Salad dressings are notorious for being part of a healthy meal, without really being that healthy. Many of them contain tons of sugar and sodium, not to mention artificial sweeteners and preservatives to make them self-stable longer. The end result is that you’re ruining your healthy eating efforts by coating your food with these nasty additives.

Instead, try my Healthy Ranch Dressing recipe. It’s really easy to make, takes barely any prep time and is even better than store-bought versions. A lot of people already make their own ranch dressing using the Hidden Valley dry mix packets. While these packets are better than the store-bought dressing versions, they still have added preservatives, including MSG (monosodium glutamate), and tons of sodium!

The American Heart Association recommends an ideal limit of 1,500 milligrams of sodium a day, and an absolute maximum limit of 2,300 milligrams for most adults ages 9-50. The dry Ranch dressing packets contain 135 milligrams per 1/2 teaspoon of mix. Think about it, how much salad are you really going to cover with 1/2 teaspoon of mix with the dressing you make (not including the sodium content of the other ingredients you would use). And the Ranch Dip dry packets have even more with 240 milligrams per 1/2 teaspoon!

Cut down on all of these by making it yourself. Try my recipe below and feel free to alter it with different spices or ingredients and really make it your own.

Tips: I make this recipe with a little more pepper and a little less dill because that’s how we like it, but feel free to adjust the spices and amounts to your liking. Everyone’s tastes are different, so modify it as you go!

Also, this recipe can also be used as a dip, so try it on your favorite veggies or chicken. You’ll be happy you did!

Let me know what you come up with. I’d love to try it!