MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! I hope you are all had an amazing and beautiful day wherever you are and that you are feeling the love! In my household Christmas isn't as big as a deal as say, Vietnamese New Year but we do try to put in the effort to make new, exciting and delicious dishes and gift each other great presents.
I've been quite MIA lately as things have been super busy but after today I will have a lot more exciting content to show you all from brunch posts, fine dining and #kimmiebitesinvited adventures and vlogs! There is one post (this one) which I have been working on over the past week and this is my Chobani collaboration! Thanks to Social Soup who connect influencers with brands, I have had the amazing opportunity to become an ambassador for Chobani. As those who follow me on Instagram may have seen, I have posted 6 different recipes/ways to pair and eat the new Chobani mezé dips. This is the first time Chobani have stepped out of the yogurt game and I'm so happy that I got to be one of the lucky chosen people to try their new dips and try to come up with different recipes.
The dips come in exciting flavours: caramelised onion, beetroot dill, herbed tzatziki, roasted red pepper, chilli lime ranch, and salsa rojo. They are made using yogurt so each tub is LOW in fat standing at around 135 calories, and high in protein with more than 14g. This is the perfect 'no regrets' and 'guilt free' dip you'll ever try!
It was earlier this month that representatives from the CHOteam knocked on my door with a special delivery....
Needless to say I was so stunned at how beautifully presented and generous the package was. Also embarrassed because my mom thought they were my friends and tried to invite them inside 😂 Anyway in this Chobani tray I received one of each dip, two zucchinis, sweet potato, garlic, brown onion, pomegranate, penne pasta, oregano, pine nuts and olive oil! Much of the extra components go towards the suggested recipes they have provided on the recipe cards yet we were also encouraged to come up with our own recipes. Also noticed other people on Instagram received slightly different packages, e.g. some got more dips, a special Chobani wooden board, more veggies, etc but I did my best to use easily accessible and affordable ingredients to make these healthy recipes.
Here's a preview before we begin....
The recipe cards suggested using this as a sauce for the penne pasta. However just as I was about to boil the pasta I had wonderful idea! Why not use the given zucchinis and make zucchini pasta/spaghetti/noodles/zoodles! It's both vegan and healthy. I've also never enjoyed eating zucchini any other way after all. So here is my recipe that makes 1 serving:
Ingredients:
Method:
A photo posted by Kim Nguyen (@kimmiebites) on
Needless to say I was so stunned at how beautifully presented and generous the package was. Also embarrassed because my mom thought they were my friends and tried to invite them inside 😂 Anyway in this Chobani tray I received one of each dip, two zucchinis, sweet potato, garlic, brown onion, pomegranate, penne pasta, oregano, pine nuts and olive oil! Much of the extra components go towards the suggested recipes they have provided on the recipe cards yet we were also encouraged to come up with our own recipes. Also noticed other people on Instagram received slightly different packages, e.g. some got more dips, a special Chobani wooden board, more veggies, etc but I did my best to use easily accessible and affordable ingredients to make these healthy recipes.
Here's a preview before we begin....
Ready? Okay lets go!
C A R A M E L I S E D O N I O N
Ingredients:
- 1 medium zucchini, washed
- Half a carrot, julienned
- Handful of sliced mushrooms
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 clove of garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 Tbsp Chobani caramelised onion mezé dip
- Rocket leaves, baby spinach and cherry tomatoes (optional)
- Lemon zest for garnish
- Salt and pepper
Method:
- Cut off the ends of the zucchini, then begin to push it long-side down through the grater/mandolin slicer creating long and thin zucchini strips
- Heat a frying pan with 1 tsp olive oil, then add garlic, carrots and zucchini. Gently stir around until zucchini is tender (won't take longer than 2 minutes in my experience)
- Add a Tbsp of Chobani caramelised onion dip, and mushrooms. Stir until coated and then add salt and pepper to taste. Remove off heat
- Plate zucchini onto a bed of rocket leaves and baby spinach. Top and garnish with cherry tomato halves and lemon zest. ENJOY 🍴 ✨
Some tips I learned from my mom while making this recipe were to be wary of how old the zucchini is because the older it is, the tougher the skin and more bitter it is. I left my zucchinis lying around for a few weeks so this is how I learnt to be careful next time. We remade the recipe using a different and fresher type of zucchini after - Magda, and found it to solve that bitterness problem I originally had. It also has a slightly more creamy but nuttier taste. So anyway definitely try to use fresh zucchini when making zucchini pasta!
The caramelised onion dip is sweet with a paprika kick. It pairs really well with this zucchini dish and even if I used the penne pasta, I'm sure it would be just as delicious!
B E E T R O O T D I L L
This comes in a beautiful magenta tub to match the beautiful beetroot dip on the inside! The recipe card suggested making a roasted sweet potato toast and I really loved the idea so I wasn't too original with this one. I did substitute walnuts for the given pine nuts though and it worked out beautifully. I think that any sort of crunchy nut would go great because of the flavour and texture!
So here is my "adapted" recipe:
Ingredients:
- 1 large sweet potato, washed
- Chobani beetroot dill mezé dip
- Pomegranate, pine nuts and crumbly feta cheese to top
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Method:
- Slice the sweet potato length ways in 1cm thick slices. Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees
- Place sweet potato pieces into a baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Roast in oven for 12 minutes
- Remove from oven, leave to cool and then transfer sweet potato to a plate
- Generously spread with Beetroot Dill Chobani Mezé Dip
- Top with good sized sprinkle of pomegranate,
walnutspine nuts and feta. Enjoy!
H E R B E D T Z A T Z I K I
Mmmm tzatziki!!! This tzatziki is so refreshing, delicious, jam-packed full of herby flavour and oh so moreish. It is one of the dips that I believe would pair well with ANYTHING. It is such an essential. In the spirit of summer, I decided to create a summer staple: potato salad! Did you know 1 tub of Chobani herbed tzatziki dip contains only 122 calories while the same amount of mayonnaise you would use in making potato salad is estimated to be well over 1000 calories! So therefore SKIP THE MAYO and head for Chobani because you can spruce up the usual potato salad with the healthier and more delicious alternative.
Oh yes, and I used two types of potato: white & sweet potato! You can use the same as me, or only one type, or even three if you're adventurous! Additionally I got my potatoes from Woolworths where they came in a convenient bag that was ready to microwave. So that will be the method I'm using today. But if you don't have that I would still recommend using the microwave because it is so quick, water-saving and easy. Just place your potatoes in a microwave safe bowl with a cover and add a little bit of cold water.
Ingredients:
- 1kg white baby potatoes, washed
- 1 large sweet potato, cubed
- 1 tub of Chobani herbed tzatziki mezé dip
- Diced ham and hard boiled egg (optional)
- Parsley/dill for garnish
Method:
- Cook the potatoes in the microwave for 4-6 minutes. Use a microwave safe bowl with a cover and a little bit of cold water if no bag given (see above note). Because they are small there is no need to flip them.
- Allow the potatoes to throughly cool before cutting them up into pieces
- Add desired amount of Chobani herbed tzatziki, ham and boiled egg to the potatoes
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving
R O A S T E D R E D P E P P E R
The first thing that really surprised me about this dip was that it actually had quite some spicy heat to it! I really enjoy it for that reason and even though its quite a classic Mediterranean flavour it truly stands out. My choice of recipe for this dip was pan fried gnocchi. Of course you don't need to pan fry the gnocchi but I love the slight crisp it gives to the gnocchi pieces in the final result hehe
You can use store-bought gnocchi or be like me and make batches of home-made gnocchi to have on hand! There's lots of amazing and easy recipes on the internet but my all-time favourite is this one by Ceara's Kitchen. It's made out of instant mashed potato which may irk some but I find that the recipe is so easy, quick, convenient and tasty when you don't have the time to spend peeling, boiling and ricing potatoes :) They are also great to freeze but quick enough to make under 30 minutes every time.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of fresh/frozen gnocchi per person
- Handful of chopped chorizo
- Handful of baby spinach
- 1 Tbsp of Chobani roasted red pepper mezé dip
- Butter
- Salt and pepper
Method:
- Bring a pot of salted water to the boil. Cook the gnocchi for 3 to 5 minutes until they float, and then an additional minute after if using frozen gnocchi
- Drain the gnocchi and heat up a frying pan with butter
- Fry the gnocchi until slightly golden brown on each side. Add chorizo and baby spinach
- Turn down the heat to low and add the Chobani roasted red pepper dip, gently stir until baby spinach is softened
- Remove from heat, add salt and pepper to taste
- Serve immediately and enjoy! 😘
C H I L L I L I M E R A N C H
Yay announcement time; this recipe and dip is my favourite of the lot! And what really elevates this simple dish is of course the Chobani chilli lime ranch dip! It is so unique and I love it so much. Chilli lime is a great combination and there are so many delicious suggestions on the internet. In the end I went with something that was simple and could be both quickly and cheaply prepared. You're welcome hehehe. This is my grilled chicken breast on pita tostada.
Apologies for the vague measurements! Just use/make as much as you like. It's so easy that it'll work out!
Ingredients:
- Skinless chicken breast fillets, pounded to 1cm thickness
- Marinade: olive oil, lime juice, salt, crushed garlic cloves
- Salad: rocket leaves, shredded red cabbage, thinly sliced carrots, sweet corn kernels
- Pickled red onions
- Chobani chilli lime ranch mezé dip
- Pita bread/tortillas/Lebanese bread
- Salt and pepper
Method:
- Place chicken in marinade for 15 minutes before grilling on each side for 3-4 minutes
- Slightly toast pita bread in oven or sandwich press until crispy on the edges
- Assemble tostada with pita as base, generous spread of Chobani chilli lime ranch dip, salad ingredients above, pickled red onions and sliced grilled chicken breast. Enjoy!
Pickled red onions is something I identified might be a unique item on this ingredients list! But it's something that is always in my household fridge. We love red onion in our salads and sandwiches yet being Asian, we use brown onions much more often and the leftover red onion usually goes bad before we have the chance to make another salad/sandwich. What we do with these leftovers is pickle them in a mixture of rice wine vinegar (white vinegar works great too), raw sugar and salt. It's super delicious and also goes great into salads and sandwiches 😚
S A L S A R O J O
I don't know why I didn't just go ahead and fill the top taco because right after this picture I did just that and ate it 😂 Sorry for my awkward food styling skills, guys. Anyway thank GOODNESS for salsa rojo because on this day of shooting we were due to have a taco and nacho Mexican food night and we just did not have any salsa or sour cream which makes things feel really incomplete. Salsa rojo is the perfect substitute and save for such an occasion because it tastes just like a hot salsa with the creaminess of sour cream. We really enjoyed these in our tacos and layered in our nachos!
This isn't really a recipe but just a serving suggestion from me to you hehe.
I hope you guys enjoyed this post and will give the new Chobani mezé dips a chance because they are all so delicious. These dips are all low in fat, high in protein and so full of flavour. Much of the flavour you will be able to see since I noticed the dips had chunks of the ingredients through out them, e.g. red pepper in the roasted red pepper dip. And because of this you can tell they are so much more versatile than JUST a dip!
Last suggestion is as a spread on rice cakes! They are colourful, yummy and oh so perfect for those Instagram worthy shots 😍
Let me know if you've tried out these dips and which one is your favourite! If you haven't... do you even dip?! 😂
Merry Christmas!
Love always, Kim xx
Kimmiebites was invited to be apart of this project by Social Soup and Chobani. All opinions and recipes in this post are genuine, honest and highly recommended. I wouldn't post about it if I didn't like it or thought it was gross :)
