Dips and spreads are generally considered indulgent and calorie-heavy, but this Skinny Tzatziki Sauce is out to prove otherwise! Super flavourful and made mostly with pantry ingredients; get ready to dip, spread, and scoop without guilt!
A short while ago, I joined two of my friends who are long-time converts to the Weight Watchers program. (This is not a sales call; don’t hang up the phone!) I have watched them both lose weight and keep it off. I can easily lose weight, but I struggle with the keeping it off part.
I listened to them both talk about tracking this food and that food, they talked about points and zero points, and they would endlessly scan bar codes on food products whenever we went shopping for snacks. It was quite overwhelming at times!
Finally, after quitting smoking (again) and gaining 20 pounds, I decided to join them. I have not seen the results I want to see, but that has nothing to do with Weight Watchers or the program, it has to do with my lack of patience. I have no patience – like, zero!
Anyway, in order to keep within my daily allotted points on the program, I have been sourcing ways to eat some of my favourite foods without the guilt. I love dips and spreads probably more than any other food, so they were my first plan of attack.
Skinny Tzatziki Sauce is actually zero points! So, that for me was a win in itself. But, much to my surprise, the taste was phenominal! Traditionally, tzatziki uses a full fat yogurt. You can certainly do that if you wish, but if you do, you need to drop the ‘skinny’ part of this recipe. 🙂
Traditional tzatziki sauce can also have olive oil in it. I didn’t add any olive oil to my recipe, because I didn’t feel it was needed, and again, most oils are not zero points on the Weight Watchers program. I needed to keep this recipe as low in points as possible in order to keep it guilt-free.
The other ingredients – dried dill, salt, and pepper – are all zero points as well. I think 99% of vegetables are zero points, so that means the fresh garlic and cucumber were both in my favour. Oh, and of course, lemon juice is a fruit, and like most vegetables, most fruits are zero points too.
So, once all of those ingredients are stirred together quite well, you’re left with a tangy, creamy, thick Skinny Tzatziki Sauce that will forever become the way you prepare and eat tzataki. Now, you’ve got to find a way to use this beautiful sauce.
I have a few suggestions, but none as simple as a dip for fresh veggies. As you can see from the photos, sliced cucumber was what was on my menu for the day. I do not like cucumber on its own, but if you pair it with dill, I’m going to devour it!
Might I also suggest smearing this sauce quite liberally over some warm pita bread? How about on a sandwich instead of mayonnaise? A good roast beef sandwich would taste great with the dill and cucumber flavours in the Skinny Tzatziki Sauce!
Grilling steak, chicken, pork, or fish? Grilled fish and meats pair so well with tzatziki, especially salmon! You can even use this stuff as a chip dip! In reality, Dear Reader, this Skinny Tzatziki Sauce can be eaten with anything you can think of that pairs with a creamy, dill-flavoured dip or spread. The good news? You can eat more chips, breads, meats, etc., because this sauce is zero points and good for you too!
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Skinny Tzatziki Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup Greek yogurt, 0%
- 1 large cucumber, seeded and finely grated*
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 teaspoons dried dill
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Add all of the prepared ingredients to a bowl and whisk together. Transfer to a food-safe container with a tight fitting lid.
- Refrigerate for one to two hours for best results.
Notes
Nutrition
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Barbara Doster says
Recipe calls for cucumber, yet we have to squeeze water out of the zucchini. Do we add zucchini also? Or squeeze the cucumber? Love your recipes and stories! Barbara
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Barbara! How embarrassing!? I was preparing a zucchini recipe while typing this post, so I got the two mixed up. There is no zucchini needed for this recipe – just the cucumber. I have updated the post. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. 🙂