About 6 months ago I fell in love with a store-bought bagged mix salad I bought on a whim because it was on sale. It was a mixture of cabbage, broccoli, green onions and a bunch of other veggies, chopped and bagged with a small side of ranch dressing and bbq sauce you mix in and serve. Later I went on to 'copy' it, painstakingly buying all the ingredients, chopping them in a food processor, etc. etc. and it was good. But I was left with a bunch of dirty dishes, food processor bowl, etc.
One of the draw-backs to buying the packaged mixes was the sugar content. The brand my local store carries has 5 grams of sugar; no thank you.
What I started doing worked out just as great, was much easier, faster and healthier and I almost always have the ingredients on hand. I throw this together with sugar free bbq sauce and homemade ranch (made with unsweetened coconut/almond milk). No food processor, only one dish (the one I served it in) and there is never, ever leftovers.
You can adjust all the amounts to your personal tastes. I will also link to the sugar free bbq sauce I use at the bottom of the post.
BBQ Ranch Salad Mix
Fresh broccoli - chopped small
Cabbage - shredded or chopped fine (red and green varieties)
Green onions - chopped
Lettuce - a salad mix of your choice chopped small
Kale or spinach optional if you have it
Carrots - shredded or chopped (only a few for color if you are low-carb and sugar free)
1 pkg. dry ranch dressing made to directions using: 1 cup almond, coconut, almond/coconut milk or cream mixed with half water and 1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 - 1/2 c bbq sauce of choice
Options: crushed tortilla chips, sliced almonds or cooked, crumbled bacon for crunch/texture
In a large bowl or a large Ziploc baggy, put all your fresh veggies. Use mostly cabbage and add the rest according to your preference. I use about 6 cups shredded cabbage to 2 medium heads fresh broccoli, about 2 cups lettuce, 2-3 green onions and a handful of fresh spinach or kale.
Use about 1/3 cup ranch and 1/3 cup bbq sauce to this and mix well. Add more or less as needed and if you add too much sauce just add a bit more cabbage/broccoli to the mixture. Chill or serve, adding any cooked, crumbled bacon, tortilla chips or sliced almonds just before serving so they stay crunchy.
My favorite sugar free bbq sauce - I used to make my own but I haven't since I started to use G. Hughes brand.
G Hughes Smokehouse Sugar Free BBQ Sauce Hickory -- 18 fl oz - 2 pc
