How do you eat a salad without traditional dressing?

NewMeSM75

cs2thecox wrote: »

Steph38878 wrote: »

I've read good things about Walden farm dressings. You could possibly check those out too.

They're ok but expensive, at least to get in the UK.
Also, do NOT cook with the BBQ sauce. Bad things happen!

(The pancake syrup is AMAZING though. Heaven knows how they make it zero calorie, zero everything, but it's *kitten* lovely!)

I've never tried them. Thanks for letting us know. When I started, I didn't care for vinaigrettes but I started enjoying them. I wish I liked artificial sweeteners but I just couldn't make myself like them. I love the light versions of jams and pancake syrup though.

DJ_Skywalker

I've never needed salad dressing .... maybe just a little extra juice from my black olives. Black olives, sunflower seeds, tomatoes, etc. make the salad sweet enough for me

JenHuedy

I LOVE the Bolthouse dressings. Very creamy and fresh tasting and low in calories. Panera Light Poppyseed is great, too, and only 25 cals. My current obsession is berries, chicken, goat cheese and pecans on spinach with Panera Poppyseed dressing. Yum!

Piqueaboo

Mustard, sunflower oil and vinegar. It's delicious and emulsifies, but yes, you need to make room for it.

TeaBea

Steph38878 wrote: »

You could always make your own lighter versions. Like greek yogurt with a package of dry ranch and splash of milk. I make my own thousand island. I use light mayo, little ketchup or chili sauce, minced wickless (hot sweet pickles).

This^

Just make your favorite dressing "lighter." I love Caesar dressing .....I bought a light version AND use less of it. Caesar dressing still fits (for me).

thetrishwarp

I put cottage cheese on my salads. So delicious.

sabinaholtby

I always use Greek yogurt with mustard, garlic, salt and pepper. I add onions to my salad and Bell peppers. When I can afford the calories I love avocado. My favorite salads though are when I use seasoned meat! Nothing like a taco salad, that ground meat with taco seasoning is so so good!

kizanne1

I have a couple things that help me with salad. I like salsa for certain salads. I also like having fruit like strawberries, blueberries or oranges in the salad with a sharp cheese like gorgonzola then I don't need a dressing. Just make sure to get some greens with each sweet and savory bite. I also have broke down and purchased some
semi-expensive blueberry balsamic vinegar which is almost sweet. And a fig balsamic vinegar as well.
Oh or a cup of chili. Make it a chili salad which would be a meal not a side.

Jenn_W

I've starting mixing everything with my lettuce. Lots of traveling this weekend visiting family and lots of BBQ food.
Grilled Turkey Franks, baked beans - all mixed together and throw in a bowl with lettuce. Grilled chicken breast, fresh corn, baked baked potato, s&p - same thing.
I think I need to volume eat. So, a common quick meal is huge bowl of romaine lettuce, shredded low sodium lunch meat, and honey mustard all mixed together. Another is black beans, salsa, little cheese, little sour cream in a mixing bowl full of romaine. These are full meals not a side salad. I've tried lemon & lime juice with s&p - Taste is okay, but I'd rather throw everything together and make it one big meal.

kms234

I've tried all the lowfat/low cal salad dressings and I can't find one I like. I've started using the "good stuff" but just using less. I really like the Olive Garden bottled Italian dressing. I use 1/2-1 tbsp depending on the size of my salad. I also really like Litehouse ranch. Again, I use just a little.

Like the previous respondent, I shake all my salad ingredients together so the dressing coats everything in a thin layer.

thewindandthework

I love salads! I almost always make some kind of vinaigrette. It's light, flavorful, quick, easy, and customizable! I do make them a little differently than I was taught in culinary school, though, less oil.

I now do a 1:1:1 ratio of oil, acid, and emulsifier. My go-to is extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, and Dijon. Add in whatever spices, herbs, and seasonings seem appropriate, whisk it up, good to go!

That exact vinaigrette with some black pepper, tossed with some baby arugula and parmesan, cilantro, and whatever fresh veg I have around? Amazing.

Add a chopped hard boiled egg? Great! Or even better, an egg poached or ever-easy on top, so the yolk adds a creaminess to the dressing? OMG so good.

ETA: If I don't have the calories to spend on oil but want to dress a salad, tomatoes are a lifesaver. Chop them up good, add some salt, let that sit for a couple minutes so it draws the water out. It's not the same as a real dressing, but if there are strong flavors elsewhere in the salad, the dressing doesn't need to be the star.

maurihart

I do the half serving and shake up in a container method. It works well and I still get whatever dressing I want. But Olive Garden Italian is yummy and only 80 calories a serving. And they have a lighter version as well.

DebraClaunch2

I buy Walden Farms dressings - They taste like the real deal and have no calories, no sugar, no gluten, no carbs and no chorlesterol - I like the French, Ranch, BaconRanch, Russian, Thousand Island, and Ginger Sesame --- This company also makes the totally free ketchup, barbeque sauce, honey mustard, and chocolate dips, it has good Alfred in a jar, (great on spaghetti squash) and regular red sauce as well - there are tons of choice - it costs about $3.89 a jar but goes on sale much at 2/$7 and $2/6 - you can get purse packets to take to work or wherever - I live in Tucson Arizona and purchase it at Wal-Mart, SunFlower, and Fry's Groceries (Kroger to ya'll up north) - You can buy it on line at Walden Farms website ---

apullum

If I want low calorie dressing, Bolthouse is my favorite. If I want a regular full-fat dressing, I just use less of it. I measure out whatever amount fits my calorie budget.

DebraClaunch2

And by the way - Walden Farms products Taste like the real deal - they do not taste like the low fat or bland flavors of other brands -

mizbedina

I don't love salads, so instead I aim to eat some greens at every meal. For example, at breakfast this morning I put a handful of raw spinach and top with my cereal, fruit, and almond milk. At supper last night I heated my grains and lentils and put it over a handful of spinach.

TeaBea

DebraClaunch2 wrote: »

And by the way - Walden Farms products Taste like the real deal - they do not taste like the low fat or bland flavors of other brands -

I'm glad you found what works for you.......but I'm thinking you are in the minority on this.

I've only tried 2 things.....they screamed fake to me.

cwolfman13

abbynormalartist wrote: »

I'd like to have more salads with my dinner but am having trouble finding a way to eat them without the traditional creamy dressing. I've tried a little red wine vinegar and that's..... okay, but not great. I've also tried adding more flavorful veggies like onions and tomatoes but I figure there are better ways out there too. Ideas?

IDK...I've never been super into creamy dressing and have always preferred vinegar and oil or a lite Italian or lite balsamic vinaigrette...all of which I would consider "traditional"

Bolthouse Farms makes creamy dressings with Greek Yogurt that are pretty low calorie...I use their Blue Cheese when I have wings and we get the ranch for our kids because they like ranch on everything.

dutchandkiwi

I cut up some Gurken - the juices coming out of that is enough of a dressing for me

Francl27

I do red wine vinegar and Dijon mustard, plus salt and pepper.

Definitely salsa/pico de gallo as dressing for my taco salads though!