Friday, January 13, 2012

Homemade Ranch Dressing

This post is for my sister, who has asked several times for my homemade ranch dressing recipe. I guess I kept intending to post it here on my blog, and I have simply not gotten here. I am going to do this from memory as I have no idea where my scratch pad is from when I originally concocted a formula, to which our daughter replied, "tastes just like its from the bottle mom!"
I use plain, unsweetened probiotic yogurt in this recipe - organic if you can find it, would be the healthiest choice. Look to ensure your yogurt has live cultures, and is not sweetened with lots of "ose" words and artificial sweeteners. An unsweetened, plain yogurt will taste, in comparison to sour cream. (In fact, we use it in place of sour cream on our tacos, etc.)

It  is pretty quick and simple - as our daughter is the only one who uses ranch dressing (the rest are vinegrette people) I make small batches. She likes to dip carrots, celery, etc. for snacking. It is also mayonaise free as it is difficult to find a store bought mayo that I would consider "clean" to eat.
1/2 Cup Plain Yogurt
1 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 T. lemon juice or balsamic vinegar (to taste)
1 t. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 tsp. Sea Salt (Himilayan preferred)
1/4 tsp. ground Celery Seed
1/2 tsp. organic raw Stevia, or organic honey
1/4 tsp. freshly ground Pepper
1/4 t. turmeric (optional)
1/2 tsp. dried Parsley
1/2 t. dried chives
1/8 t. white pepper
1/8 cup of bGH FREE skim milk (rice or coconut milk are good, non dairy choices)
Combine all ingredients well with a small wire whisk or in a blender. Add milk to thin to desired consistency. Taste, and adjust seasonings as desired. Refrigerate.
So for all you ranch dressing lovers - I hope this helps and you like it. The turmeric will make this dressing more flavorful and healthful, but if the yellow tint in your dressing will turn of those you would like to eat it from doing so, skip it. Adjust herbs and spices 'til you get the marriage of flavors desired.

To your health, thanks for the reminders Diane!
Rita S.

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