Natural Ranch Dip?

So here's the deal.  I am the mom who tricked my now 5 year old into eating his vegetables by giving him Hidden Valley Ranch dip.  Even at the time when he was 2 years old and I was doing it I would cringe inside.  I had read the label...maltodextrin, buttermilk, salt, monosodium glutamate, dried garlic, dried onion, lactic acid, citric acid, spices and artificial flavors. Dried buttermilk adds the characteristic tang to the ranch dressing. (Livestrong.com).

This is what he liked?!  Kids need to eat their veggies!?  I'm a first time mom!  I want to get it right!

Well...guess what.  He just liked flavor and I figured out how to get him to eat cooked carrots (cooked in my chicken stock), asparagus, parsnips, green beans, and cucumbers.  But, I'll be honest with you...he still liked the ranch dip.

Typical spread at my baby shower.  Note the veggies and ranch dip in the back.  This was before we gave up processed food!  It makes me shudder!

No Going Back

Handsome Hubby and I didn't want to go there.  Monosodium glutamate is bad stuff!  Here's a list of known symptoms from the Mayo Clinic website:  

• Headache
• Flushing
• Sweating
• Facial pressure or tightness
• Numbness, tingling or burning in the face, neck and other areas
• Rapid, fluttering heartbeats (heart palpitations)
• Chest pain
• Nausea
• Weakness

So now what?  I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner but Pinterest helped me.  A recipe for it!  There's a little website that is fabulous called Keeper of the Home.  I stumbled on her recipe page for 17 common mixes that we use.  One of which was a guest post linking to a Ranch dip mix.  The link to her 17 mixes is above.

Eating "Real Food" and LOVIN' it.

The Rationale for Fat

So my simplified version is coming below...this is just dip for veggies.  If you can't tolerate dairy, get lactose free greek yogurt.  Or you could make it with just mayonaisse.  I would recommend making your own so you can avoid soybean oil (a common allergen and gmo).  Also, try to get a full fat sour cream or full fat yogurt.  A misconception is that we have to stay away from fat.  It's not true.  We need to stay away from fake!  Eat real foods.  The higher quality of plant based food and grass fed or free range meat you eat the more quickly you become full.  

The more quickly you become full, the fewer calories you eat.  The fewer calories you eat, the more weight you lose.  It's the QUALITY of calories that matters more than the QUANTITY.  Sure, you can't eat like a pig and not gain weight.  Food is food.  If you eat too much no matter what it is, you may have an unhealthy relationship with food.  That is something for you to examine in yourself.  We had to.  We still do.

But when companies start taking fat out of dairy, adding hormones, adding flavor enhancers, you're getting away from the way God made food.  Our bodies need a certain amount of fat.  It helps in brain memory functioning, you stay full longer, there's actually less of a chance of childhood obesity in kids who drink whole milk versus those who drink skim.

The Ranch Dip Recipe

16 oz container of full fat organic sour cream (or greek yogurt)

1 TBSP dried parsley

1 TBSP onion powder

1 TBSP garlic powder

1 tsp. sea salt

Mix above ingredients and enjoy!  That's it!  It saves you money too and you can adapt it.   Don't be locked into the sour cream either.  Try mayo.  Try hummus with this mix of spices.  Try Greek Yogurt.  To make it a dressing, add some whole milk.  Just a tablespoon at a time.  Try it out and let me know what you think!