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Salad Dressing

bikermike5094
bikermike5094 Posts: 1,752 Member
in Social Groups
I make a killer salad to take to lunch everyday (my biker friends at work are starting to eye me suspicously) and I need ideas for salad dressings. I'm not a rabbit so i dont eat dry lettuce.. what do you all use for salad dressings? I've used balsamic vinegar but that gets old real quick. Can i use ranch or thousand island if i count it towards my carbs? thoughts?

Replies

  • christy_frank
    christy_frank Posts: 680 Member
    Google Paleo salad dressings.
    I have made avacoda & honey mix. Yum, Yum!
  • ChaoticMum
    ChaoticMum Posts: 115 Member
    http://practicalpaleo.blogspot.ca/2011/07/paleo-italian-salad-dressing-recipe.html
    This one is a staple in my kitchen! I really like it on pretty much any salad I make!
  • ajwolters
    ajwolters Posts: 78
    I used to use extra virgin olive oil with minced garlic in it - the flavor is enhanced the longer the garlic marinades.
  • SweetxCatastrophe
    SweetxCatastrophe Posts: 593 Member
    I made ranch last night with about half a container of plain greek yogurt, some onion powder, dried dill, dried parsley, white and black pepper, ground thyme and some celery seed. I'm not sure the amounts, I just started small (like a tsp of each, less on the ground thyme since its strong..more like 2 shakes of that) and added more if I needed it. It turned out pretty good and has lots of protein so thats a plus!
  • momof2osaurus
    momof2osaurus Posts: 477 Member
    If you can do paleo mayo (the raw egg sleeves me out, I freely admit it), you can make a ton of "creamy" dressings. My favorite though is a mix of dijon mustard, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, with salt, pepper, and a ton of garlic. It's adapted from a recipe in Practical Paleo.
  • strychnine7
    strychnine7 Posts: 210 Member
    I use the Good Seasons mixes quite a bit (my favorite one: http://www.amazon.com/Good-Seasons-Dressing-0-65-Ounce-Packets/dp/B000RL53PE/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1359064439&sr=8-4&keywords=good+seasons)... Probably not strictly paleo but it's mostly oil and vinegar anyway. Sure as hell better than buying off-the-shelf stuff.
  • babymaddux
    babymaddux Posts: 209 Member
    i think i'm the odd one here, i love salads with nothing on them!
  • JasonKoverman
    JasonKoverman Posts: 33 Member
    I also typically eat my salads with no dressing. It takes a while to get used to, but now I prefer it. The only exception is my primal fiesta salad (taco salad with no tacos). I use salsa on that. Its delicious!
  • hilliardjoe
    hilliardjoe Posts: 111 Member
    I'm not a big salad eater but when I eat one from the salad bar at work I put olive oil on it. Sometimes I use balsamic though. I'm just happy they have those as choices and not just the standard dressings.
  • MrsAbles
    MrsAbles Posts: 117 Member
    Sometimes I mix together plain greek yogurt and salsa. (Sour cream works too.) If you do dairy.
  • amanda6393
    amanda6393 Posts: 176 Member
    A few great salad dressings with can be made in bulk in a shaker & transferred into small jars as you need it:

    Coconut Cream/Milk mixed with a small amount of sweet chilli sauce e.g. Trident.

    Balsamic Vinegar (caramelised is best), olive oil, seeded mustard and a touch of maple syrup.

    Asian Peanut Salad dressing: 1/4 cup of organic peanut butter, 1/4 cup of soy sauce/tamari, 1/4 cup of honey, 1T apple cider vinegar and 1t fresh/jarred ginger. Mix together until smooth, serves about 4 people for a main ( I use it on my Chicken/chinese cabbage salad and everyone that's tried it loves it).

    Homemade Asian Dressing: Coconut Oil, a dash of sesame oil, fish sauce and sweet chilli sauce, lime juice, ginger, and a splash of apple cider vinegar/
  • kannd86
    kannd86 Posts: 42
    I read recently that salads should always be consumed alongside fat or else we don't properly absorb all the nutrients in the leafy greens and veggies. Of course I did not bookmark this study. Basically the gist was don't skimp on the olive oil.

    I usually do olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Someday I'll branch out.
  • primalkiwi
    primalkiwi Posts: 164 Member
    My daily standbys are:

    - Balsamic dressing: 5 Tb olive oil, 2 Tb balsamic vinegar, juice of 1 lemon,1 tsp dijon mustard, salt,pepper - shake well in a screw top jar. I usually make a triple quantity. Best made at least a few hours ahead of time.

    - Speedy mayo: 1 1/4 cups light olive oil, 2 eggs, 3 Tb lemon juice, 1 tsp dijon mustard, salt, pepper - use a tall narrow container, add all ingredients and blend with a stick blender - this is the fastest and easiest way to make mayo but it only works with a stick blender :-) Great base for adding in lots of other things - i.e curry powder (yum with eggs) or capers etc for a tartare sauce.
  • Kymmu
    Kymmu Posts: 1,650 Member
    lemon juice and olive oil, balsamic vinegar and olive oil, a squeeze of orange or lime juice.
  • spirit80
    spirit80 Posts: 327 Member
    lemon juice and olive oil, balsamic vinegar and olive oil, a squeeze of orange or lime juice.

    This .... lemon juice and olice oil... So Good you will lick th bowl.....
  • alaskaang
    alaskaang Posts: 493 Member
    My favorite though is a mix of dijon mustard, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, with salt, pepper, and a ton of garlic. It's adapted from a recipe in Practical Paleo.

    My favorite is similar, but with fresh squeezed lemon juice instead of vinegar.

    1C EV Olive Oil
    Juice from 2 or 3 Lemons
    An entire head of fresh garlic pressed
    1-2 T Dijon mustard
    Salt and pepper to taste.

    I put everything in a pint sized canning jar, shake to mix and keep in the fridge. I like this as a base and will add other herbs and spices depending on my mood.
  • judychicken
    judychicken Posts: 937 Member
    Bump
  • pattyproulx
    pattyproulx Posts: 603 Member
    I generally do Mayo-based or Yogurt-based. I love a creamy dressing.

    I also tried it with leftover green curry and coconut milk from my chicken dish and it was quite tasty.
  • SweetxCatastrophe
    SweetxCatastrophe Posts: 593 Member
    The only exception is my primal fiesta salad (taco salad with no tacos). I use salsa on that. Its delicious!


    I do this too! Completely changes the taste of salads too depending on the kind of salsa. Like for taco salad I might use green or a spicy red, but for salmon salads mango salsa is killer
  • Tara4boys
    Tara4boys Posts: 515 Member
    My favorite though is a mix of dijon mustard, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, with salt, pepper, and a ton of garlic. It's adapted from a recipe in Practical Paleo.

    My favorite is similar, but with fresh squeezed lemon juice instead of vinegar.

    1C EV Olive Oil
    Juice from 2 or 3 Lemons
    An entire head of fresh garlic pressed
    1-2 T Dijon mustard
    Salt and pepper to taste.

    I put everything in a pint sized canning jar, shake to mix and keep in the fridge. I like this as a base and will add other herbs and spices depending on my mood.

    Me too!! Yum yum yum!!!
  • praxisproject
    praxisproject Posts: 154 Member
    Pesto makes a nice change from a standard dressing. You can have it chunky or smooth it down with more olive oil
  • Mrsmartin61
    Mrsmartin61 Posts: 64 Member
    I've been tweaking this recipe for a couple of weeks now:

    olive oil 1/2 cup
    cranberry juice / low cal type of ocean spray 3/4 cup
    apple cider vinegar 1/2 cup
    garlic powder
    tumeric & cummondon spice powder
    chili powder
    coarse ground pepper
    ground red peppers

    lemon or lime juice (this next time)
    No salt as my hubby is on a low -salt diet !

    Good luck!

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