How do you eat a salad without traditional dressing?

245

Replies

  • thewindandthework
    thewindandthework Posts: 531 Member
    edited May 2017
    I love salads! I almost always make some kind of vinaigrette. It's light, flavorful, quick, easy, and customizable! I do make them a little differently than I was taught in culinary school, though, less oil.

    I now do a 1:1:1 ratio of oil, acid, and emulsifier. My go-to is extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, and Dijon. Add in whatever spices, herbs, and seasonings seem appropriate, whisk it up, good to go!

    That exact vinaigrette with some black pepper, tossed with some baby arugula and parmesan, cilantro, and whatever fresh veg I have around? Amazing.

    Add a chopped hard boiled egg? Great! Or even better, an egg poached or ever-easy on top, so the yolk adds a creaminess to the dressing? OMG so good.

    ETA: If I don't have the calories to spend on oil but want to dress a salad, tomatoes are a lifesaver. Chop them up good, add some salt, let that sit for a couple minutes so it draws the water out. It's not the same as a real dressing, but if there are strong flavors elsewhere in the salad, the dressing doesn't need to be the star.
  • maurihart
    maurihart Posts: 51 Member
    I do the half serving and shake up in a container method. It works well and I still get whatever dressing I want. But Olive Garden Italian is yummy and only 80 calories a serving. And they have a lighter version as well.
  • DebraClaunch2
    DebraClaunch2 Posts: 3 Member
    I buy Walden Farms dressings - They taste like the real deal and have no calories, no sugar, no gluten, no carbs and no chorlesterol - I like the French, Ranch, BaconRanch, Russian, Thousand Island, and Ginger Sesame --- This company also makes the totally free ketchup, barbeque sauce, honey mustard, and chocolate dips, it has good Alfred in a jar, (great on spaghetti squash) and regular red sauce as well - there are tons of choice - it costs about $3.89 a jar but goes on sale much at 2/$7 and $2/6 - you can get purse packets to take to work or wherever - I live in Tucson Arizona and purchase it at Wal-Mart, SunFlower, and Fry's Groceries (Kroger to ya'll up north) - You can buy it on line at Walden Farms website ---
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    If I want low calorie dressing, Bolthouse is my favorite. If I want a regular full-fat dressing, I just use less of it. I measure out whatever amount fits my calorie budget.
  • DebraClaunch2
    DebraClaunch2 Posts: 3 Member
    And by the way - Walden Farms products Taste like the real deal - they do not taste like the low fat or bland flavors of other brands -
  • mizbedina
    mizbedina Posts: 1 Member
    I don't love salads, so instead I aim to eat some greens at every meal. For example, at breakfast this morning I put a handful of raw spinach and top with my cereal, fruit, and almond milk. At supper last night I heated my grains and lentils and put it over a handful of spinach.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    DebraClaunch2 wrote: »
    And by the way - Walden Farms products Taste like the real deal - they do not taste like the low fat or bland flavors of other brands -

    I'm glad you found what works for you.......but I'm thinking you are in the minority on this.

    I've only tried 2 things.....they screamed fake to me.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    abbynormalartist wrote: »
    I'd like to have more salads with my dinner but am having trouble finding a way to eat them without the traditional creamy dressing. I've tried a little red wine vinegar and that's..... okay, but not great. I've also tried adding more flavorful veggies like onions and tomatoes but I figure there are better ways out there too. Ideas?

    IDK...I've never been super into creamy dressing and have always preferred vinegar and oil or a lite Italian or lite balsamic vinaigrette...all of which I would consider "traditional"

    Bolthouse Farms makes creamy dressings with Greek Yogurt that are pretty low calorie...I use their Blue Cheese when I have wings and we get the ranch for our kids because they like ranch on everything.
  • dutchandkiwi
    dutchandkiwi Posts: 1,389 Member
    edited May 2017
    I cut up some Gurken - the juices coming out of that is enough of a dressing for me
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I do red wine vinegar and Dijon mustard, plus salt and pepper.

    Definitely salsa/pico de gallo as dressing for my taco salads though!
  • jessiferrrb
    jessiferrrb Posts: 1,758 Member
    hummus does nicely for me in a pinch, but i also like the opa greek yogurt dressings or making my own. balsamic, olive oil, dijon and a small dab of honey is awesome.
  • vnb_208
    vnb_208 Posts: 1,359 Member
    Already mention but Salsa or Bolthouse Greek yogurt dressing blue cheese is 35 cals per 2 tablespoons!
  • abbynormalartist
    abbynormalartist Posts: 318 Member
    I didn't know about Bolthouse dressing and just looked it up - it's 100 calories less than my usual dressing! Awesome! Thank you! I'm grabbing some today!
  • FaatSara
    FaatSara Posts: 14 Member
    I don't skip the dressing at all. The key to a successful diet is to make sure it's not boring, in my opinion. If I am eating a plate full of greens and otherwise healthy veggies why not throw some buttermilk ranch on it? I just use a small amount of dressing. I like having it in a small container and dipping the tip of my fork before poking the veggies. The small amount of buttermilk ranch I use has less calories than my girlfriends crappy, boring light dressings.
  • caysea
    caysea Posts: 16 Member
    I make a mixture of coconut aminos (much less salty than soy sauce), grainy dijon mustard and course ground black pepper. Sounds weird but it's delish and packs a ton of flavor.
  • junodog1
    junodog1 Posts: 4,792 Member
    If you like vinegar, but just some new tastes, there are flavored vinegars. Olive oil shops usually sell this.

    I am currently in love with a balsamic vinegar I get at Publix (can't remember the brand) and a Champagne Mimosa vinegar I got in an olive oil shop.

    However, lots of people are not a fan of the sharpness of vinegar alone on a salad.
  • Lourdesong
    Lourdesong Posts: 1,492 Member
    dollop of cottage cheese and/or a dollop of Greek yogurt. Sometimes add salsa and/or guacamole.
  • Penthesilea514
    Penthesilea514 Posts: 1,189 Member
    I love using salsa as a dressing for salads and most of my salads use this. Otherwise, balsamic vinaigrette is good for me. Sometimes I will use the "real deal"- but only if I don't have another option.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    If you're desperate to cut calories, spray olive oil can get you the flavor of olive oil for a fraction the calories, because it coats so well. But in general a little healthy oil is worth it, 1/4 tbsp to 1 tbsp vinegar. I like even more strongly flavored oils sometimes, such as sesame. Adding crushed garlic, spices, and herbs to dressing amps up the flavor.

    My favorite Asian dressing is sesame oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, diced green onion (the white part) and grated ginger. Substitute peanut butter for the oil and lime for the lemon, voila, Thai dressing. Good on cucumber salad with edamame.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    This is a bit too heavy for a lettuce-based salad, but one go-to lunch of mine is a hearty salad based around corn niblets, sliced veggie dog, tomato, cucumber, pickle, hot pepper, and something from the onion family. Sometimes other 'non-wilting' veggies thrown in. To this, I add 1/4-cup of salsa, 1 tbsp vegan sour cream, and 1 tbsp sweet pickle relish.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    i use the bolthouse farms yogurt dressings the majority of the time. kraft has a ceamy poppyseed thats not high in calories. plenty of options if you look.
  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,300 Member
    The thought of using Walden Farms products makes me want to be sick. That stuff is so gross! Ugh!

    Now, I do like Bolthouse Farms dressings. I also often make my own. However, I usually just get normal dressing, count the calories, measure it our, and then shake the heck out of my salad. This way the flavor is mixed into the whole of the salad really well and I stay within my serving sizes.
  • missmadsbrown
    missmadsbrown Posts: 1 Member
    Honestly - yellow mustard, dijon mustard and white vinegar (if you like it sweeter you can add splenda or some other sweetener) but it is almost no calories and tastes amazing!!
  • anaxmann
    anaxmann Posts: 103 Member
    I second the fork dipping tip and some of the lower calorie dressing options (Bolthouse and Litehouse). I like to put olives and pepperoncinis (banana peppers) on my salads as replacement for dressing. Olives have a few calories, but you can pretty much have however many pepperoncinis you want. I also like to go to the olive oil and vinegar store and pick up special vinegars to put on my salads (strawberry, cherry, lime, so many options).
  • japinso
    japinso Posts: 6 Member
    They have light version on most dressings but I find the light or fat free Italian dressings to be best. If I want a little extra flavor I just add some hot sauce, sriracha, cholula or something like that. They actually aren't too high in sodium and have little to no calories. Also I have found that using a deli mustard, if you like mustard, is actually a pretty tasty dressing.
  • mrsdumbuya100
    mrsdumbuya100 Posts: 61 Member
    I make my own
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    I always make my own dressings, usually starting with apples cider vinegar and olive oil. If I want it creamy I'll add a teaspoon or so of mayo. If I want it really simple, I go for just balsamic vinegar and olive oil. If I want taste without calories, I use only balsamic (this is especially good if fruit is included in the salad).
  • vjambois
    vjambois Posts: 39 Member
    I second the salsa idea, I use that in my tuna salad. I also use the Bolthouse dressing and Whole Foods has a bunch of no-olive oil dressings that are low in calories. You can also get away with using less dressing if you toss the dressing and salad.
  • XshakyX
    XshakyX Posts: 193 Member
    Use dry Italian mix with white vinegar olive oil & water. Directions on back of packet.
  • Aarjono
    Aarjono Posts: 228 Member
    I love dijon mustard on a salad!!
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