Success!

I did it! I made a healthy, very low fat & high flavor Ranch dressing!! Can you tell I'm excited?  For years I have been avoiding creamy dressings in fear of excess caloric intake and now I beat the system!
woOhoO!

OK- enough celebrating.  I shouldn't keep you waiting like this; my apologies.

This recipe yields about 1/4 Cup of dressing.
You will need:
3 Tbsp Fage 0% [fat-free] Greek Yogurt, or your preferred brand of Greek style yogurt
4 Tbsp Buttermilk
1/4 tsp dried Parsley Flake
1/4 tsp dried Chives
1/8 tsp Onion Powder
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
1/2 tsp White Vinegar
a few turns Cracked Black Pepper

• Mix all of the ingredients together in a small bowl. If you desire a thicker dressing, add another Tbsp of yogurt. Taste it. Is it salty enough? I like my dressings a touch on the salty side because it is the primary flavoring agent my vegetables, but if you are sensitive to salt or have high blood pressure, please adjust the salt levels as needed.
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow to chill in the fridge for at least 20 minutes so all of the flavors can get acquainted.

The colors in this photo are way off, but what matters is the consistency of the dressing. It isn't thin & runny like a low-fat dressing, you can see it clinging to the tomatoes and coating them nicely. As for the lettuce, I swear it was a vibrant green and not picked out of a trash can. I'm in the process of investing in a really nice camera. Patience young jedis.

You may substitute fresh ingredients if you would like, I felt the dried herbs & spices would get me closer to the original flavors of the stuff you buy on a shelf. I'm not interested in reinventing Ranch Dressing, I'm interested in making healthy food taste as "good" as the junk on the shelf... or better.  Speaking of ingredients, let's compare recipes:

List of ingredients in a popular, store-bought brand of Ranch Dressing:
Soybean Oil, Water, Egg Yolk, Sugar, Salt, Cultured Non-Fat Buttermilk, Natural Flavors [Soy], Spices, Less than 1% of: Dried Garlic, Dried Onion, Vinegar, Phosphoric Acid, Xanthan Gum, Modified Food Starch, Monosodium Glutamate, Artifical Flavors, Disodium Phosphate, Sorbic Acid and Calcium Disodium EDTA* as Preservatives, Disodium Incisinate and Disodium Guanylate.

*EDTA could be a typo, the label was difficult to read.
Regardless of what the letters are, or stand for, would you even know what it is? I don't,and I'm currently taking a biochemistry class, and averaging an A-, mind you.  And how how about all of the soy & soy by-products used? Know anyone prone to breast cancer or ovarian cancer? Do you want them eating estrogen with their salad or chicken wings? I sure don't. And how many different forms of sodium do they need? Just thinking about it elevates my blood pressure.  Let's not overlook the monosodium glutamate [MSG, folks.]- sprinkle that on my raggedy old flip flop and it will be palatable. The modified food starch is great too, gotta love those GMO's.

Do your jeans & your health a favor and use this recipe in place of that stuff in a bottle.  It should keep in the fridge for 5-7 days in a sealed container. Enjoy, and indulge!