Chop up all your veggies and fixings and lay them out on a platter in rows. It’s a beautiful presentation and everyone can grab exactly what they want for their salad. The dressing for this one is so simple and so low cal, but it tastes divine !

Tex Mex Cobb

10 servings
291 calories per serving

20 oz. mixed greens (Spring mix, baby greens, etc.)
12 oz. seasoned chicken breast strips (Perdue Shortcuts work great here)
4 hard boiled eggs, chopped
15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 c low fat shredded cheese
12 slices turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 small avocados, sliced
2 c grape tomatoes, halved
2 ribs of celery, sliced
2/3 c fat free ranch dressing
1/3 cup chunky salsa
Salt and pepper to taste

Over a large platter with the greens then arrange chicken, eggs, beans, cheese, bacon, avocados and tomatoes in rows and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix the salsa and dressing and pour over platter.

This tastes much like the spinach dip you often find in a hollowed out bread bowl – but this one adds many more veggies and is a much healthier and lower cal option.

Spinach and Ranch Snack

18 servings
170 calories per serving (2 T dip and 15-17 crackers)

1 c low fat sour cream
¼ c light ranch dressing
10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
1 shredded carrot
½ c finely chopped yellow bell peppers
Wheat Thins or Triscuits

Mix sour cream and dressing then stir in veggies.

This turns out a creamy, delicious side dish that goes great with beef, chicken, pork or fish. The ranch dressing gives it a nice tang and an unexpected flavor.

Broccoli and Rice

8 servings
113 calories per serving

1 c Minute brown rice, uncooked
1 c fat free chicken broth
1 ½ c frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained (or you can use fresh)
2/3 c shredded part skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 c light ranch dressing
½ c egg beaters
Pam

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fix rice according to package instructions but use broth instead of water. Cool rice a bit and add in the rest of the ingredients. Spoon the mix into a casserole dish sprayed with Pam and bake 25 minutes or until browned.

Tangy ranch dressing, spicy horseradish, and lotsa meat and veggies – my kind of sandwich

Roast Beef Ranch Sandwich

4 servings
334 calories per serving

4 small Club Rolls
32 slices thin sliced deli roast beef (Oscar Mayer pre-packaged meats are great)
1 small red onion, sliced
1 small tomato, sliced
2 c shredded lettuce
8 T non fat ranch dressing
3 T horseradish
4 T shopped parsley

Mix ranch, horseradish and parsley and refrigerate at least ½ hour. Place meet on rolls and spoon on the prepared dressing. Top with onion, tomato and lettuce.

How come the ‘Veggie Tales’ song is stuck in my head now? LOL This one seems a little weird, but the final product is great. The ranch flavor comes through proud and strong and mixes so well with the veggies. Serve as a healthy appetizer or as a side next to a dinner portion of meat or fish.

Veggie Squares

12 servings
104 calories per serving (1 serving = 2 pieces)

8 oz. tube crescent rolls
3 oz. fat free cream cheese, softened
½ c low fat buttermilk ranch dressing
4 c raw veggies (cauliflower, bell peppers, carrots, broccoli)
Pam

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Unroll crescent rolls. Spray a cookie sheet with Pam and press crescent roll dough into pan to form a crust. Bake 10 minutes or until golden. Let cool 15 minutes. Combine cheese and dressing and spread over crust. Place the veggies over the top, cut into 24 squares and serve immediately.

User Perdue Shortcuts and you can be out of the kitchen in 10 minutes making these wraps. They make a great lunch and even a great lite dinner.

Buffalo Chicken Wraps

4 servings
360 calorie per serving

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves cut into strips (Perdue Shortcuts work great here !)
¼ t salt
1 T hot pepper sauce
½ c finely chopped celery
½ c crumbled blue cheese
½ c fat free blue cheese or ranch dressing
4 10 inch fat free tortillas
1 1/3 c shredded lettuce
¼ c shredded carrot
Pam

Mix chicken salt and pepper sauce. Spray a skillet with Pam and cook chicken 4-5 minutes or until done (or just a minute or 2 to warm up if using pre cooked chicken). Combine celery, cheese and dressing. Spoon celery mix into wraps then chicken and top with lettuce and carrot. Fold up and serve.

Simple, quick, and a great tasting lunch wrap.

Turkey and Ranch Wrap

2 servings
340 calories per serving

1 T light Ranch dressing
1 Whole wheat wrap (80 calorie version by Smart and Delicious)
1 lettuce leaf
6 slices deli turkey breast
2 slices tomato
1 Laughing Cow light cheese wedge
2 avocado slices

Spread the cheese on the wrap then fill with the rest of the ingredients and wrap it up. Here is a video that shows you how to make a wrap that does not leak

Take something near perfect and make it even perfecter The wrap holds in all the goodies unlike the regular old slippery BLT. This is a keeper !!

BLT Wraps

8 servings
232 calories per serving

½ c fat free mayo
½ c fat free sour cream
2 T ranch dressing mix
¼ t red pepper flakes
8 flour tortilla wraps
16 bacon strips, cooked
3 c shredded lettuce
2 c chopped tomatoes

Combine mayo, sour cream, ranch mix and red pepper. Spread on tortillas and then add bacon, lettuce and tomato and wrap up. To fold a wrap perfectly, check out my video below:

Spicy hot and spicy good. You can tone this one down by using chili powder instead of chipotles, but it you like it hot, roll with it

Southwest Chicken Panini

4 servings
360 calories per serving

2 c finely chopped cooked chicken breasts (Perdue Shortcuts work great here)
1 ½ t diced chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (available in the Mexican section of your grocery store)
2 T Miracle Whip lite
2 T light ranch dressing
8 slices Italian bread
8 slices tomato
4 fat free cheese slices
ICBINB Spray

Heat Panini grill. Mix chicken, chipotles and dressings and fill bread slices, then add tomatoes and cheese and spray outside of bread with I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter spray (about 5 squirts per slice of bread) and grill about 2 minutes per side or 4 minutes total in a Panini press.

Simple and easy and oh so decadent with the addition of cheese and bacon. This lunch salad really hits the spot !

Five Layer Salad

4 servings
225 calories per serving

5 oz. mixed greens
½ English cucumber, coarsely chopped
½ c low fat ranch dressing
¼ c real bacon pieces
½ c finely shredded low fat cheddar cheese

Layer all ingredients on a serving platter or individual dishes and pour on dressing.