Why are store-bought dressings so much lower calorie than my recipe here?

jackoakwood

I finally got around to entering my standard - olive oil/squeezed lemon juice/Dijon/salt - salad dressing recipe into MyFP. It is horrifically high-cal, on the order of 400 cals on a big salad, entirely due to the 3 to 1 ratio of olive oil to juice at over 100 cals/tbsp.

Store bought dressings, which I hate, seem to have about 60 cals/ tbsp. What are they doing differently?

arditarose

Are you using 3+tablespoons of oil in your salad?! It's most likely your serving size.

usmcmp

Serving size or swapping fat out for carbs (reducing fat content by adding sugar or other chemicals, it lowers the calories).

NVDMC

Store bought will have "fillers" in it. The ingredients on the back of the bottle are listed in order of the largest amount to smallest. For example if the first ingredient is vinegar then it has the most volume in the dressing. Compare that to your dressing which has oil as the ingredient with the most volume and that may explain the difference in calories per serving

PearBlossom9

arditarose wrote: »

Are you using 3+tablespoons of oil in your salad?! It's most likely your serving size.

This. Dressing should be a light accompaniment, not a heavy sauce.

I toss my lettuce with the dressing then add the other items to it, I use far less dressing that way.

As others have said, premade dressings have more fillers. When you take fat our, they add sugars. For example, high fructose corn syrup has 50 calories in a tablespoon vs 120 calories in a tablespoon of olive oil.

jgnatca

Xanthan gum may be used to give the dressing body without calories.

A little oil in the dressing is good for satiety. But it does pack a punch.

dklibert

Try 2 to 1 ratio, or use a sweeter vinegar like white balsamic and try 1 to 1 ratio. I usually try to limit myself to 2 Tbsp of any salad dressing. I hope this helps. Here are some low cal dressings I have made.

soupspiceeverythingnice.blogspot.com/2014/04/creamy-cucumber-dressing.html
soupspiceeverythingnice.blogspot.com/2012/10/fire-roasted-tomato-dressing.html

melissa6771

The bottled ones also include water. Have you ever seen the bottle that you mix the good seasonings packets in? I would get that, use it to measure your oil, vinegar and water, then add in the rest of the stuff for your dressing. Either way, homemade is still healthier because it does not have all the chemicals.

augustremulous

if you don't like vinegar, try verjus. It's not as sharp as vinegar, and brings out the flavor of olive oil so you don't have to use so much.

another thing you can do is try to infuse the vegetables themselves with spices/flavor so you don't need so much dressing. A european friend taught me this and it made me realize my Indian grandmother does it as well, though I had never noticed.

For example, put a little salt on your vegetables, and put aside for a half hour. Then squeeze out all the excess liquid from the vegetable. Then sprinkle your vegetables with spices and other flavorings, like sumac, lemon juice, verjus, black pepper, herbs, etc. Allow them to sit for half an hour, and the eat with your dressing. You won't feel the need to use so much dressing.

Also, stick to flavorful vegetables! I personally love all vegetables and salads with the exception of lettuce. Lettuce usually tastes like nothing imho, and is just a carrier for dressings and toppings. I prefer spinach (regular, not baby), kale, etc.

lemurcat12

PearBlossom9 wrote: »

arditarose wrote: »

Are you using 3+tablespoons of oil in your salad?! It's most likely your serving size.

This. Dressing should be a light accompaniment, not a heavy sauce.

Agreed, and I've also found you can make a tasty oil and vinegar dressing with a lot less oil than the traditional ratio.

jackoakwood

Thanks everybody, as some suggested, I cut my oil ratio way down, and reduced the amount on the salad, it's a little more tart but just as tasty.

I guess all the fillers and sugars are the reason I can't stand the taste of premade dressing.

This sure was an example of how lots of calories can creep up in unexpected places.

NaturalNancy

I use way more white vinegar than oil, because I like to save my calories for something more tasty before bed lol then I season it with, salt/pepper/and onion powder!