:: SAY NO TO DRY SALAD ::

In my opinion, a green salad is best smothered in ranch dressing. Preferably Hidden Valley. Sadly, Hidden Valley Ranch is now a thing of the past. Just as I was about to throw my dry salad out the window, I found this book at the library. Everyday Paleo is written by (what I feel) is a pretty hardcore lady. Sarah Fragoso also has a great website full of recipes and motivation and workouts. Although I would never follow the Paleo diet 100% (too much meat and I love my beans), this cookbook is full of so many wonderful recipes that will help you prepare meat and veggies in a way that you may have never thought about. I've loved EVERY recipe I've made from this book and promise to buy it soon.

Two recipes that I found to be lifesavers were the 'dressing' recipes. I have had salad for almost every lunch for the past two months, and these dressings were welcomed (and probably over used). I adapted the recipes just a little to satisfy my taste buds.

CHIMICHURI (adapted from Everyday Paleo)

1/2 red onion
4 garlic cloves (or 4 tsps minced garlic from a bottle)
2 cups fresh cilantro
1 cup fresh parsley (I like regular parsley better, but I had flat leaf on hand and it still tasted just fine)
Juice from one lime (I added juice from  1 1/2 lime because I had a 1/2 in the fridge)
3/4 cup olive oil (I only used about 1/2 cup and it seems fine because of the extra lime juice)
1 tsp salt

Put it all in a food processor and mix until nice and smooth.

*NOTE - We ate this over grilled chicken on the first night I made it and it was divine. The next day leftovers were even better. I've had this batch in the fridge for over a week now, and it is tasting just fine. Because of the oil, there is a high fat content. Use only on TBSP for a large salad. It is so packed full of flavor that you really don't need much.


AVOCADO DRESSING (adapted from Everyday Paleo)

2 ripe avocados
4 tsps Olive Oil
2 garlic cloves
1 TBSP lemon juice (I used juice from 1/2 a lemon and a few squirts from a bottle)
1/2 tsp pepper
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 cup mild green salsa (I used some salsa verde that I canned last summer but there are plenty of store brands that are safe. Just avoid added sugar and high fructose corn syrup)

Put it all in a food processor and mix until nice and smooth.

*NOTE - This is great on taco salads. I made some fish tacos on Saturday (you can use iceberg lettuce as a taco shell until you get to week 5 - then corn is okay) and this was a great topping.

Anyone else have a good 'cleanse safe' dressing?