homemade salad dressings

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Bintychops
Bintychops Posts: 3 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am starting to lose weight but love my dressings! Would like to make my own as i am sure they are better than bottled ones (when trying to lose weight!) Help please!! How much oil etc
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  • polly1970
    polly1970 Posts: 18 Member
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    I make a lot of homemade creamy salad dressings using Greek yogurt as the base. It's versatile and high in protein. There are a lot of recipes online and some great ones on Pinterest. I've also made dressing with an avocado and olive oil in a food processor. Delicious!
  • Venus_Red
    Venus_Red Posts: 209 Member
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    Have you ever tried Walden Farms? Zero calories.

  • abetterluke
    abetterluke Posts: 625 Member
    edited September 2015
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    withaflourish wrote: »
    Have you ever tried Walden Farms? Zero calories.

    Zero taste....

    Edit: Zero taste is unfair...it has a taste. It's just not good.
  • devilwhiterose
    devilwhiterose Posts: 1,157 Member
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    I quit using oil. I take a little garlic red wine vinegar and add some McCormick salad seasoning.
  • pussingtonp
    pussingtonp Posts: 59 Member
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    I love balsamic vinegar as a dressing - I just put it on, no oil or anything, but it might be a bit too "vinegary" for most people. I also tend not to dress salads if I use "wet" ingredients - for example putting goats cheese in a salad, or cut tomatoes, or pickled beets - I find the juice from these can help instead of dressings.
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
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    I'm generally not a big proponent of low-cal substitutions (in general I find they also lack flavor and satiety)

    But I am a big fan of the OPA Greek Yogurt salad dressings (especially the blue cheese). I'm sure one could re-create them at home, though I can't say I've tried.
  • Venus_Red
    Venus_Red Posts: 209 Member
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    abetterluke wrote: »
    withaflourish wrote: »
    Have you ever tried Walden Farms? Zero calories.

    Zero taste....

    Edit: Zero taste is unfair...it has a taste. It's just not good.

    I like them. I couldn't make the leap to oil and vinegar because..eww. It satisfies my need for a creamy clinginess to the salad.
  • abetterluke
    abetterluke Posts: 625 Member
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    withaflourish wrote: »
    abetterluke wrote: »
    withaflourish wrote: »
    Have you ever tried Walden Farms? Zero calories.

    Zero taste....

    Edit: Zero taste is unfair...it has a taste. It's just not good.

    I like them. I couldn't make the leap to oil and vinegar because..eww. It satisfies my need for a creamy clinginess to the salad.

    Ah see I like the oil based dressings. Especially just oil and lemon juice. Creamy dressing is nice sometimes but I don't really miss it if I don't have it.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited September 2015
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    Bintychops wrote: »
    I am starting to lose weight but love my dressings! Would like to make my own as i am sure they are better than bottled ones (when trying to lose weight!) Help please!! How much oil etc

    The traditional vinaigrette ratio is 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar, but I find it works fine if you reverse that -- I started doing one to one and just experimented with reducing the oil and find a tablespoon of vinegar plus a teaspoon of olive oil will work. The trick is to have a really good vinegar. I do a basic balsamic that way and one with red wine vinegar. I also like just plain red wine vinegar and mustard, especially if I have olives in the salad.

    I also do an Asian salad (usually based on cucumbers and tomatoes) with sriracha, lime, and soy.

    Tzatziki sauce can make a good dressing too. Mix Greek yogurt, cucumber, garlic, olive oil (only need a little), lemon juice, and dill.
  • marsinah1
    marsinah1 Posts: 106 Member
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    I make a slightly lighter version of ranch dressing by swapping regular mayo for olive oil blended mayo. There's a whole board on MFP devoted to recipes that you might want to go search for ideas. You'll probably find quite a bit more there.
  • alt5057
    alt5057 Posts: 62 Member
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    I make vinaigrettes heavy on the vinegar. A recipe might call for 1 part vinegar, 2 parts oil...I reverse it. So the oil is just enough to give it the emulsification and the rest is vinegar. I like the bite it gives to salads. :)
  • rhtexasgal
    rhtexasgal Posts: 572 Member
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    I don't even make the vinaigrette anymore. I have a spritz bottle I fill with olive oil and spritz my salad with it. I know how many spritzes it takes to make one tablespoon. Then a splash or two of vinegar, some sprinkling of seasoning (McCormick's Bacon and Chive is GREAT!) and then a drizzle of honey. Toss together and then sprinkle a little cheese if my calorie allotment that day allows.

    I play around with flavored oils and vinegars often to keep salad interesting. On occasion, I use unflavored Greek yogurt as a base for a creamy dressing as it is healthy and offers protein :)
  • justrollme
    justrollme Posts: 802 Member
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    If you like dijon mustard, a really delicious and super quick dressing is equal parts freshly squeezed lemon juice and dijon mustard (I usually use around 20 grams/ 20 ml of each) with a gram or two of dried tarragon. Just whisk it together, it will stick, and if you want it even thicker, mix it with a small amount of smashed avocado. Yumyumyum.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    i dont desire to make the time to make my own dressing. i like the bolthouse farms ones though.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    I like OPA greek yogurt dressings 60 c per 2 tablespoons.
  • LovingLife_Erin
    LovingLife_Erin Posts: 328 Member
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    Not really a dressing but I love spinach with cut up slices of strawberries on it. They make it nice and sweet and adds another portion of fruit to my day.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    I use Dijon mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper. That's enough for me.
  • wkwebby
    wkwebby Posts: 807 Member
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    Lemon juice (instead of vinegar), with some salt and pepper is plain and nice on simpler fare. Otherwise, I will also do the vinegar and dijon mustard. No oil is needed unless you want some, but I find if you want to water the vinegar down a little bit, put some salt and some water into the dressing. Salt will cut the acidity and the water will literally water it down. No need for the oil (or all those extra added calories).

    I bought the home made dressing containers (they have french dressing, italian dressing, and even an easy ceasar salad dressing recipes printed on the side of the container). I modify as necessary to cut the cals or change the taste. Homemade dressings are way better tasting (fresher in my opinion too).

    Good luck! :smiley:
  • wkwebby
    wkwebby Posts: 807 Member
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    Pampered Chef is the brand of container I use, but there are lots like it online.
  • southhamptonmike
    southhamptonmike Posts: 61 Member
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    3 parts evoo, 1 part vinegar of choice, 1 tbsp dijon mustard, 3 cloves chrushed garlic, tsp italian spices.
    shake well and pour. Needs no refigeration.

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