I've had several wonderful weekends spend with friends over the past several weeks and while I love me some quality friend time I don't so much love the way I feel following these weekends as a result of all the bad things I eat. Don't get me wrong, I am all about indulging in good food...but I seem to always overindulge in foods that are very bad for me.
This past Sunday I decided it was time to get serious eating healthy so I went to the store and got stuff to make my favorite salad. I never get tired of this salad AND I never pass up this salad even when I'm starving because it is completely satisfying every time.
Part of this was spurred by my discovery of Hidden Valley Seasoning and Salad Dressing Mix. You see, I've long been in search of the perfect store bought ranch dressing. It's always so good at restaurants (garlicky, flavorful and a little runnier than what comes in the bottles at the store) but despite buying literally every brand of ranch at some point I've always ended up disappointed.
So imagine my surprise this weekend when I tasted the perfect ranch dressing at my friend Lindsey's house. I immediately asked her what brand it was and when she said she made it my jaw dropped...I've been making my own salad dressings for a long time but never knew you could make your own ranch! She quickly clarified and said she'd used this seasoning mix.
I went in search of it at Kroger and soon as I got back but all I was able to find was the seasoning packets (they'll do, but if anyone comes across the canister please let me know where you found it).
The flavor is great, but here's what I like most about it...you can make it healthier (to a certain extent) and it still tastes good. The recipe calls for seasoning, one cup of milk and one cup of mayo. You can use skim milk, 2% or whatever else you have on hand. You can use fat free mayo, miracle whip or my personal fav the mayo made with olive oil. Since I'm not usually a mayo eater I didn't have much on hand...which lead me to the realization you don't even have to follow the recipe exactly. I just used about half a cup of mayo then left the dressing in the fridge to thicken up a bit and it did. Of course if you like your ranch a little thicker you can used a full cup of mayo when you make yours!
I feel kind of depressed that this started out as a post about eating healthy and it turned into a rant about ranch which isn't exactly healthy...but I've got to think making your own is a little bit better for you. I'd also like to clarify that I'm not one of those people who puts ranch on everything and I use a very, very, very tiny bit of dressing when I put it on my salads...barely enough to give it the thinnest of thin coats.
Before I get off the subject of ranch I'd also like to point out that this seasoning mix could be used for a whole host of things...taco soup, mixed with sour cream for veggie dip, sprinkled over roasted potatoes...you get the picture right?
So now, back to my salad. Here's what I've been eating all week:
Start with a bed of mixed greens
Cut some grape tomatoes in half and put them on the salad
Next cut bell peppers into thin strips about the size of match sticks and add them to the salad
Open a can of corn and a can of black beans and throw a spoon full of each on the salad
Add some protein to the salad...I use the pre-cooked chicken strips you get in the deli section at the store in the southwestern flavor and I shred it up a little bit on the salad
Sprinkle a little cheese on (I use cheddar made with reduced fat milk)
Finally when you're ready to dig in add a little salad dressing. Obviously I use a tiny bit of ranch, but you can use whatever tickels your fancy!
So there you have it. I know it might not be the most health salad ever, but like I said, I never get sick of it and I never need anything else to feel full. I think it incorporates most of the food groups so I feel relatively good about it.
This might be my longest post ever and its on such a lame subject. Fail. And sorry, it was too long to proof so I'm sure there are tons of typos...whoops.
