Salad.. great. Dressing.. AWFUL?

I love salad and don't mind the added fat in dressing (I like Drews garlic peppercorn or I make my own with oil, vinegar and mustard). It makes it more of a meal for me. It can make the calories add up quickly so if I'm limited in calories left I do watch it.

If you're concerned about the calories salsa is good, or lime and cilantro blended together. Cottage cheese with seasoning added can mimic a creamy dressing and adds good protein.

There's nothing wrong with fat, man people don't get enough fat.

As has been said, some is okay. I have gotten used to usually doing without, but sometimes I use the Ken's Light dressings. I really like the Sweet Vidalia one. Just don't use the big ladle to scoop bleu cheese at the salad bar. I crack up when I see people "eating light" getting a salad and then right on top of the bacon bits they put a big scoop of full fat ranch or bleu...

There's nothing wrong with fat, man people don't get enough fat.

Agreed. In addition to my fatty dressing I usually have an avocado as well.

Beware of "Lite" or low fat salad dressings. Often they lower the fat, but replace it with a bunch of sugar to maintain the taste.

I usually eat trader joes champagne pear vinaigrette, or kens dressing. I am not a fan of balsamic vinegar. If I do want to "splurge" on dressing (I love avocado ranch). I place a drop on my fork, and stir it over the salad greens. I throw the rest away. When I realized that a pack of salad dressing that I use to eat as over 300 calories and I try to eat less than 400 calories a meal, I had to make changes. I hope you find a dressing you like that is tasty and fits into your daily calorie allotment.

When I'm eating salad at home, it's usually with grilled chicken or some ground turkey taco meat on it. And I make my own "dressing" by stirring together 1/2 cup of lowfat cottage cheese with a couple of tablespoons of salsa. Mix that into the salad, and it's pretty tasty. Adds more protein, too, and it's less than 100 calories.

I think some healthy fats to eat along with the veggies actually help you absorb the health benefits of the vegetables better. Not exactly sure of the science or reasoning behind it.

Sometimes I skip the dressing but will have some walnuts to get the fat in.

Edit: this is what I meant
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/news/20040727/fat-helps-vegetables-go-down

When I'm eating salad at home, it's usually with grilled chicken or some ground turkey taco meat on it. And I make my own "dressing" by stirring together 1/2 cup of lowfat cottage cheese with a couple of tablespoons of salsa. Mix that into the salad, and it's pretty tasty. Adds more protein, too, and it's less than 100 calories.

I do this also. Lately an avocado and lots of Tabasco either the smoked or the green stuff is enough to balance out any flavor or dryness issues in my salads.

Can you share the recipes? It sounds great!

Here are my two "go-to" recipes...I usually make one, then when that one is gone, I make the other. that way, I don't get sick of either.

Creamy Garlic Dressing
(Makes 10 servings, about 2 Tbsp. each)

Ingredients
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp. Himalayan salt
½ tsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. raw honey (or pure maple syrup)

Directions
1. Place oil, vinegar, garlic, lemon juice, parsley, salt, mustard, and honey in a blender or food processor; cover with lid. Blend until smooth.
2. Refrigerate dressing if not using immediately. If dressing solidifies when cold, hold at room temperature for 30 minutes. Stir before serving.

Nutrition
Calories: 119
Total Fat: 11 g
Saturated Fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 235 mg
Carbohydrate: 6 g
Fiber: 0 g
Sugar: 5 g
Protein: 0 g


Greek Dressing
(Makes 8 servings, about 2 Tbsp. each)

Ingredients
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. dried oregano
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
½ tsp. Himalayan salt
1 tsp. herbal seasoning blend
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Directions
1. Place oil, red wine and balsamic vinegars, lemon juice, oregano, garlic, mustard, salt, seasoning blend, and parsley in a blender or food processor, in 2 or more batches, if necessary; cover with lid. Blend until smooth.
2. Refrigerate dressing if not using immediately. If dressing solidifies when cold, hold at room temperature for 30 minutes. Stir before serving.

Nutrition
Calories: 127
Total Fat: 14 g
Saturated Fat: 2 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 150 mg
Carbohydrate: 1 g
Fiber: 0 g
Sugar: 0 g
Protein: 0 g

Enjoy!
-Christina

I have the same salad dressing every time, and have done for the last 10 years (I'm 23!) and I LOVE it. It's also drizzle it on over grilled turkey and asparagus!

Equal amounts of extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and diijon mustard. Simple as, I use a mini tupperware box to shake it up and it stores in the fridge. Add a little honey if you like it sweet but the balsamic adds a lovely sweetness.

Going to give those recipes a try and maybe give the salsa a break : )

I use a teaspoon or tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil depending on how large my salad is and a tablespoon of red wine vinegar or a balsamic if you prefer. I also add some salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. It is very tasty to me and not drowning in dressing with lots of crappy ingredients. Also the olive oil enables your body to metabolize the salad veggies better.

This, plus dijon mustard. I typically don't like commercial salad dressings though.

I just use a TBSP of balsamic vinegar . Only 10-15 calories.

Walden farms makes 0 calorie dressing. I've tried every flavor. Raspberry, balsamic and creamy bacon are my favorite. The only thing in it is sodium.

0 calorie creamy bacon? How do they do that? Does it have any ingredients you can pronounce?