a simple {real food} recipe :: homemade ranch dressing and veggie dip {dairy free option}

Have you seen those Hidden Valley Ranch commercials? You know – the ones with the super perfect kids eating all their veggies in the perfect veggie world?

Drives. Me. Nuts.

Why?

The last thing I want to do to get my kids to eat their veggies is drown them in hormone damaging, processed soybean oil, and toxic MSG (among other unnecessary additives). I’m not even a fan of the so-called “healthy” versions at a lot of the health food stores. Check the labels – there doesn’t need to be a zillion ingredients to make a great dressing, and they are ridiculously over-priced.

Total cost of making this dressing is less than a dollar! And can be packed in a small container with a lid for those school lunches!

Here’s what you’ll need:

1 cup sour cream (Not light or low fat. I use Daisy since there are no organic brands here that aren’t made with skim milk and/or ultra pasteurized. At some point I will be getting back into making sour cream because it’s so easy!) If you are dairy free try coconut yogurt.

2 TB real lemon juice (Not from concentrate – either real lemons or this brand is what I keep around since we go through so much in other various recipes)

¼ cup whole milk (can omit if you want a really thick dip or add more if you want a runnier dressing. Preferably raw, or low pasteurized, non homogenized, never ultra pasteurized.) If you are dairy free try coconut milk –  Native Forest is a good brand in a BPA free container if you do not want to make your own.

1 TB dried parsley

1-2 tsp onion powder

1/2  tsp garlic powder

1 tsp sea salt

½ tsp ground pepper

1. Blend ingredients together with hand mixer or whisk.
2. Store in air tight container in the fridge 🙂

Kitchen Tips:

1. I make this dip every couple weeks. I timed myself the last time I made it, and it literally takes me 7 minutes start to finish including scooping it into the jar and clean up! It’s great to pull out for veggies and dip at lunches, salads at dinner, and even as a sandwich spread with chicken or sprouts. Double the recipe if you have a larger family or are headed to a party and are in charge of the veggie and dip tray!
2. I keep a bag of sliced veggies in a bag for quick handfuls at snack or lunchtime during the week. I do my own chopping to save money, but if time is what you are after, you can get the pre-cut veggies 🙂  Slicing my own saves me money and allows me make them thin enough for Chloe to chew easier being so little yet. I timed myself chopping what is in the bag in this picture and it took me 10 minutes start to finish including washing up the veggies (have you tried my veggie wash yet?!)
3. Shhh! I don’t really measure the seasonings! Ha! I did the last time I made it so I knew what to put on the recipe for you guys, but it goes *much* faster when you use a “palm-full”, or “a couple pinches” for measuring utensils! Play around with the seasonings to your taste! You are gonna find out quickly I am NOT a measure-er!
4. Read this, this, and this to educate yourself on the dangers of processed soy products in our food.
5. Check out this list of names companies can use instead of stating “MSG” in the ingredient list. On the bottle of Ranch I checked out at the store it actually said Monosodium glutamate, which is what MSG stands for.

YOUR TURN!

Let me know how the family likes the dressing if you try it! What do your kids like in their school lunches? Give me some ideas of some things to do a real food make-over on!

Come back Thursday! I’ll have a great school morning breakfast idea that will fuel those great minds for a full morning of school!  I will include ideas on how to batch make and freeze it too! Breakfast on the go!

 

This was shared at Real Food Freaks Freaky Friday and The Monday Market at the Cheeky Bums Blog!