Dairy-Free Fruit Dip

I remember way back when, our local grocery chain was a bit famous for their fruit dip.  Maybe I’m exaggerating a wee bit when I say famous, but everybody I knew loved it.  I even received a recipe card at one of my bridal showers years ago with a copycat of said “famous” recipe.  I still have it.

However, as I’ve aged, my food tastes have changed, meaning I often don’t eat all of the high sugar and trans fat laden foods of my youth.  This particular “famous” fruit dip recipe contains ingredients like marshmallow fluff, whipped topping, and cream cheese.  Now, I do love me some cream cheese, but the other two are not my faves and I don’t think I’ve bought either of these products in well over 10 years.  I mean no disrespect if you love these things, I mean, many of us grew up eating them, but we may want to rethink how much we consume.

Traditional whipped topping, you know, the kind you find in the freezer section (and that your mom saved all the tubs for storing leftovers), contains ingredients like hydrogenated vegetable oil and high fructose corn syrup.  Let’s talk about those for a quick minute.

In recent years, many of us have learned that hydrogenated oils = trans fats and trans fat are seriously bad for your heart and overall health.  Almost all vegetable oils are liquid at room temperature and thus can’t really be used like saturated vegetable (coconut) or animal (butter) fats to make creamy creations such as frostings or whipped cream (dairy cream has a high butterfat content allowing it to firm up when whipped).  To “solve” this problem, hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils are created through an industrial process that adds hydrogen to the oil, causing the oil to become solid at room temperature and increased shelf life.  However, by “solving” one problem, another was created.  Trans fats (created by the hydrogenation process) are linked to an increase in strokes, heart attacks, Type 2 Diabetes, increased LDL (bad) cholesterol, and decreased HDL (good) cholesterol.¹

High fructose corn syrup is another ubiquitous ingredient that is quickly becoming a health nemesis.  Some may say sugar is sugar, but that is only partially true.  Although you shouldn’t consume large amounts of sugar in any form, natural or refined,  HFCS is often consumed in large amounts in many foods and drinks: processed cookies and snacks, sugary juices, and, of course, soda.  HFCS is similar in its percentage of fructose to glucose when compared with cane sugar, however these sugars are unbound rather than bound like in cane sugar.  This means your digestive tract does not have to first break down the sugars, so they basically take a bullet train straight to your bloodstream.  This sends large amounts of fructose to your liver, sending it into overdrive.  The unbound glucose then triggers rapid blood sugar spikes.  These processes, coupled with the fact that HFCS is consumed in large amounts in many foods and drinks, lead HFCS to be a major cause of obesity, Type 2 diabetes, cancer, as well as widespread inflammation.  HFCS is also a highly chemically processed sweetener than may seem very much like cane sugar on the surface, but take a deeper look and it is quite different.²

Enough gloom and doom–back to fruit dip.  Many people love a good fruit dip, including myself.  But, fruit is healthy–how do we not completely obliterate it’s healthfulness by covering it in a sugar-laden dip?  Try this Dairy-Free Fruit Dip!

You’ll notice this dip contains whipped topping.  However, pay close attention to the type of whipped topping.  Truwhip or Cocowhip do not contain hydrogenated vegetable oils or high fructose corn syrup.  Instead, these use coconut oil and cane sugar.  In moderation, you can use this delicious dip to satisfy your sweet cravings.  It contains very few ingredients and is super easy to “whip” up!

References:

1.  https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-cholesterol/in-depth/trans-fat/art-20046114
2. https://drhyman.com/blog/2011/05/13/5-reasons-high-fructose-corn-syrup-will-kill-you/