looking for a good salad dressing recipe

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mountan2011
mountan2011 Posts: 3 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I need to reduce my fat intake. I like food that tastes good. Any good salad dressings or recipes that are tasty without tons of fat? I use real food. Thanks a bunch!

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  • purplefizzy
    purplefizzy Posts: 594 Member
    edited February 2019
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    I’m actually a fan of healthy lipids for a host of reasons, but bodies are unique and so are our approaches!

    My dressing formula is:
    1. Start with an acid (lemon or vinegar) - I love white balsamic, sherry vinegar, fresh Meyer lemon juice
    2. Add emulsifier/fat (you can just reduce amounts) - good OO is flavorful and you can just use a small bit, also like tahini/sesame paste (can whip it with water so it goes further- add a drizzle of water at a time, fork whip it- it will go from dark and pastey to whiteish and creamy) and 2% Greek yogurt
    3. Add bit of sweet if you like- honey, pomegranate molasses
    4. Add extras as desired: mustards, garlic, fresh herbs
    5. Add to taste: sea salt, fresh black pepper

    Taste, adjust, taste.

    ETA:
    Watch the sugar/weird filler if you go with bottled ‘low fat’ dressings. Most of them have crazy amounts of sugar (listed in any of the 100 ways sugar can be included on a label) and weird ‘gums’ (which are naturally derived in most cases but still are not historically consumed in the amounts we now eat them in, and may promote inflammation/leaky gut/bla bla.)

    I find making my own dressings (and everything else) means I can control the macros/fat %, without being subject to the sneaky non-food stuff.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    If you want a low fat salad dressing the secret ingredient is xanthan gum.

    https://whats4chow.com/2016/06/24/the-real-secret-to-amazing-salad-dressings-xanthan-gum-the-thickener-of-the-future/

    Personally I’d make a regular vinaigrette and limit myself to a teaspoon.

    https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/basic-french-vinaigrette-51183010

    The scientist who discovered xanthan gum.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allene_Jeanes

  • dsboohead
    dsboohead Posts: 1,900 Member
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    Ive gotten into straight balsamic and then sprinkle in a good Sicilian olive oil.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,737 Member
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    Another option is to make dressings based on plain nonfat Greek yogurt, with herbs, minced garlic/onion, and other seasonings to taste. (If you don't need to reduce fat that much, you can use lowfat or full fat, as the amount is small).

    I don't have recipes because I don't use them. I make dressing in one-serving amounts, and just wing the recipes for either vinaigrette, yogurt-based, or just vinegar with seasonings (usually use nuts or seeds in the salad with these last, because we need fats to absorb the fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K)).
  • icemom011
    icemom011 Posts: 999 Member
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    It's Sriracha or any hot sauce for me nowdays.
  • simmoner4
    simmoner4 Posts: 132 Member
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    I like cottage cheese as a “salad dressing.” Helps me get protein in as well.
  • jingles0231
    jingles0231 Posts: 18 Member
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    Mix red wine vinegar, any spices you want ( I use parsley, garlic, basil, pepper). A pinch of sugar, or sweetener, (or more if you prefer). No oil. Use a little bit of water if you want to tone it down. Great on veggies or salad.
  • debgoodlett2014
    debgoodlett2014 Posts: 6 Member
    edited February 2019
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    My favorite dressing of all time (dieting or not) is

    3 tablespoons honey
    2 tablespoons lime juice
    a dash of siracha

    Love this stuff. Low fat, but calories a bit high. About 70 calories per tablespoon.
  • LaurasaurusF
    LaurasaurusF Posts: 5 Member
    edited February 2019
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    1. Avocado- works great with dark leafy greens like kale
    2. lemon juice + oil + salt & pepper + an herb like dill or thyme
    3. home made honey mustard, just add honey & mustard to the one above
    4. fresh raspberry or strawberry + fresh basil + basalmic vinegar + a little oil = amazing summer salads

    I like to make these all to taste. I find it helps to rely on the spices to give the dressing flavor, and I don't end up needing much oil if you don't want a lot of fat. I guess I don't personally mind a bit of a healthy fat in my salad since the alternative is often something sweet- which just turns into fat, but everyone has their own ways of doing things, hope these flavor combos spark some ideas :)

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