Scoop up about a tablespoon of some dips 10 times and you're looking at 500 calories and 50 grams of fat. Do the same with a con queso dip and you've eaten more than 2,200 milligrams of sodium, awfully close to the daily recommended amount. But Consumer Reports says it doesn't have to be that way.
Testers rated almost 50 dips for nutrition. They looked at calories, fat, sodium, and even fiber content. Among the dips were salsa, hummus, guacamole, con queso, and creamy dips such as onion.
If you want to skip the fat altogether, go with salsa. All had no fat and 10 calories a serving. One of them, Newman's Own All Natural Chunky Salsa with 65 milligrams of sodium in a two tablespoon serving, is the lowest of all the salsas.
Love guacamole? It's true that avocados do contain fat, but it's monounsaturated fat, a "good for you" kind. Wholly Guacamole is one to try. It has 4.5 grams of fat, 50 calories, and 75 milligrams of sodium in two tablespoons.
But it's Cedar's Roasted Red Pepper hummus that beat the rest for nutrition. The Cedar's hummus has 3 grams of dietary fiber—that's more than any of the other dips tested. And with 50 calories, 3 grams of fat, and 80 milligrams of sodium in two tablespoons, you can be sure it won't fumble your diet.
Still craving those creamy dips? Make them with fat-free sour cream. When Consumer Reports testers made onion dip with reduced-fat sour cream, most staffers liked it just as much as the full-fat version.
