My maternal grandmother was always on a diet. To her -- and the rest of us -- that meant a fair amount of deprivation and weight that never seemed to change. I do remember, though, that Nana always kept cut up vegetables in a bowl of water in the refrigerator. Her chilled crudités were there in case she needed "a little snack." She tended to raid the fridge in the middle of the night, when I suppose floating radishes and celery sticks looked particularly appealing (doubtful).
I do think having prepared fresh vegetables on hand helps with the instant gratification need we all have these days; when I'm really hungry the last thing I want to do is wash, peel and trim a bunch of radishes or a red pepper.
I don't always find plain raw vegetables especially satisfying, however. To satisfy my cravings for something savory and salty, I came up with this yogurt dip that I now keep for the week as well. It's very low calorie, the Greek yogurt and cumin are supposed to be good for us all, and it's tasty. Just dip a radish and enjoy.
Of course, you can also use this any time you'd serve a dip for crudités or chips, and garnish with a sprig of fresh cilantro (as in photo above) or parsley.
Cumin Yogurt Dip
1 6 oz container plain Greek yogurt
1 1/2 tsp of seasoned salt
1 tsp of ground cumin
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1. Mix the spices and lemon juice into the yogurt and serve.
2. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.
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