Ranch dip makes the veggies go down!

Friday night hubby and I went to see a friend in the Houston Met company at the Wortham Center. When I came downstairs transformed from from my usual mama-blogger look (read: no hair, no make up, possibly no shower) into mama-on-the-town, my oldest, as he ran to get the camera, said"oh you look so fancy, stay right there, let me take a picture of you for your blog."

Click.





Still directing, "Now put those fancy shoes on. Lift up your pants a little, so I can see more shoes."

Click.

Guess it didn't matter to him it wasn't a food moment. Here's a shout-out to my budding 4 yr old photographer. Thanks for the pix little man.

I had promised to make a more wholesome version of ranch dip next time I did a veggie tray, see recipe below. I substituted Vegenaise for the mayo. Nothing against eggs (the primary ingredient to mayo), in fact, tay tuned for ode to an egg. I'll tell you what's great about eggs especially during pregnancy and for young kids when brains are still in rapid development mode.


I use Vegenaise because I have a chicken salad habit (Sandy's is THE BEST). I need an alternate source of mayo-I'd rather have an egg for breakfast a few days a week than egg sauce on my sandwich. Vegenaise has a version made with grapeseed oil, which has been shown to raise the HDL-the protective type of cholesterol (yes-this is a good thing in case that one got lost in translation). I have other egg sources in my diet, so using the vegenaise gives me a regular dose of the health promoting benefits of grapeseed oil. As the name implies it's vegan, and happens to be Kosher.


Garlic promotes anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and anti-viral activity. That should be music to any mama's ears! Allicin (this causes it's distinct odor) has been shown to be effective against colds, flu, stomach virus and candida (the culprit of thrush and yeast infections). More allicin is produced when garlic is minced finely and allowed to rest for 5 or more minutes before cooking.

Parsley is a great source of vitamin K and antioxidants. So next time you see a parsley garnish on your plate, whack it up and sprinkle. No reason to leave those nutrients on the plate.

Most of the ranch dip recipes I found on Food Network had varying amounts of mayo, sour cream, buttermilk, garlic, chives, parsley, scallions, salt and pepper. I picked one that had part sour cream part mayo to reduce fat content, and the most garlic to include the most allicin, plus the vegenaise substitution.

2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup mayo (I subbed vegenaise)
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley leaves
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
1 scallion, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper

Crush the garlic and salt together with a chef's knife, then mince finely. Stir mayo, sour cream and buttermilk together. Add in minced herbs, pepper and vinegar and whisk together. Use more buttermilk if making a dressing vs dip.

I made the dip about an hour before I served it, and it was a little thin. Would have been great for a salad, but it was too drippy for a dip. I did enjoy the chunkiness of the green onions, and the fresh herbs. Better than any ranch in a bottle! We got it back out for lunch today, and it had set up. Next time I'll make it the night before the party.

What dip do you serve up for a veggie tray?