Healthy Southwestern Ranch Salad – Printable Recipe

Ingredients

Ingredients for the Southwestern Ranch Salad Dressing:
• 1 cup plain low fat yogurt
• ½ cup low fat buttermilk
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• ¾ teaspoon chili powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper

Ingredients for the Salad:
• 2 ears of corn, shucked
• 2 to 3 heads of Romaine Lettuce, rinsed, dried, and chopped (You can also use mixed greens, but try to steer clear of the bitter varieties.)
• 1-2 cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts (preferably marinated), chopped into bite size pieces
• 2 cups tomatoes, diced
• 5 green onions, chopped
• 1-2 avocados, pitted and chopped
• 1 can low sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
• ¼ cup finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese (optional)
• ½ cup crushed tortilla chips (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat your grill to 500 degrees. Place the shucked ears of corn on the hot grill and cook until charred all over, turning occasionally. (If you don’t want to grill your corn, you can instead place the ears in a boiling pot of water and cook until tender, about 5 minutes, OR you can substitute frozen and thawed corn kernels instead and skip past this part.) Once your corn is tender, remove from the grill and allow to cool. Once your corn is cool enough to handle, cut the kernels off with a knife and set them aside, discarding the cobbs.
2. As your corn is cooling, make the salad dressing. Place all of the dressing ingredients into a medium size mixing bowl and whisk until well incorporated. Cover and chill until ready to use.
3. Now you can assemble your salads! (The presentation is up to you. You can assemble them in one large salad bowl and toss everything together before portioning out, or else you divide the ingredients equally between individual bowls.) Place the greens in the bottom of your bowl. Then add the corn kernels, chicken, tomato, black beans, green onions, and avocado. Drizzle the Southwestern Ranch Salad Dressing over everything, according to your preference. If using, sprinkle the shredded cheddar and crushed tortilla chips on top. If you decided to use one big salad bowl, toss everything together and serve; otherwise, present the individual bowls as is and dig in!

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