Salad Dressing....help!

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  • bm99
    bm99 Posts: 597 Member
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    I would stick with the good stuff, just try to cut it down (that's my favorite too and a serving is 130 cals!!). The less fat version tastes like crap even though you can eat so much more of it calorie-wise.

    I think I'd rather have half a serving of the really good stuff than more servings of the fat free.

    But then I mix mayonnaise with pickle juice and call that dressing, so what do I know haha
  • ealock
    ealock Posts: 1
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    Walden Farms either in the grocery store or can order on line ( more choices of many great no calorie, no carb, no fat, no anything) but taste good. I particularly like the thousand Island dressing which is good on shrimp as well. I just ordered their maple syrup on recommendation from my weight loss clinic. Check it out.!
  • Kalynx
    Kalynx Posts: 707 Member
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    I'm not much help on this as I've never liked salad dressing - not too big on condiments either or it has to be just pickles and cheese on a burger, or just ketcup and pickles but not all three together lol..

    But I do like a sprinkle of shreded cheddar or parmesan over salads, especially the kraft grated kind in a baggy of baby carrots (sprinkle some in your zip lock baggie and shake!). Also have found that freshly grated parm is much lower on fat and sodium than the canned sits on the shelf forever kind and is only 10-15 cents more per oz cost wise for the same amount. It also tastes better and cooks better. I keep a container of the sprinkle/cardboard can kind at my desk for work for all my salad 'dressing' needs. Its next to my jar of peanut butter in my drawer.
  • cnm81600
    cnm81600 Posts: 3 Member
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    Full fat dressing is fine as long as you;re within your calorie limits...AND full fat will keep you full longer. Fat takes longer to digest. I would even suggest 2% yogurt and cottage cheese...and "sometimes" even full fat cheese. Just don't over do it. Everything in moderation. We actually do need fat in our diets.....

    Good luck
  • ericalyn73
    ericalyn73 Posts: 79
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    I too am a full fat Ranch dressing lover. I usually cut 1 T w/ 1-2 T of red wine vinegar. You still get the flavor and texture you want and half the calories.
  • CarlieeBear
    CarlieeBear Posts: 325 Member
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    Raspberry vinaigrette is my new fave...(used to be full fat Western, but I hate the lower fat varieties of the same). I get the one Kraft bottles in small bottles. I think it has poppy seeds.

    This sounds like a yummy salad...actually like the one I paid $5 for at Einstein's tonight!
    light or fat free raspberry vinaigrette :)

    Here is a recipe!

    3 cups of green leaf or romaine
    1 cup spinach
    1 1/2 cups of strawberries or about 5 strawberries
    1/3 cup blueberries
    1/4 cup sliced almonds (optional)
    4 oz boiled chicken
    2 TBS of the dressing :)
  • corgicake
    corgicake Posts: 846 Member
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    Vegetables with a bunch of fat-soluble vitamins, paired with a little bit of fat which is necessary to get said vitamins? I question whether this is a problem.
  • SusanUW83
    SusanUW83 Posts: 152 Member
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    Blackberry balsamic vinegar without oil or with a few drops of lemon olive oil. You can make fruit balsamic vinegars by reducing fruit and medium grade balsamic vinegar together -- recipe on the internet.
  • AwesomeGuy37
    AwesomeGuy37 Posts: 436 Member
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    Old post. I'll contribute anyway.

    Ranch dressing is basically sour cream, mayonnaise, garlic, onion powder, parsley and dill. Sometimes buttermilk is added.
    You can cut the calories down without sacrificing taste by replacing the sour cream with Greek yogurt. A low calorie mayo may affect taste, but experiment with alternatives and different amounts of each.
  • erikayblue
    erikayblue Posts: 10 Member
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    My favorite thing to put on salad is a tomato sauce like marinara or pizza sauce. 1/4 cup of pizza sauce is usually only 35-40 calories. Personally, I like to drench my salad in dressing, which obviously is not good for a high cal. dressing if you are cutting calories. But with pizza sauce I can pour a half cup on a huge salad and only be at about 70 calories for a huge amount of dressing. And it is so, so satisfying too.
  • luadams2
    luadams2 Posts: 122
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    If you like ranch dressing, maybe you can try making your own. You can find tons of recipes online. If I was making my own ranch dressing, I would substitute low fat mayo (I like the Best Foods olive oil based mayo), low fat buttermilk, and if sour cream were called for, I would use plain yogurt. Use fresh minced herbs if you have them. I grow them in a pot on my patio so I always have them. Fresh home made dressing is easy to make and I think it tastes a whole lot better than bottled.

    Personally, if you don't feel like making your own dressings,I don't think full fat regular dressing that you're using is going to kill your diet, so long as you don't use a lot of it. It's what you put in that salad that makes the difference, I think. Instead of croutons, I like to use oven baked crunchy spiced garbanzo beans (you can find recipe online - CHOW has a good one I use all the time).

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