek, shallot, carrot and garlic clove (if using) until finely chopped.
3. Pour the sauce and the vegetables in the food processor into a large pot on the stove.
4. Add the diced water chestnuts and drained spinach to the pot and turn to medium.  Once the mixture begins to simmer, turn the heat to low and cook for 8 minutes stirring often.
5. Add the remaining seasonings and cook for a couple of minutes.
6. This dip can be served immediately, warm in the pumpernickel or sourdough bread or can be served cold as well.  You don't need the bread, you can just serve it along side crackers or veggies if you prefer.

www.thevibrantveggie.com