Review: Blue Isle Mediterranean Spicy Vegetable Yogurt Spread

I mentioned in a previous review that representatives of Blue Isle sent me some samples of their flavors to try out.  Today's review is another one of those samples.  Like all of their products, Blue Isle proclaims that these can be used in smoothies, dips, spreads, mayo replacements, etc., so that's how I'm going to think of this 8.0 ounce container of  Blue Isle Mediterranean Spicy Vegetable Yogurt Spread.  There's eight servings in each container and each serving is two tablespoons that will measure out to 70 calories per serving.  The advertise the probiotic qualities of this front and center on the lid, so I guess I should point that out too.  Hooray for probiotics!

After opening this, I had one immediate observation:  this was definitely stiffer than the extremely creamy blueberry spread that I reviewed.  Think of the many uses of this, my mind immediately went to this being used as a dip because of how stiff it was (I'll admit that the packaging kind of pushed me there too since it had a celery and carrot stick on it).  As for the mix itself, it had that faint orange coloring and mixed in there were bits of red pepper, parsley and garlic, all of which were definitely noticeable from an aromatic perspective.  To understand where I'm going next, check out this description from Blue Isle's website before we move on:  "A hint of hot with the healthy tang of red bell pepper and selected herbs.  Perfect party dip!"

So yep, Blue Isle nailed it with that last description.  This is definitely not a spread.  It's a dip in every sense and screams it.  It's got big flavor in that it is spicy, biting and very strong of garlic/red pepper.  That spice is surprising too because it comes on late and comes on strong.  I ate this on its own with just a spoon for tasting, but this is a very good facsimile to the ranch dips that you find with veggies at a lot of parties.  The texture is a little different and it supposedly healthier, but this is definitely one of those instances where not only can this be considered a dip, but it can also be considered a replacement for typical ranch dip.

Buy It or Fly By It?  Looking for a healthier dip?  This is definitely your answer and for those purposes, I'll give it a BUY IT rating.  Heck, this would be good for many purposes and I don't know if I'd use it for anything else, but perhaps a lot of people would find this really good on a bagel (again, nothing original here...the packaging pushed me there), for example.  In that case, it would be a spread.  Actually, I'd try it on a bagel.  One thing is for certain though and that is that this has a lot of flavor and is a very worthy item to try.

BUY IT!!