This isn’t exactly news: condiments add calories and sodium to our food.  Lots of dips, sauces, and spreads are based on high fat ingredients (like mayo, sour cream, and oils) and topped off with 20-30 “ingredients” that may include preservatives, flavor enhancers, and stabilizers.  But spreads REALLY enhance the flavor of our salads, sandwiches, and veggies!  And I’m all about easy ways to make things taste better.

A few years ago, I tried and became crazy about this Divinia Kalamata Olive Spread. (Whole Foods also carries it.) It’s amazing on cheese, crackers, meats, veggies…omelets, sandwiches…I was slathering it on anything I thought could possibly be good.

But at a dollar an ounce, this is a luxury item.  Oddly enough (?!) I’m still not wildly wealthy (but rich in love, as my mother would say), so I had to try to make this myself.  Here’s the fast, easy, simple, and inexpensive version of the spread.

Click here if you like the handmade pottery – by yours truly!

Ingredients:

• 1 can (6 oz drained weight) black olives ($0.79)
• 2 cloves garlic (or one giant one, as pictured) (pennies)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil (pennies)
• Juice of a lemon ($0.35)
• Dash of salt and pepper to taste (less than pennies)

Directions:
Blend.  Spread/dip/enjoy.  Makes enough for 10 generous tablespoon-sized servings, at about 50 calories a pop, mostly from monounsaturated fat, and with a small hit of iron and vitamin C.  Total estimated cost: less than $1.50.

Try it on a steak or some chicken – it’s insanely good on lamb, too!