Easy and full of nutrition, this Simple Green Salad with Leftover Turkey and Homemade Ranch Dressing is a refreshing lunch or simple dinner.
It’s almost time for spring cleaning…
With the holidays over and spring right around the corner, everyone’s cutting back on sugar and carbs and detoxing from all the sweets. One of my favorite ways to do that is smoothies, another is salads.
There’s something so cleansing about a salad that makes it the perfect way to calm your body after a stressful morning or day. Washing and chopping up fresh greens just makes me feel healthier!
Green goodness.
When it comes to the greens, I’m kinda picky about what goes in my salads. I am not a fan of lettuce, except for romaine. You will not find iceberg in my fridge, or red leaf lettuce either. But you will find spinach and kale galore! In fact, kale is one of the only things my brown thumbs can grow in my sad little garden!
But anyway, greens are delicious, for the most part, and full of vitamins that our bodies need! For this salad I chose to go with romaine and kale, along with some delicious cucumbers and leftover organic turkey (a good source of protein, selenium, and vitamin B3!).
Romaine is full of vitamins C, A and K, as well as folate. It’s also a good source of aspartic and glutamic amino acids. Kale is also extremely high in vitamins A, K, and C, and is also full of the flavonoids quercetin and kaempferol, which are antioxidants. And cucumbers? They’re good for a healthy dose of vitamin C, beta-carotene, and manganese, as well as quercetin, apigenin, luteolin, and kaempferol. Cucumbers have also been shown to inhibit the activity of pro-inflammatory enzymes.
Finding the right ranch.
Even though I love my salads green, I love them with a little something on top. 😉 Like dressing…
Now, mind you, I don’t go for store-bough stuff. It’s usually full of awful ingredients no-one needs to be consuming. But homemade is a different story!
While I love making my own dressings because I can add in whatever healthy ingredients I like, ranch has been one of the hardest ones for me to get the hang of. Time after time I would make up a batch that I thought was good, only to have my husband (the ultimate taste tester of copycat foods) wrinkle his nose at them.
Until I tried this mix from my friend Loriel. Instant winner! He raved about the flavor her all-natural, organic ranch mix had – and I raved about how easy it made making homemade ranch dressing!
You should totally give Loriel’s mix a try. I PROMISE you won’t regret it. 🙂 Promise. If you’re in the market for additive-free, organic seasonings, she also has a killer Italian mix (my Slow-Cooker Stuffed Italian Meatballs utilize it) and French onion mix, too!
In the recipe card I’ve linked to some of the products from my affiliate partners that I like to use. Purchasing through these links won’t cost you anything extra, but I will earn a small percentage that will go to help support and maintain this site and its free content. Thanks! 😉
- 1 head romaine lettuce
- a handful of kale
- 1/2 a cucumber
- 1 c. chopped leftover turkey
- 3 T. Naturally Free Ranch mix
- 1 c. sour cream (get organic or make sure there are only like 3 ingredients...)
- 1/4 c. evoo (aka extra virgin olive oil)
- 1/4 c. whole or raw milk (raw is uh-mazing)
- Wash and chop your greens and place them in a large bowl.
- Wash and slice the cucumber and sprinkle it on top of the salad, along with the turkey.
- Combine all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whip with a fork until creamy.
- Add a tablespoon more of evoo or milk if you want the consistency thinner (I like my ranch thick 'n creamy!).
- Pour over salad and enjoy!
- Store leftovers covered in the fridge (will keep a few weeks).
- Please note that kale and cucumbers are on the EWG's Dirty Dozen list, so grow your own or buy them organic! I also recommend using organic turkey, if you can find it. So much more yummy. 🙂
Like this Simple Green Salad with Leftover Turkey and Homemade Ranch Dressing?
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Shared at Allergy Free Wednesday, Anti-Procrastination Tuesday, Faith Filled Parenting, Family Fun Friday, Foodie FriDIY, Free from Fridays, From the Farm, Full Plate Thursday, Gluten Free Fridays, Hearth & Soul, Inspiration Thursday, Inspire Me Monday, Let’s Get Real Friday, Merry Monday, Mostly Homemade Mondays, Raising Homemakers, Real Food Friday, Simply Natural Saturdays, TGI Saturdays, Thank Goodness It’s Monday, Throwback Thursday, the Wednesday Showcase, Weekend Potluck, Weekend Retreat, Welcome Home Wednesday, What’s For Dinner Sunday.
Hi Raia,
This turkey salad sound fabulous and the homemade Ranch dressing sound so tasty and healthy. Thanks for sharing on Real Food Fridays. Pinned & tweeted!
Glad to share, Marla! Thanks so much for stopping by! 🙂
I LOVE ranch dressing!! I look forward to trying the ranch mix and recipe you posted!
And I have to say I also LOVE your vintage green flowery Pyrex dish!! It pairs perfectly with the colors of this recipe. I have a small collection of vintage Pyrex that I treasure, but I always keep an eye out for new finds at thrift stores and estate sales.
Thanks, Andrea! I love that bowl, too. It’s the only one I have (a garage sale find), just like the ones my mom had when was growing up. I’m always on the lookout for more, too! 🙂
Great recipe. Thanks for sharing on the “What’s for Dinner” linky party!
Glad to share, Helen! 🙂 Thank you for stopping by.
I am so looking forward to spring and fresh greens for salads! This one looks delicious 🙂
Thank you, Jennifer!
Oooooh I’m going to have to try that Ranch Dressing recipe! I’m always on the hunt for nightshade-free dressings for salad, and that fits the bill perfectly! Thanks for sharing with the Wednesday Showcase!
Glad to share, Cristina! I hope you can enjoy the ranch! 🙂
What a fantastic MEAL salad!
Thanks, Rebecca! 🙂
I love how simple is to make. Looks refreshing.
Chrystal
Thanks, Chrystal! I like to keep things as simple as possible. 😉
Great looking salad! Perfect for lunch.
Thanks, Keeley! 🙂
Looks great! I’m more of an EVOO on my salad only kind of girl, but this ranch looks so delicious!
Thanks, Erica. 🙂
This salad looks great and that ranch! Thanks for sharing with us on Throwback Thursday!!
Mollie
Thanks, Mollie! Glad to share! 🙂
We’re pretty picky about ranch around here too, and your homemade Ranch sounds delightful! Sounds like a great way to get back into salads. 🙂
Thanks, CJ!
This looks so tasty!
Thank you, Elle. 🙂
The link to the ranch mix isn’t working.
Oh no! Thanks so much for letting me know, Christine. It looks like Loriel removed the ranch mix from her lineup. I’ll find out why….
This is a great salad. Looking forward to seeing you again at Full Plate Thursday tonight!
Hope you are having a great day!
Miz Helen
Thanks, Helen! 🙂