High Protein Lite Ranch Dressing

I was using the Walden Farms calorie-free ranch dressing for a long time...and then I got breast cancer and found out that erythritol has some connection to cancer (although not fully established). In the interest of removing any ingredients from my diet that are even remotely connected to cancer, I decided to remove all erythritol, a step that has been horribly difficult in the weight loss/maintaining journey. One of my favorite sweeteners is the Swerve Brown Sugar, something I'll miss on my oatmeal.

Since we eat a full plate salad almost every evening for dinner (along with some form of protein like grilled chicken on it), I needed to come up with a recipe for a lite dressing that actually tasted good. I've tried a lot of the online recipes that just didn't meet the taste and texture test. Most ended up with too watery a consistency, or too sharp a taste from the yogurt. So, after a bunch of experimenting this is what I came up with. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/2 C. Cottage cheese (I used full fat when I made it but I think low-fat or fat-free would probably also work)

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 scoop of collagen peptides (I used the Whole Foods 365 brand but the Vital Proteins or any other would also work as long as the calorie an protein content are comparable)

1 Tbl buttermilk powder

1/2 C. Nonfat Greek yogurt

1 Tbl water

1/2 tsp Crazy Jane's Mixed Up Salt (If you haven't tried this stuff it's the bomb! All the flavor and much less sodium

1 tsp dried parsley

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/8 tsp black pepper

1 tsp dried dill

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp honey

Directions:

Using a stick blender or Magic Bullet, blend the cottage cheese till smooth. Add remaining ingredients and blend until completely smooth and the spices are fully incorporated. This recipe makes 20 Tablespoons.

Nutrition:

11 Calories per Tbl

Unsaturated Fat 0g1%

Fiber 0g0%

Protein 1g3%

Potassium 23mg0%

Magnesium 2mg0%

Iron 0mg0%

Saturated Fat 0g1%

Added Sugars 0g0%

Sugars 1g1%

Sodium 80mg3%

Cholesterol 1mg0%