food to glow

Crushed chickpeas mixed with creamy lower-fat homemade ranch dressing and chopped vegetables make a perfect vegetarian lunch. Try it in pittas, lettuce wraps or even scooped up with baked tortilla chips.Who doesn’t love ranch dressing? Even if you aren’t American or Canadian you are probably familiar with this tangy, buttermilk-based dressing. It’s herb- and seasoning-flecked creaminess is pretty addictive. I always try to limit myself to just a tablespoon, but I make sure that tablespoon is rather large. 🙂

History and Uses of Ranch Dressing

Although first used on salads in the 1980s, ranch dressing quickly branched out to be the perfect partner to many a fried and baked food – potato chips, pizza (delicious!), pretzels, chicken wings – even deep-fried pickles. I know, right?

But it is also great with sliced raw vegetables. And even better mixed up with some crushed cooked chickpeas – those roughened edges absorb the zippy flavours like no one’s business – and finely chopped vegetables. And a little pickle, too. Not fried ones, mind you.

Today’s recipe went down a storm with my testers, and even though I can’t really eat chickpeas myself I did have a nibble and fell a little in love. Ranch dressing proper is on the calorific end of the food scale, but my recipe is considerably lighter.

It’s also easy to make with inexpensive, accessible ingredients, so no need to buy the additive and fat-laden premade stuff from the shops. You can mix up this quick and easy chickpea ranch recipe and enjoy it over a few days’ worth of lunches in wraps, lettuce cups, pittas (shown) and even scooped up with homemade pita chips or tortilla chips. 

Food To Glow Elsewhere

While you are here, I’ve written a second article for UK newspaper, The Metro. Here’s the link “9 foods that will fight the ageing process” (not my headline!). If you missed my first one, here’s the link to it “Is turmeric really good for you? And are you using it correctly?”

Elsewhere, I’ve had a recipe published in Waitrose Weekend magazine, and they’ve made it look gorgeous! It’s not online, but I published a similar recipe recently for Mediterranean Eggplant Pancakes with Sweet Red Pepper Sauce (eggplant in the batter!). I am in here with Waitrose Food magazine editor Willliam Sitwell, Masterchef winner Dhruv Baker, chef and food boffin Heston Blumenthal, Anna Jones, Philip Schofield and Rachel Allen, to name a few. But I was chuffed to bits to be in with fellow food blogger and new friend, Kimberley Espinel over at thelittleplantation.co.uk.

**Is this the kind of thing you like to take to work for lunch? Have you ever had a deep-fried pickle??**

**RIPE FOR PINNING!**