The Superbowl is creeping up on us real fast so I tried to steer my thoughts to making something party worthy.  Well I ended up eating this for my lunch for a couple of days so…so much for the party but it sure killed a huge craving for nachos I’d been having since I saw a monstrous plate of them at Margaritaville in Las Vegas.  So enough on the cravings and on to the deliciousness.  I love beans.  We eat them several times a week around my house.  I usually make a huge pot from the dry stage but sometimes I just used canned. Even better if I can find ones that don’t have anything added to them.  So this is a Really quick recipe that is truly yummy and worthy of your bestest of buddies.

Creamy Bean Dip
Serves 4 (or 2 if it’s your lunch)

1 can refried beans – you can get vegetarian, no fat, regular…whichever you like

1 ripe avocado

½ c salsa

½ t garlic power

2 T lime juice

No fat greek yogurt for garnish- you can omit

Salt to taste- please taste to make sure you get enough

In a medium bowl, scoop out the avocado and mash really well with a fork.  Add the remaining ingredients and mix really well.  Let sit for 10 minutes and then mix some more.  At this point I heated the dip in the microwave, topped with some yogurt, finely sliced scallions and some really HOT salsa.  But if you like, you can add some cheese, then melt it all in the microwave, then garnish as mentioned above.  Enjoy!

Some other great ideas…

Chopped tomatoes, lots of diced scallions, make your own tortilla chips

This recipe brings blueberries outside of the box and into a new light. My kids really enjoyed the dip with the fruit–my pickiest eater even loved it. Blending things like yogurt which has fantastic properties for balancing digestion, blueberries which are flooded with antioxidants, and avocado which is such a good source of heart disease prevention was a delicious reward.

Cool Blueberry Avocado Dip

8-ounces low fat plain yogurt
1 rip Avocado peeled and cored
1 cup ripe blueberries rinsed
1tsp Lemon Zest
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Dash of Cinnamon
Dash of Salt
Stevia to taste

Add the fruit, yogurt & vanilla to your blender and blend until the blueberries are fully mixed in. Add the salt, cinnamon and stevia tasting to assure it pleases your own taste buds–as some people enjoy it sweeter than others. Serve with fruit immediately or keep covered and refrigerated.

Other good ideas:

-use this as a topping for granola
-use this as a dressing for fruit salad
- a wonderful addition to a salmon dish

This recipe is adapted from Squeaky Gourmet www.squeakygourmet.com by Maureen Jeanson and Jamie C. Wilson