Making your own salad dressing?

BarbWhite09
BarbWhite09 Posts: 1,128 Member
edited October 6 in Recipes
I use light salad dressings but I still think they have too much fat, sodium & whatnot...
Do any of you make your own?
What do you use!?
I found a couple of ideas online, but I'd like to hear your ideas too!
[Note I'm a broke college girl! So skip the fancy ingredients, sadly!]

Thank you all! :)

Replies

  • Laura_beau
    Laura_beau Posts: 1,029 Member
    Natural yoghurt thinned down with a little water (not much) then mixed with green pesto- its' yummy!!

    Natural yoghurt mixed with a little lemon juice, black pepper & mint.

    Or good old balsamic vinegar

    Or if you are really broke- plain lemon juice & black pepper
  • asyouseefit
    asyouseefit Posts: 1,265 Member
    Olive oil and balsamic vinegar (or mustard), black pepper and salt. A classic that works with all salad!
  • CharlieBarleyMom
    CharlieBarleyMom Posts: 727 Member
    Lately I've just been using Raspberry Balsamic Vinegar. It adds the wetness that a salad demands and a sweetness that is nice without all the calories. And it's not as harsh as plain balsamic vinegar - which of course is a far cry from the harshness of vinegar in general!
  • snowstorme
    snowstorme Posts: 125 Member
    Fat Free Greek Yogurt, Dijon Mustard and a little bit of Stevia
  • eeebee
    eeebee Posts: 471 Member
    Sounds long winded but is really quick and easy, takes me about 1 minute to make it:

    -1 heaped teaspoon of dijon, wholegrain or english mustard,
    -half teaspoon of sugar or honey
    -pinch of granulated garlic or crushed fresh garlic (1 small clove)
    -pinch black pepper and a pinch of salt
    -2 teaspoons cider vinegar (or use balsamic instead of using sugar as an ingredient)
    -2 teaspoons water instead of oil

    shake it all up in a jar until everything is well mixed and dissolved - that's a really light fat free dressing and great with all leafy salads - a little goes a long way.
  • SHDenver
    SHDenver Posts: 87 Member
    I just use red wine vinegar and add some black pepper and garlic powder to the salad before i put it on. It's good, calorie free, and sodium reduced. If you have no issues with sodium you could add salt as well.
  • BarbWhite09
    BarbWhite09 Posts: 1,128 Member
    Thanks guys!
  • mzkynd
    mzkynd Posts: 63
    sometimes I just squeeze a bit of lemon over my salad with a dash of S&P, pretty good especially over tuna.
    Greek yogurt works wonders for dressings!!!
    My favorite, though I know not a lot of people like spicy :
    dash of Sirachi sauce
    dash of rice wine vinegar
    dash of sweet chili sauce

    Also works good as a sauce for fresh chicken spring rolls ;)
  • cherbapp
    cherbapp Posts: 322
    My favorite sweet dressing for spinach salad (with craisins and almonds) is about 2 oz of cider vinegar, a Tbs of olive oil, a tsp of of Truvia, a little squirt of almond extract and some poppyseeds. This is truly enough for a whole bag of baby spinach...3 big salads.

    I have a collection of flavored balsamics and olive oils...a favorite combo is blood orange olive oil with cherry balsamic...it's light and thin and the flavor goes a long way with these.
  • eeebee
    eeebee Posts: 471 Member
    sometimes I just squeeze a bit of lemon over my salad with a dash of S&P, pretty good especially over tuna.
    Greek yogurt works wonders for dressings!!!
    My favorite, though I know not a lot of people like spicy :
    dash of Sirachi sauce
    dash of rice wine vinegar
    dash of sweet chili sauce

    Also works good as a sauce for fresh chicken spring rolls ;)

    nice! i want spring rolls now after reading that, is 10am too early for this craving?
  • mzkynd
    mzkynd Posts: 63
    sometimes I just squeeze a bit of lemon over my salad with a dash of S&P, pretty good especially over tuna.
    Greek yogurt works wonders for dressings!!!
    My favorite, though I know not a lot of people like spicy :
    dash of Sirachi sauce
    dash of rice wine vinegar
    dash of sweet chili sauce

    Also works good as a sauce for fresh chicken spring rolls ;)

    nice! i want spring rolls now after reading that, is 10am too early for this craving?

    absolutely not :=)

    I keep a package of spring roll wraps in the cupboard, grill up and slice a couple of chicken breast on the weekend, slice up some cukes and carrots matchstick style, then whenever I want a spring roll, I just wrap some up with a leaf of romaine, and drizzle with sauce. easy peasy super yummy AND good for you.
  • Shannafo
    Shannafo Posts: 121 Member
    bump
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
    olive oil, good wine vinegar (there are sooo many nice wine vinegars out there), fresh basil, garlic, salt, pepper, shake!
  • squishycow7
    squishycow7 Posts: 820 Member
    sometimes all I'll do is some hot pepper relish. it's apprently 0 calories per tsp, on the kind I've used. it's spicy but I do love the flavor... sodium isn't super fantastic though.. along those same lines, I've also been known to simply use salsa as a dressing.

    could use a mix of lemon juice, yellow mustard & garlic powder - I know that sounds weird but if you whip it up it's good!


    the basic formula for a dressing is acid (vinegar, lemon juice) + a binder (like mayo, mustard, yogurt) + spices. experiment :)
  • ymhand
    ymhand Posts: 188
    Olive oil and balsamic vinegar (or mustard), black pepper and salt. A classic that works with all salad!

    You cant get better than that. The only other thing would be to have no dressing at all.
  • BeesKnees181
    BeesKnees181 Posts: 166 Member
    I always make my own dressing, because it gives me control of ingredients. It is a great way to cut added sugar, fat and calories from your diet. I use Trader Joe's Orange Champagne Vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, red pepper chili flakes, salt, pepper, and onion powder.
  • giggitygoo
    giggitygoo Posts: 1,978 Member
    A lot of the time, I just use salsa! It's great. =) Of course...salsa doesn't taste great with EVERYTHING.....but most things.


    Here's a recipe for carrot-ginger dressing. I love that stuff. You just put all the ingredients in a jar and shake. I'm not sure if fresh ginger qualifies as fancy, but it's amazing.

    I really like to put dijon mustard, honey, herbs, white vinegar and a bit of olive oil in a jar and shake it up too. It makes a really nice honey mustard style dressing

    http://happygoodtime.com/2011/12/08/asian-style-slaw-with-carrot-ginger-dressing/
  • khotch1
    khotch1 Posts: 99 Member
    I'm a Balsamic Vinegar girl 99% of the time. I just like my salads with more variety, nuts, fruit added so I cut the cals with the dressing.
  • _VoV
    _VoV Posts: 1,494 Member
    Napa Valley balsamic Grand Reserve. I buy it directly by the case. It is awesome! Has a lower acidic content and is thick, so it clings to the salad leaves. No sodium, fat and only naturally occurring sugar from the grapes it is made from.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I usually use olive oil, some type of mustard, some type of vinegar (or juice from pickles vegetables or lime/lemon juice), and spices. I mix up the mustards, vinegar and spices to get different flavors. Or just olive oil and basalmic vinegar with nothing else.

    That may not be helpful though since it's not low fat, but it is good fat.
  • Missjulesdid
    Missjulesdid Posts: 1,444 Member
    I like to make italian dressing and I don't make it lite either.. I usually wind up with a good 150 calories on my salad from dressing, but at least I know it's high quality EVOO and it's worth every delicious bite!

    Sometimes I make coleslaw dressing, When I make it, I just use a bit less mayo and a bit more buttermilk and I add some strained yogurt. Using more buttermilk does two things to lighten it up, first it has fewer calories by volume and second it makes it runny so more of it slides off the cabbage so you get less dressing.
  • summertime_girl
    summertime_girl Posts: 3,945 Member
    I just use balsamic vinegar.
  • risefromruin
    risefromruin Posts: 483 Member
    bump! love these ideas
  • MamaDee2
    MamaDee2 Posts: 843 Member
    bump! love these ideas
    Me too!
  • meaganh13
    meaganh13 Posts: 55 Member
    Do you like Greek dressing? The BEST recipe is Club House Greek seasoning (found in your local supermarket and is great on chicken/pork/veggies as well), mix with grapeseed or olive oil, lemon juice and some vinegar (I use white wine vinegar). Chill for 20 minutes or store in a container in the fridge.

    Very low cal, tasty, and adds a lot of zip to salads, traditional greek salad or is just plain yummy on cucumber, etc.

    Enjoy!
  • kelseyhere
    kelseyhere Posts: 1,123 Member
    salsa is a favorite of mine for salads, but can be bad for you too. luckily, i live in arizona where fresh salsa from local mexican restaurants is available at most grocery stories (none of that gross el paso processed full of sodium crap).

    i also use plain barbecue sauce or other combinations of condiments. for example, i might mix a little bit of olice oil mayo with some pepper, olive oil and vinegar.

    i also think you could mash up an avocado, add a little salt, maybe a little pepper or any other spices you like, add a bit of olive oil and vinegar and you'd have a nice creamy dressing that is still relatively healthy. it would have some fat, but they'd be the good for you fats you need for shiny hair and nails, etc.
  • mzkynd
    mzkynd Posts: 63


    i also think you could mash up an avocado, add a little salt, maybe a little pepper or any other spices you like, add a bit of olive oil and vinegar and you'd have a nice creamy dressing that is still relatively healthy. it would have some fat, but they'd be the good for you fats you need for shiny hair and nails, etc.

    This sounds absolutely yummy AND since I have been noticing my hair feeling kinda blah, Is most definitely on my menu this week!
    Thanks for sharing :)
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