Salad.. great. Dressing.. AWFUL?

nonoark

After a long debate and eating mostly salads to jumpstart myself into the whole diet thing, I made a mistake one night and fell in love. I worked a double and during the second part of work sat down hungry and ready to tear into my salad only to find that I forgot my dressing. The only thing that looked like it may work was mayo, not a chance! So off to a DRY salad. Like you I love adding some meat and cheese. I love fresh home made turkey, but with mine I love putting in some almond slivers and cranberries. The cranberries have enough zing, sweetness and moisture on their own that I found I didn't need the dressing. That was the start of omitting dressing. Good luck!

55in13

After a long debate and eating mostly salads to jumpstart myself into the whole diet thing, I made a mistake one night and fell in love. I worked a double and during the second part of work sat down hungry and ready to tear into my salad only to find that I forgot my dressing. The only thing that looked like it may work was mayo, not a chance! So off to a DRY salad. Like you I love adding some meat and cheese. I love fresh home made turkey, but with mine I love putting in some almond slivers and cranberries. The cranberries have enough zing, sweetness and moisture on their own that I found I didn't need the dressing. That was the start of omitting dressing. Good luck!

It is probably a small enough amount that it is fine, but if you find that cranberries add sweetness, you re probably using sweetened cranberries (like Craisins or similar).
http://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/usda/dried-cranberries-(sweetened)
Unsweetened cranberries still have that zing, but they are anything but sweet.

autumnsquirrel

I love to eat salads - low calorie, lots of essential vitamins and nutrients. I spice mine up with a little meat and cheese so as to try to keep it a balanced meal. Then I get to the dressing.. and I wince every time. Is salad dressing a huge blow to my meal? Most of the content is fat, even if the calorie content is not THAT detrimental. Can someone who knows more about nutrition than I help me?

Hi:) I used to love salad dressing, but at some point in life, it made me queasy and I wouldn't use it; the bottled stuff, anyway. I now use red wine vinegar; just a splash because it can be strong. I also found a nice mellow dressing recipe if you are so inclined:
Tsp of extra virgin olive oil
Tsp or 2 of white wine vinegar
juice of a lemon
salt and pepper

You can vary of course:) I found it to be quite nice; I even marinated some chicken in it. Hope you have a great day:)

KimINfortheWin

There are some amazing infused balsamic vinegars and olive oils out there. Cranberry lime. Blood orange. Espresso. Black Cherry. Pomegranate. Limited only by your imagination (and budget).

Olive oil bars are getting popular. It sounds entirely strange to go sip on olive oils but its really good. And a few drops is all the flavor you need for your salad.

pearlmorning

Funny, I just posted this to another topic too. I use a T. of no-fat plain yogurt and a healthy sprinkle of Spike Gourmet Natural Seasoning.

Confuzzled4ever

i use balsamic vinegar or just squeeze fresh lemon over mine.. or eat them sans dressing.

Also you can make your own with a greek yogurt base if you really want the dressing. Lots of recipes out there.

o2bADyer

http://www.waldenfarms.com/products/dressings.html

Walden Farms dressings taste great...I have tried a few different ones.

257_Lag

Try Bolthouse Farms yogurt dressing ( the caeser parmegianno is awesome) It is natural and made with yogurt, tastes great and no funky aftertaste!

Wonderful stuff here! I think I am addicted to it. In fact I am going for some baby carrots and Caesar right NOW! I like every flavor I have tries but the Caesar totally rocks!

257_Lag

http://www.waldenfarms.com/products/dressings.html

Walden Farms dressings taste great...I have tried a few different ones.

Different strokes for different folks. I tried two flavors of Walden Farms and binned them both immediately. Never came close the the fridge. Vile imo.

Amberlynnek

http://www.waldenfarms.com/products/dressings.html

Walden Farms dressings taste great...I have tried a few different ones.

Different strokes for different folks. I tried two flavors of Walden Farms and binned them both immediately. Never came close the the fridge. Vile imo.

Agreed. There is no real food in them. Its straight chemicals. gross.

mluxo91

Thanks for all of the feedback! I'll have to give some of these recipes a try. I didn't know that some of that fat I dreaded was needed to process nutrients. Also, the fork tine method sounds like it might be my new go-to so portion control is not so tempting! =P

o2bADyer

To respond to the comments about Walden Farms...Raspberry Vinaigrette contains:

Triple Filtered Purified Water
Apple Cider Vinegar
White Vinegar
Salt
Natural Flavors
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Lemon Juice
Xanthan Gum (thickener made from vegetables)
Cellulose Gel
Splenda
Sodium Benzoate (to preserve freshness)

I personally wouldn't say it is loaded with chemicals. What were you reading?

AnsiStar

I tend to use a bit of houmous or cottage cheese as a sort of dressing when I make salads to take to work I just dump it on and mix everything with it so it sticks

RivenV

I love Caesar dressing on my salads. I don't even care if it's not a Caesar salad--cobb, chef, greek, everything gets Caesar. Honey badger don't care! Honey badger don't give a... *ahem*
Anyway, there's nothing wrong with a little fat and some extra calories, as long as you're keeping it in check. ... As long as the caesar isn't sweet. Sick!

lithezebra

A measured teaspoon of olive oil or walnut oil is enough to make 2-3 cups of greens taste good to me. That's about 40 calories, which is not awful. Then I add vinegar or lemon juice.

leannerae40

Thanks for that link - tons of great recipes in there and I LOVE blue cheese. I appreciate it!

foot1647

I like a little raw garlic, red and black pepper, olive oil and sesame oil on my salads.

55in13

To respond to the comments about Walden Farms...Raspberry Vinaigrette contains:

Triple Filtered Purified Water
Apple Cider Vinegar
White Vinegar
Salt
Natural Flavors
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Lemon Juice
Xanthan Gum (thickener made from vegetables)
Cellulose Gel
Splenda
Sodium Benzoate (to preserve freshness)

I personally wouldn't say it is loaded with chemicals. What were you reading?

I went to their web site and could only find a vague description that indicated they used natural ingredients, but I could find no specific ingredients. I would expect raspberry vinaigrette to be fine; it's standard recipe has almost no calories. The one I was asking about in particular was creamy bacon.

nyssa1231

I can't stand pre-made salad dressings. They're usually too sour or sweet for me.

There's this olive oil and balsamic vinegar store where I live, where you can try them before you buy a bottle. I love this place so much. The basic aged balsamic vinegar is AMAZING. My sister bought me a teensy bottle of lavender balsamic vinegar a couple of weeks ago, and I've been using it on everything, including the huge salads I make for lunch.

To dress my lunch salads, i splash some olive oil and balsamic vinegar I get from that store, and sprinkle some salt and pepper. The olive oil and balsamic vinegar are of such high quality (and affordable!) that I don't need much else!