Hip hip hooray for a child who WILL eat raw veggies!

I found ranch dressing from scratch was too much effort for me--I can get the packets very inexpensively from the dented can store.

But an easy way I've found to make it is to pour a little of the inexpensive ranch dressing into sour cream to make it ranch dip.

Hope that helps...

I like the recipe...I usually go to the Kitchen Forum or the Harvest Forum...the advise there is overwhelming for me. I am sure you will find other recipes there, too.

will your child eat raw vegetables without dip?

just curious

jc

Hi, Thanks for the ideas..I will have to try to get over to the Harvest forum..or kitchen forum. I keep forgetting to. I get onto the organic forum and I forget the time and look at the clock and have to get offline. :-)

jc, my "child" is in her 20s..lol. Still is not the biggest vegetable fan, despite having them offered to her since she was a child and I have vegetable gardened since she was a child too. :-(

I have been disillusioned about motherhood of late to learn that her friends have "introduced" her to some new vegetables. What was I doing all those years? lol

Yes, she will eat raw veggies without dip. Roasted chicken with a red pepper cut in slices is one of her favorite meals. She loves raw carrots but won't eat them in soups. Even when we make glazed carrots she will just pick at them. She has really turned her back on broccoli though, so I was asking her if there was any way she would eat it and she mentioned the dip.

I do have one son who is a vegetable fanatic and cooks a lot. In the morning its basil and peppers in his eggs, at night it's the smell of cooking onions or simmering chili with zucchini coming from the kitchen.

So I guess I can't complain.

Adam
:-)

Hi again, Adam--

A friend of mine always makes her dips with yogurt instead of sour cream; that's one part of the recipe I remember. But my real recommendation is allrecipes.com --It's a wonderful website, searchable by recipe title and/or by ingredients you want/don't want. 'Very cool. :) Also, if you mince veggies really fine--even in one of those hand-held jar-type mashers--and mix that in with the dip, she'll get extra veggies and the dip will be extra colorful too.

I too drive my parents crazy with the way I eat vegetables. They could recite the "Vegetable Rules" for you, LOL: "Carrots are fine raw, but not to be cooked, added to soups, or added to stews." "Beans are great fresh from the garden, but not so much cooked--Unless it's [such and such a kind in a can]." "Corn does not interest her, period." :) But I eat tons of veggies, really, it's just taken me awhile--I'm 27 now--to figure out how I like them. Your daughter will figure out her own way too, no worries. :)

Good luck!

I'm another "raw carrots only" person and, whatever you do, do not serve me cooked peas! Beans may be fresh or frozen, never canned, and must be lightly cooked. Do not fry my zucchini, but feel free to fry me a tomato for breakfast. I don't like butter, cheese or sauce on any veg, and hate things like stew with mushy, overcooked veg. Spinach is lovely raw, can't stand it cooked. There's probably more but I already look like a picky eater! lol

Vegetables are healthier for you if you eat them raw. PaulaW you have the right idea.

Tenderheart, that is a good idea with the yogurt and adding veggies to the dip is a great way to get more into her. Thanks.

I agree raw veggies are excellent for you! Some veggies I think only release some of the nutrients when cooked though. Soups in general with dark leafy greens used in the soup, are one of the most beneficial ways to eat veggies. So eating veggies anyway you like them is always better than not eating veggies at all, but I would still urge the picky veggie eaters to keep trying soups with veggies to see if you can develop a taste for them. Don't forget home made soups can be very slimming as well.

I cook my soups for a short time so the veggies are not mushy. I also add things that I like crunchy, like red peppers, at the last minute...like 10 minutes before the soup is done.

:-)
Adam

Ohhhhh, I eat many vegetable soups and always add veggies to my homemade soups--I don't really eat meat, so I do eat tons of vegetables--, but the "rules" would just take too long to explain. :) About the cooked carrots, though, I have found that I don't mind--or taste--them so much in soups if I mince them really fine or use a carrot peeler to make some really small/thin peel-pieces. That way, I get the carrots and some additional flavor--and coloring--in the soup, but not the full-blown carrot-taste I would by using carrot "coins" or thick slices. Maybe that kind of thing would work for your daughter too. Good luck again. :)

Hi Adam,
I used drained plain yogurt as a base for a number of dips and even the pickiest eaters like it .. and it's so much better for you than all that sour cream. If you haven't done this before (some people call it yogurt cheese) line a sieve with a coffee filter, place that over a bowl, dump in the yogurt and let drain overnight in the fridge. I like to mix and match the seasonings but two basic I use all the time are:

- Fresh herbs, whatever is in the garden a whole handful finely minced and mixed in
- Lots of chopped dill (fresh or dried) a little lemon juice and some minced garlic

Salt and pepper to taste.

Hi again :-)

Tenderheart, Yes, I don't eat meat really either and I love soups. That reminds me, I could actually puree some of the veggies into the soup.

Bloomfielder, I forgot I have one of those yogurt strainers. I use a lot of yogurt, so I will give it a try.

Thanks for the ideas.
:-)
Adam

Try mixing candied ginger cut into tiny pieces (organic of course!) with orange juice and equal amount of plain yogart. My family really likes it.

My son loves this,,,,,,,use a little ranch mix( about 3-4 tbsp) package of sour cream ( 8 ounces), dried onions( to taste), dab of worchester. Hope you like!!!!! Enjoy!

Hi litehouse,

Thanks for the recipe, it sounds good. I used to make mine in that way but I was trying to make ranch dressing from scratch though. I would like to avoid packaged ingredients. I have still not found a good ranch dressing dip so anyone who has one, I would love to share it.

Thanks anyway litehouse,
:-)
Adam

Hi again, Adam--

'Can't believe this thread's still near the top of the page. :) If it helps any, here are two healthy homemade ranch recipes I've found online. They both sound good to me, but as I said before, I think any ranch recipe would taste even better with minced veggies mixed right in. Maybe you could doctor one of these recipes to your liking. Good luck, again! :)

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1.) Low-Fat Ranch Dip (quoted from FoodReference.Com):

Makes 2 cups
Provides 1 vegetable serving per cup portion

This fabulous dip is full of cancer-fighting nutrients and it contains the secret of a good dip-texture. The secret is beans. It's true! Canned Great Northern beans can be pureed to a silky smoothness and then made into a delicious ranch-type dip. Whiz a can of rinsed and drained beans in a blender with up to ¼ cup of water for 2 whole minutes and then scrape into a bowl. Now add ½ cup of plain yogurt, a tablespoon of roasted garlic, a pinch of cayenne pepper, and some finely chopped chives, parsley, and dried tarragon. Mix and serve with fresh spring vegetables like carrots, asparagus, and sugar snap peas. You'll get great taste with every bite.

1 15-ounce can Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
¼ cup water
½ cup plain low-fat yogurt
½ teaspoon garlic powder or 1 tablespoon of roasted garlic
pinch cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
¼ teaspoon dried tarragon
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice

1. Whiz the beans and garlic in a blender, adding enough water to achieve the desired consistency. Blend for 2 full minutes to make it silky-smooth. Use a spatula to scrape the mixture into a medium bowl.

2. Stir in the yogurt, cayenne, chives, parsley, and tarragon, salt and lemon juice. Serve in a bowl surrounded by spring vegetables such as sugar snap peas, tiny radishes, baby carrots, and lightly steamed baby new potatoes.
Nutritional Analysis per serving:
40 calories
less than 1 g fat
10% calories from fat
0 g saturated fat
0% calories from saturated fat
8 g carbohydrates
246 mg sodium
2 g dietary fiber
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2.) Ranch Dip (quoted from BitsysKitchen.com):

Ranch Dip
1 clove garlic, peeled
3 small green onions cut into 1 inch pieces
8 oz. nonfat cream cheese, softened 2 Tbsp. reduced calorie mayonnaise
1/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt
2 tsp. lemon juice
With food processor on, add garlic clove and then green onions through food chute, and process until minced. Add cream cheese and mayonnaise, and process until smooth. Add yogurt and lemon juice; pulse 3 times or until well blended. Cover and chill. Serve with raw vegetables.
Yield: 1-1/3 cups (serving size: 1 tablespoon).
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