As I was bringing a fruit dish to a family gathering this summer, I had the thought that it would have been a little more special had I put a fruit dip with it…And maybe it would be a fun afternoon treat for the girls every once and a while to have with their fruit 🙂
I couldn’t just run to the store and grab a fruit dip that day – high fructose corn syrup, MSG, and other additives is not on my list of things to dip nourishing fruit in. So I’ve played around with a couple dips this summer, and this is what I came up with! The simplest of ingredients, but oh my…so yummy!
There are 2 to choose from depending on what kind of fruit you are dipping!
CREAM CHEESE FRUIT DIP:
½ cup cream cheese (If not homemade, go for organic, full fat, and not ultra pasteurized, to ensure the least processed product. If you are dairy free, try straining the liquid from coconut milk yogurt – see this for details.)
1 tsp vanilla
2 TB raw honey (Local if possible or this is what I use when local isn’t available, or pure maple syrup (go local!)
2 TB whole milk (Preferably raw, or non homogenized, low pasteurized – never ultra pasturized – even organic. If you are dairy free try coconut milk!)
- Blend everything with a hand mixer until very smooth.
- Refrigerate up to a week.
 NUT OR SEED BUTTER FRUIT DIP:
½ cup sunbutter (or almond or peanut butters – watch the ingredients – should just be the nut or seed and maybe some sea salt.)
1 tsp vanilla
2 TB raw honey (Local if possible or this is what I use when local isn’t available, or pure maple syrup (go local!), or play around with stevia to your taste)
¼ cup coconut milk (Native Forest has BPA free containers if you aren’t going to make your own. If you don’t have a milk allergy, regular whole milk works good too.)
- Blend everything with a hand mixer until very smooth.
- Refrigerate up to a week.
Kitchen Tips:
- Almond extract vs the vanilla extract would be SO good in either recipe too!
- If you want to “stretch” your dips a bit more, you can add more of the liquid (milk or coconut milk) and make thinner.
- I went with the sunbutter in the dairy free version because nut allergies are so common. Sunbutter is ground up sunflower seeds and typically can still be eaten by those with nut allergies. I wanted to make sure it would taste good with this and IT WAS! Ha! Actually we use sunbutter vs almond or peanut butter more often anyway. It is good to rotate foods often so your gut gets a break from the “same” foods. Peanut butter is so easy to eat too much of, and we have almonds in granola and oatmeal usually, so sunbutter is a good option for us.
- Play around with the “sweet” to your taste!
- Read this and this about why you should not be afraid of “full fat” friendly fats.
YOUR TURN!
What kind of fruit would you love to use these dips in? Tell me about the food allergies/sensitivities you or your kids have – I would love to keep it in mind as I post recipes! Let me know how the babes like the dip if you try it!
Grab a bag of real oats in the next couple days – I’ll be back on Friday to show you a great soaked oat pancake recipe for your weekend breakfast!
This post was shared at Real Food Freaks Freaky Friday!
