As we always seem to be on the quest to eat "healthier", I think we often change the more obvious foods in our diet, while sometimes overlooking the little changes we can make that will cause a difference. I just wanted to take some time to share a few new food products that I have been using lately that I am just in love with for their taste AND because they are much healthier alternatives to what I usually would use. Most of the summer, I try to make healthy, light lunches at home for us as I am also looking for quick and healthy ideas that I can make during the work/school year. I found a few products and used them for some lunches this summer that will be perfect to take to work this school year...
First, when my mom was visiting she bought this Bolthouse Farms Cilantro Avocado Yogurt Dressing. The name sounded right up my alley, so I tried it and was sooo impressed! The taste is great. It's super creamy and you can taste both the avocado and the cool cilantro flavor: it's clean and fresh tasting. Not only is it tasty though, it is healthier in comparison to your average ranch dressing that most people use.
So, a 2 Tbsp serving of Hidden Valley Ranch has 140 calories, while the Bolthouse Farms dressing has only 40 calories. Fat??? 14 grams in the Hidden Valley Ranch as opposed to 3.5 grams in the Bolthouse Farms!!!! Hidden Valley Ranch also has double the carbs and cholesterol than the Bolthouse Farms dressing has.
VS 
The next new thing we tried, was a new brand/type of tortilla/flatbread. We eat tortillas A LOT! Very often for lunch I will make sandwich wraps, substituting the bread of a normal sandwich for a tortilla in an attempt to eat "healthier." My favorite brand is La Banderita from Mexico...yum! But it wasn't until recently when we decided to cut some carbs that I realized that there were much healthier options out there!
I bought a flatbread called Flatout and the flavor is light Italian herb- incredibly tasty. The brand claims half the calories and half the carbs of other brands as well as high fiber and protein. The flatbread uses whole wheat flour while the tortillas do not. When comparing the two...
The amount of _____ in 1 tortilla/flatbread:
Flour tortillas Flatout flatbread- light
Calories 220 90
Carbs 34 g 14 g
Fat 7 g 1.5 g
Protein 9 g 5 g
VS 
Basically I can make two small changes in a normal meal and make it MUCH healthier, and in my opinion, tastier!
Two lunch ideas that came from my new favorite dressing:
Cilantro Avocado Chicken Salad
Shredded chicken
Bolthouse Farms Cilantro Avocado Yogurt Dressing
Mayo
Salt and pepper
Season shredded chicken with salt and pepper.
Mix undetermined amounts of the dressing and the mayo, to your liking, into the shredded chicken.
Taste to see if you need to add more.
(LOL sorry for the vague instructions but that is literally what I did...and remember these are super QUICK ideas that require minimal ingredients!)
You could take some saltine crackers to eat with the chicken salad or make a wrap, which was where I went with it. I used my new healthier flatbread and topped it with cheese, the chicken salad, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and onions.
Voila!- something new and different!
Salted Cucumber Slices with dips
Sliced cucumbers (or other veggies)
Bolthouse Farms Cilantro Avocado Yogurt Dressing
Hummus
Another lunch idea I incorporated the dressing into was to use it as a dip for some cucumber slices topped with seasoned salt. While many people would probably choose a ranch dressing to dip their veggies in, this dressing is a great alternative...Delicious, refreshing, simple, AND healthy!
You could obviously try a variety of veggies... I also dipped my cucumbers in some Tastefully Simple Red Bell Pepper Hummus that I had made. Yum!
smallchangesbigdifferences.<3LML
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