Foodie Friday: Healthier Alternatives to Your Favorite Salad Dressings

Raw broccoli is really hard to eat. Dip it in almost anything and WABAM it’s tolerable and you’ve knocked out one veggie serving for the day. But what are you dipping it in?

There are tons of inherently healthy dips like hummus, guacamole and most salsas (especially when they’re homemade). Then there are the ones that aren’t so healthy like Ranch dressing. Sadly, the unhealthy ones are some of the most delicious, so I’m putting together a list of some of my favorite healthy dressing recipes. This week, we’re starting with a few favorites!

Ranch Dressing

You’ll need:
-Pinch of Onion Powder
-Pinch of Garlic Power
-1 tsp Dill
-1/2 tsp Parsley
-1/2 tsp Chives
-Pinch of Salt
-14 oz Greek Yogurt

Chop your herbs super fine (like absurdly fine, almost like powder fine). Mix dry ingredients and add to yogurt. WABAM!! You have a healthier, still delicious alternative to the classic artery clogging dressing. Like normal ranch, you can also add different flavors like fresh peppercorn, bell peppers, chili peppers, cucumber, carrots and sun dried tomato.

Tzatiki (Creamy Cucumber Dressing)

You’ll need:
-Fresh Dill
-Cucumber
-Greek Yogurt

Chop your dill supa fine, dump it into the Greek yogurt and stir. For a 7 oz container, I’d start with 1 sprig and add more if you really really like it. Next, using a mandolin slicer with the thinnest julienne blades and lowest thickness setting, shred 1/3-1/2 a large cucumber into the yogurt*. Again, stir. VOILA! You have delicious, homemade tzatziki, great for topping gyros, burgers & salads, or dipping veggies, pita bread or whatever else you like to dip!

* Feel free to remove the seeds beforehand by slicing it in half vertically and spoon-scooping out the seedy center. I happen to like the center, plus the juice from the center adds to the flavor of your tzatziki if you like the taste of cucumber.

Infused Olive Oil

You’ll need:
-Olive Oil
-Fresh Sprigs of Herbs (like Rosemary, Tarragon, Basil, etc.)

Infusing olive oil is very much like infusing vodka. Wash your herbs, bruise them a bit, and add them to your emptied bottle. The bottle is emptied because you’re warming up the olive oil JUST a little. Pour/funnel the warm olive oil into your bottle, then close it tightly. Store out of direct sunlight for about a week and VOILA! You have flavored olive oil, great for cooking, making other dressings and everything else you love to do with olive oil.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

You’ll need:
-Olive Oil
-Balsamic Vinegar
-Oregano
-Garlic
-Salt
-Pepper

Mix 1 part balsamic vinegar with 2 parts olive oil. For the sake of proportions, lets say 1/4 cup balsamic and 1/2 cup olive oil. Crush 1 clove of garlic, add it in with a pinch of oregano. Mix into liquids. Add salt & pepper to taste per your preferences. Again, simple, fresh and tasty.

Other Delicious, Healthy Options

So I know life gets super mega busy and it’s not always easy to take the time out of your day to make dips from scratch. And sometimes, other people just do it better. Like Intensity Academy!

I met Michele, “Principal” & Founder of Intensity Academy, at IZEAfest last year and had this crazy mouthgasm over her Chai Curry ‘Chup. (Yep. Curry ketchup. SO. GOOD.) On top of that, she makes tons of delicious, all natural sauces which are based with organic teas and/or carrots, from hot sauce to teriyaki, BBQ to cocktail sauce. A. Mazing. Make sure to check those out & change up your flavor menu!

So this is just the beginning, and I can’t wait to hear your healthy dippin’ recipes. Let me know what you’d like to see next time by shooting me an email at me [at] resamichelle [dot] com – you & your blog might be featured along with your fave recipe!