Mean Green Spinach Bean Dip & Tortilla Chips Recipe

I am extremely jealous of Giada De Laurentiis. She is super beautiful, an amazing cook yet somehow thin, and she seems like a genuinely nice and intelligent person. I thought I'd find her one fault by trying a recipe of hers that could never taste good: a healthy dip recipe. Healthy and dip do NOT go together. Creamy and dip? Yes. High-calorie and dip? Absolutely. But healthy and dip? No way. And a dip that looks like this can't be good:

Photo courtesy of Food Network

Well, she proved me wrong, and now Giada's Spinach and Cannellini Bean Dip recipe is among the recipes that I've made so many times, I've adapted it into my own. I've made my version for everyone, and most people see its pure green alien-vomit look and goes "uhh, maybe I'll try it later..." Until they actually try it, and then they won't stop eating it. Here's how my version is made:

Ingredients

• 12oz organic baby spinach
• 1 15oz can organic cannellini white kidney beans, drained and rinsed (I like the Eden ones, but you can also pre-cook if you like)
• 1 tbsp parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp sea salt

F-F-F-Feeed me, Seymour:

1. Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute or until fragrant.
2. Add about 50% of your spinach to the skillet and cook for 2 minutes until wilted, then add the remaining spinach and repeat.
3. Let cool for 2 minutes, then add spinach mixture and all remaining ingredients (don't forget your extra tablespoon of olive oil!) to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.
4. Transfer to a serving container that shows off that green hue nicely and dig in! This dip is super tasty with pita chips (I like Stacy's Simply Naked if you're looking for commercially available ones), endive spears as chips, or homemade tortilla chips as shown below. Enjoy!

Here's what mine looks like (considerably less picturesque - no wonder my friends don't want to eat it):

See those lovely chips next to it? Those are my homemade tortilla chips. They're super easy - just:

• Take some round tortillas and cut them pizza-style so they make little triangles
• Spray a little of the olive oil PAM on them
• Sprinkle with sea salt, and 
• Bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes. 

Do you know of other healthy dips that actually taste good? Tell me about them!