Day 3, Dip of the Day: Savory Ginger-Soy Dipping Sauce

BBQ’s and cookouts on the 4^th of July will have you heaping your plate with multiple servings of burgers, ribs, potato salad, baked beans, coleslaw, grilled corn and that doesn’t even begin to cover the desserts! Keep your pre-meal munchies satisfied with this Asian inspired dip that will leave plenty of room for the main course.

My soy-ginger sauce takes minutes to prepare and is a great savory dip to serve at any gathering.  This sauce is low in calories and the ginger in the dip offers anti-inflammatory and gastrointestinal benefits. While the amount of ginger in this recipe is too small to have a large health impact it never hurts to add a little more of this root to your diet. Ginger is also extremely versatile in the flavor it brings to a dish. It offsets the saltiness of the soy sauce with its crisp flavors and spiciness.

Soy-Ginger Dipping Sauce

½ cup low-sodium soy sauce

1½ inches of ginger root, peeled and sliced into very thing strips

1 clove garlic crushed

¼ heaping tsp cardamom

¾ tsp brown sugar

In a small saucepan bring soy sauce to a gentle simmer and cook for 1 minute. Add ginger, garlic, cardamom and brown sugar and reduce heat to low. Let cook for 5 minutes, or until mixture begins to thicken and lightly coats the back of a metal spoon.

Remove from heat and let cool before transferring to a serving bowl. Enjoy with kale chips or freshly sliced radishes for a low-fat and low-calorie dipping device! Now you’ll have plenty of room for that second helping of ribs or that extra cupcake J

Quick tip: double this recipe and save half to use as a marinade for chicken skewers. Just add a little lime juice, let chicken marinate for about 40 minutes, grill the skewers and enjoy the double duty this recipe serves!

Kale Chips

1 bunch red or lacinato kale, destemmed and cut into almost bite-size pieces

2 tbsp olive oil

sea salt to taste and a few cracks of fresh ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 300°F. Thoroughly wash and dry kale (I use a salad spinner to dry).  In a re-sealable plastic bag, mix kale, olive oil and salt together with the ever so fun shake method… put on some fun music while you’re at it! Spread the kale leaves onto two cookie sheets and bake for 20 minutes. Make sure to check the kale periodically, as it will sometimes bake more quickly depending on how small the pieces are.