Don’t you just love a nice, dry salad? The first bite of lettuce crosses your palate like a wanderer clawing towards an oasis. The broccoli splinters beneath your teeth and pokes into your gums. Carrots snap like dry kindling before scraping down your throat.
Doesn’t that sound delicious?
Yeah, it sounds terrible to me, too.
My first Whole Life Challenge forced me to cut out salad dressings. I couldn’t find a compliant dressing in the store, and plain vinegar was just gross (I hadn’t yet learned how to make vinaigrette). Like Columbus looking for any piece of firm earth, I was forced to find a salad dressing that would work for the Whole Life Challenge.
Enter Dump Ranch.
A Fun Fact Before You Start
Before I tell you about the recipe, let me wrap your head around a small detail: Dump Ranch is mayonnaise. There, I said it. I want you to know ahead of time.
Before you get grossed out (or excited if you like mayonnaise), let’s pause for a second. All creamy dressings are like mayonnaise. They are a type of recipe called emulsions. That’s where you blend oil and water (or vinegar, in our case). To keep them from falling back apart, you add something like egg that keeps them snuggled together. So that’s why we start with mayonnaise and go from there.
Not Just for Salads
Check out the basic recipe below for the ingredients. Watch the video above for instructions on how to assemble these ingredients. I’ve also included a deluxe version that adds more spices and flavor, and a vegetarian option that omits the egg. As I mention in the video, you can control the thickness of the final product. So you can make it thinner for salads or thicker if you want to use it as a dip.
Give it a whirl and start enjoying some delicious, healthy, un-dry salads.
The Original Dump Ranch
Courtesy of Whole Sisters.
Ingredients:
- 1 egg (room temperature)
- 1 cup light olive oil
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp vinegar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 3/4 tsp onion powder
- 3/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk
- 1 handful cilantro or parsley (or herb of choice)
7 Spice Dump Ranch
Courtesy of Maria Makes.
Ingredients:
- 1 egg (room temperature)
- 1 cup light olive oil
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp vinegar
- 1-2 tsp dried chives
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried dill
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped (optional)
- 1 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 Tbsp coconut milk or almond milk (more if you want it runnier)
Egg-Free Dump Ranch
Courtesy of Planks Love & Guacamole.
- 1/2 cup light olive oil
- 1/2 cup full-fat unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 Tbsp vinegar
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp granulated garlic
- 1 Tbsp dried herbs or handful chopped fresh herbs (first choice is dill, followed by cilantro or parsley)
For this one, blend it all in blender and then refrigerate it overnight to thicken. My egg ranch is definitely preferable to me, but this is a good option for vegetarians.
Compliance Level:
These recipes are compliant on Kickstart, Lifestyle, and Performance.
