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Ultimate Chopped Salad with Creamy Avocado Pesto Ranch Dressing

What do you do on Saturday afternoon when you have a thousand things to do and yet another vacation to start packing for…COME UP WITH A NEW RECIPE OF COURSE!

I was craving a salad…go figure…and I had all the fixins for this amazing chopped salad! The dressing is totally amazing! It is seriously bowl-licking good!!!

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You could really interchange the veggies, based on personal preferences and what you have on-hand!

The amounts I used here served 2-3 people.

I used:chop_salad4

  • 1 romaine lettuce head
  • 4-6 Roma tomatoes (from our CSA)
  • red onions to taste (from our CSA)
  • 1 yellow pepper
  • 1 English cucumber
  • 1/2 avocado

Directions: Chop all of the veggies into small, bite-sized pieces. In my opinion, that is what makes a good chopped salad! Place all of the veggies into a big bowl

For the dressing (should be MORE than you need):chop_salad2

  • 1/2 avocado
  • 1/4 c. Greek yogurt
  • 1 garlic clove – chopped/minced (I used garlic scapes from our CSA.)
  • 1 T. white balsamic vinegar
  • Juice from 1/2-1 lemon (depending on size and taste)
  • 1/2 cup basil leaves (or just a nice bunch!)
  • 1/4 c. olive oil
  • salt & pepper to taste

chop_salad1Directions: Place everything except the oil into a blender or food processor and pulse until it starts to come together. Then blend, while slowly drizzling the olive oil into the mix (may use less or more depending on taste and desired consistency). Add by spoonfuls into the veggie bowl and gently toss together until everything is lightly coated with dressing. Reserve the rest for later!

*Optional Extras: add some chopped grilled chicken, feta cheese, nuts, beans, etc…you can’t make a mistake with this!

 

 

For 21 Day Fix:
1 blue, 1 teaspoon, 1.5 greens per serving

21 Day Fix and 21 Day Fix Extreme Challenge Packs are on sale through the end of July! You can actually get either program PLUS Shakeology for LESS than a one-time order of Shakeology! Check out the links below! And then go make this salad!!!

check_out_fix_cp 21dfx_cp_button*I’ll coach you through it – for FREE – as I have SO many others! I’ve seen women lose up to 10-15 pounds in the first 21 days…and just keep going! I’ve seen men lose even more! (not fair though is it?) Just join my next challenge, and you won’t be alone. I’ll help you every step of the way!

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Clean Eating Taco Salad

I’ve stumbled onto something…and it’s my new favorite thing in the whole wide world!

I was making nachos for the kids the other night and decided that I would make myself some sorta health-ed up taco salad! So I had browned and seasoned the lean ground turkey for everyone, and now I just needed to figure out what I was going to do to make my salad deelish! I chopped up the veggies I wanted. I crunched up some baked blue corn tortilla chips – in place of the Doritos that we used to use. All that was left was the dressing! I think I only ever bought thousand island dressing for making taco salads in the past! (Doritos, too for that matter!) So I needed to find a substitute. My invention – as I am SURE that I am the ONLY person who ever thought of this 😉 – well go ahead and read the recipe!!!taco_salad_dressing

Clean Eating Taco Salad (for 2)

  • 1/2 pound lean ground turkey (browned and seasoned to your liking – I don’t use packaged seasonings, *I just make my own)
  • 2 handfuls of baked blue corn tortilla chips – crunched (that’s what I used, feel free to add crunchy bits of your choosing)
  • 2 romaine lettuce hearts – washed, rinsed and chopped
  • 2 Roma tomatoes – diced
  • 1/4 sweet onion – chopped
  • 1/2 sweet bell pepper – chopped

Directions – Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl and toss with the dressing…oh BOY…you’re going to LOVE this!

And for the DRESSING!

  • 1/2 avocado
  • 1/2 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt (I like Fage)
  • 1/2 cup medium salsa (or whatever heat suits your fancy!)
  • 1 lime – squeezed!
  • little fresh cilantro! (optional but delish!)

Directions for the dressing: BLEND! As in – use a blender, or a food processor would probably work, too!

Top with shredded cheese and black olives. And ENJOY the heck out of it! I have several times since my discovery! I’ve also been using the dressing as a dip, condiment, topping for random objects, etc.

*My taco seasoning consists of lots of chili powder, some cumin, paprika, garlic salt, pepper, oregano and a pinch of chipotle chili powder. I’m sorry…I don’t measure. So that’s probably not very helpful at all!

NOTE for 21 Day FIX-ers: If you’re following the 21 Day Fix OR the 21 Day Fix EXTREME, I use 1 red, 2 greens, 1 yellow and 1 blue and 1 orange for this deliciousness!

21DF_BUTTON 21DFX_BUTTON

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For more Clean Eating, 21 Day Fix approved salad and homemade dressing recipes, download my free ebook!

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Dressed for SUCCESS!

It’s well documented that I am in love with making my own salad dressing! It’s SO easy, clean, and delicious! It really just takes a few ingredients, as opposed to the bottled dressings that list a PARAGRAPH of ingredients that almost entirely unrecognizable! This is my latest, greatest, bestest, most favoritest homemade salad dressing! This is yet another recipe from the popular 21 Day FIX program. I just modified a few of the ingredients to my taste. 🙂

 

Dijon Vinaigrette

(Makes 8 servings)

3 T. red wine vinegar

2 T. fresh lemon juice

3 T. Dijon mustard

1 T. honey

2 cloves garlic chopped

¼ t. Sea salt (I like to substitute 1/2 t. Mrs. Dash or Spike no-salt seasonings)

¼ t. ground black pepper

6 T. extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

  1. Combine vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, honey, garlic, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl; whisk to blend.
  2. Slowly add oil while whisking; mix well

Tip: Store leftover dressing in a covered container (I like to use Ball jars) in the fridge. I often double this recipe, because my husband likes to take some of it to work. If dressing thickens when cold, hold at room temp. for 30 minutes and stir before serving.