Dips help make vegetables, fruits and chipsmore flavorful. Popping with flavor, dips are all about adding to your food’s natural flavors, and there are a lot of great options with the spring harvest that make for a good dip.

We’re going to cover some of our favorite dips, and we’ll even discuss a personal favorite: bread bowl dip.

1. Asparagus and Goat Cheese Dip

You’ve learned the secret behind cooking vegetables, but do you want to know the secret to making them taste even better? Cheese.

Cheese makes everything better, and this asparagus and goat cheese dip is always a major hit at parties. Before we get started, you’ll need to gather the following ingredients:

• 2 cups asparagus
• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 1 cup leeks (chopped)
• 1 cup cheddar cheese (grated)
• 4 ounces goat cheese
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp fresh chives (chopped)
• 2 tbsp fresh mint (chopped)
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley (chopped)
• Salt
• Pepper

Preheat your oven to 450F. Boil the asparagus in a pot of water until crisp and drain. Add your butter to a saucepan and melt on medium heat. Add in your flour while whisking in gently followed by the milk. Allow the rue to simmer while whisking and remove from heat when it thickens.

Add in your cheddar and whisk until smooth.

Now, fold in your asparagus, spices, half your goat cheese and any other veggies you wish (peas work well). Place the mixture in a baking dish, place the remaining goat cheese on top and cook for 15 – 20 minutes until brown.

2. Spinach Dip Bread Dip Bowl

A spinach dip bread bowl is a true treat for the palatte, and it’s a great choice for using your bread machine. You’re going to need to make your own sourdough bread, picking the right ingredients to make this dip pop with flavor.

If you’re a foodie, you’ll love this dip.

Gather up your ingredients:

• 1 loaf sourdough bread
• 2 boxes frozen spinach
• 3 finely chopped green onions
• 1 container sour cream
• 1 pouch onion soup mix
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 2 cans of water chestnuts

You’ll want to drain the spinach well and use a towel to squeeze out excess juices. Mix the spinach with all of the ingredients except the bread. Mix very well and cover overnight. Hollow out the loaf of bread, allowing for a 2″ wall on all sides.

Pour the dip into the middle, and serve.

You can heat the mix if you like, or you can use bread tips to create another loaf of bread to dunk into the dip and eat.

3. Avocado and Mint Dip

If you have a brief five minutes, you have time to make a delicious avocado dip. What makes this dip great is that it’s filled with good-for-you fats, so while it’s healthy and delicious, you’re also getting a lot of healthy fat you would otherwise not get.

We’re going to need a few ingredients to get started:

• 1 avocado, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 cup Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup mint leaves
• 1 tsp fresh lime juice
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Salt

Now, pull out a large bowl, mash the avocados with the lime juice, yogurt and salt. Fold in the mint leaves and drizzle some oil on the top.

I like to add salt to taste, and that’s it.

It doesn’t get much simpler than that, right?

4. Radish Dip

Another healthy dip that will make you remember your trip to a tropical oasis. You’ll want to make sure you have fresh ingredients available, and a farmer’s market is a good option for this. Since spring is here, you’ll find plenty of great produce at your local farmer’s market to add to this dish.

You’ll need:

• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup feta cheese
• 8 ounces radishes
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp dill
• 1/2 tsp shredded lemon peel

You’ll want to cut your radishes into fine strips or grate them. Simple put all of your ingredients in a large bowl and mix together. If you want to add some more great veggies into the mix, you can chop up some celery, carrot sticks and even add in snow peas.

I often serve this dish with dipping veggies, such as carrots or celery.

You can also use a piece of bread to dip into the mix and eat. While it may not be sweet in flavor, it’s definitely a good-for-you dip that will make your mouth water.

Joe Hughes –Village Bakery BIO

Name: Joe Hughes

Website: http://www.village-bakery.com

Bio: Joe Hughes, known by most as the Village Baker, is an expert in homestyle cooking techniques, with a primary interest in baking. He runs the very popular website, http://www.village-bakery.com, which provides the latest homestyle cooking news, techniques, tricks, and recipes. He can be reached at Joe@Village-Bakery.com.