What's your favorite salad dressing? Ranch dressing has been one of the top contenders for the past several years. It does taste good, but is it good for you? What about 1000 Island dressing or Russian dressing? Many of these dressings contain mayonnaise, which is not as healthy as you may think.
Mayonnaise is full of calories. This is partly why it tastes so good. It also blends well with other ingredients. For ranch dressing, the mayonnaise is combined with sour cream and buttermilk. This creates a delicious dressing, but the calorie amount is very high. Russian dressing is made of mayonnaise, pimentos, ketchup, chives, and seasonings. It got its name because it once contained caviar. Again, the dressing is mayonnaise based, making it high on the calorie scale.
Be Healthy
Today, not only do we have many of these mayonnaise-based dressings to choose from, they have been made shelf stable. What this means is preservatives have been added to keep them fresh without refrigeration. While they still require chilling once they have been opened, these stabilizers have an effect on our health. Many people feel eating a salad will help them get healthier, but if they are covering their salads with these kinds of dressings, the salad is no longer benefitting their health.
The only way to keep a salad healthy is to choose a healthy dressing. This means making a light dressing yourself so it isn't full of stabilizers, preservatives, and fat. There are many ways to flavor a light dressing to suit the type of salad you want to make. Soy sauce and ginger will give it an Asian flavor, while balsamic vinegar will make it taste Italian. If you like a spicy dressing, consider a curry dressing, while if you like it sweet, take a look at fruit based dressings like the one listed below. You can get a nice savory dressing by using fresh herbs like basil, mint, tarragon, or thyme.
You can make a creamy dressing by using yogurt or a low fat version of other creamy foods like sour cream, mayonnaise, or buttermilk. Every little bit counts! Another way to get a creamy dressing with lots of flavor is to use a flavored mustard like honey or Dijon. If your favorites include dressings like Thousand Island and ranch, you can make home versions. While they may still pack a lot of calories, you are skipping all the preservatives.
Recipe for Citrus Vinaigrette
This light fruity dressing is good on salad or on grilled fish.
What You Need
1/2 cup fresh orange juice 1/3 cup fresh grapefruit juice 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 1 Tablespoon honey 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard 1 Tablespoon soy sauce 2 teaspoons peeled fresh ginger, minced How to Make It
Combine the juices, olive oil, honey, mustard, soy sauce, and ginger in a blender. Process the dressing until it is smooth. Store it in an airtight covered bowl in the refrigerator for up to a week until you are ready to use it.
The Reality Regarding Salad Dressing - Your "Healthy" Meal May Not Be So Healthy For You
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