Sort of Ranch Salad Dressing

I am trying to get as much processed fat out of our diet as possible.  I really bought into the thought that olive oil and coconut oil are good choices for a healthy diet.  I knew they still had a lot of calories, but I did not realize just how harmful they are for our health.  If anyone has an interest in researching this, there are many videos on You Tube from people such as Dr. John McDougall, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, and many more.


When we have a salad, we almost always use a homemade vinaigrette.  I keep it in the fridge most of the time.  But the truth is, there is a lot of olive oil in that vinaigrette.  I decided that I would start trying some healthier dressings.  My daughter sent me this recipe.  I did a little tweaking, but it is really quite good.  It is a "creamy" dressing, and that was nice.  Please note that this is not a fat free dressing, because there are cashews in the dressing.  I was not too worried since the amount of cashews was quite small.                                                        
                                                                                                           
PLANT BASED RANCH DRESSING

¼ cup raw cashews

¾ cup unsweetened almond milk
1 Tbsp. chia seeds
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
½ medium garlic clove or ¼ tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. granulated onion
½ tsp. dill weed
½ to 1 tsp. celery seed
1/8 tsp. fresh ground pepper
¼ tsp salt or to taste
1 t sp. minced fresh parsley
2 tsp. chives, snipped

Soak the cashews in water for 4 hours or overnight.  Drain water off and proceed with recipe.

Place all ingredients except parsley and chives into a blender and process on high until smooth.  Add parsley and chives and blend on low briefly to incorporate them.  Check seasonings and add more as needed.   Let sit in refrigerator for at least one hour.

In the interest of complete disclosure, my husband did not love this dressing.  He didn't hate it, just didn't love it.  I will keep searching for a dressing that he likes, but I plan to keep making this for myself.