2 ounces of vinaigrette dressing 312 ounces?????

donjtomasco
donjtomasco Posts: 790 Member
edited November 14 in Health and Weight Loss
Are you kidding me? The Quinoa Salad with fixings is 450 or so calories. How can 2 ounces of vinaigrette be that many calories?

Replies

  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,979 Member
    Makes sense depending on the recipe. Vinagrette is made with oil which is calorie dense. 2 oz. is a lot of dressing.

    You should edit your title to 312 calories.
  • peleroja
    peleroja Posts: 3,979 Member
    Because it's mostly oil, and fat tends to be about 9 calories a gram, and there are about 57 grams in an ounce. If the dressing was even 2/3 oil (and that's a pretty typical ratio for salad dressings, even 3/4 sometimes) that makes pretty much perfect sense.

    I suggest either using less or making your own with more vinegar/acid and less oil/sweetener.
  • mactaffy428
    mactaffy428 Posts: 61 Member
    peleroja wrote: »
    Because it's mostly oil, and fat tends to be about 9 calories a gram, and there are about 57 grams in an ounce. If the dressing was even 2/3 oil (and that's a pretty typical ratio for salad dressings, even 3/4 sometimes) that makes pretty much perfect sense.

    I suggest either using less or making your own with more vinegar/acid and less oil/sweetener.

    No, there's a little over 28 grams to an ounce.
  • Pawsforme
    Pawsforme Posts: 645 Member
    Yes, about 28 grams in an ounce. But could two ounces of dressing have 312 calories? Sure. It's common for some dressings to be in the 150 calories per ounce range. They're loaded with oil (or fat of some kind). I always use a light dressing and never more than one ounce.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    Pawsforme wrote: »
    Yes, about 28 grams in an ounce. But could two ounces of dressing have 312 calories? Sure. It's common for some dressings to be in the 150 calories per ounce range. They're loaded with oil (or fat of some kind). I always use a light dressing and never more than one ounce.

    Yes, vinegarette has olive OIL and often SUGAR. These things have calories. Even though olive oil is healthy fat, it's still fat and thus calorie dense.
  • savithny
    savithny Posts: 1,200 Member
    One fluid ounce of olive oil is 2 tablespoons.

    One Tablespoon of oil is about 120 calories. One ounce of oil is 240 cal.

    The traditional proportion of oil to vinegar in old-school vinaigrette is 3:1, so that's 1.5 ounces of oil. That's 300 calories right there.

    I like my dressings tart and usually use 1:1, but even there, what seems like a "little bit" of dressing adds up fast.

    I never just use fat-free dressing though. You need to eat your greens with some fat to make sure you get all the fat-soluble vitamins.
  • peleroja
    peleroja Posts: 3,979 Member
    edited January 2017
    mactaffy428 wrote: »
    peleroja wrote: »
    Because it's mostly oil, and fat tends to be about 9 calories a gram, and there are about 57 grams in an ounce. If the dressing was even 2/3 oil (and that's a pretty typical ratio for salad dressings, even 3/4 sometimes) that makes pretty much perfect sense.

    I suggest either using less or making your own with more vinegar/acid and less oil/sweetener.

    No, there's a little over 28 grams to an ounce.

    My apologies, I intended to say "in two ounces.", which is correct and follows the rest of what I was saying.
  • tides57
    tides57 Posts: 27 Member
    Were all the calories in that dish from the dressing? I'm not sure I understand, unless I missed the op. Because what about the other ingredients? Quinoa is not low-cal to the best of my recollection.
  • alyssa0061
    alyssa0061 Posts: 652 Member
    tides57 wrote: »
    Were all the calories in that dish from the dressing? I'm not sure I understand, unless I missed the op. Because what about the other ingredients? Quinoa is not low-cal to the best of my recollection.

    That's my question. Are you talking about the bagged salads you buy at the grocery store? Most of them are around 450 calories for the whole bag. That's not just dressing and greens, it's everything else too. I find them to be extremely satisfying though so 450 calories for me is well worth it.
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
    Sucks to be "in-the-know," doesn't it? Bye-bye blissful ignorance! :wink:
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,224 Member
    56 grams of dressing, even if it was only half oil that's 252 calories of oil. As other have pointed out, vinaigrette tends to be 2/3 oil. 312 calories is entirely within expectations.
  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
    edited January 2017
    2 ounces of dressing is a lot! I use about an ounce and a half to make salad for the whole family. I'd either cut down on the portion size or make your own with more vinegar and less oil (or both).
  • French_Peasant
    French_Peasant Posts: 1,639 Member
    My nephew is a trainer and he has the whole family schlepping around their own dressing. The first time my mom told me I thought it was the craziest damn thing I ever heard, but now I keep it at work in a fine tipped squeeze bottle so I can drizzle out 10 g or so of the 1:1 dressing, which is about a tsp of oil for 3 or 4 cups of greens. It's a lot better than most commercial dressings, lets me control the quality, and lets the fresh ingredients shine through. Balsamic is sweet anyway, but adding some chopped apple, raisins or strawberries etc sweetens up a salad for not too many calories.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    donjtomasco wrote: »
    Are you kidding me? The Quinoa Salad with fixings is 450 or so calories. How can 2 ounces of vinaigrette be that many calories?

    You went to restaurant and had a quinoa salad, and the menu said 450 calories?
    tides57 wrote: »
    Were all the calories in that dish from the dressing? I'm not sure I understand, unless I missed the op. Because what about the other ingredients? Quinoa is not low-cal to the best of my recollection.

    I've had a Quinoa salad before and you are right- the quinoa itself has quite a bit of calories.
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    edited January 2017
    [1] Is that "ounces" as in volume or weight (it is commonly used as both in the US)? 2 oz (volume-wise) is a lot of dressing. 2 oz (weight) would be even more.
    [2] Vinaigrette is largely oil which is VERY calorie dense. Oily stuff is ~100 cal/tablespoon.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    donjtomasco wrote: »
    Are you kidding me? The Quinoa Salad with fixings is 450 or so calories. How can 2 ounces of vinaigrette be that many calories?

    1 - it's not all the dressing...it's the whole salad, including dressing
    2 - quinoa is a nice healthy seed and I enjoy it...but it's about 190 calories for 1/4 cup (48g) dry
    3 - Vinaigrette is usually at least 1/2 olive oil...healthy fat, but fat none the less...fat is calorie dense.

    450 calories seems like a perfectly reasonable lunch for a man that is cutting though...
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,745 Member
    Whether it's fluid ounces or ounces weight, 2oz salad dressing is a LOT, and salad dressing packs a lot of calories. I could easily believe it.
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