Recipe: Healthy Salad Dressings

Most commercial salad dressings are full of saturated fats, hydrogenated oils and preservatives. It is quick and easy to make up several batches of your own healthy salad dressings to keep handy. I even use a miniature bottle to keep some in my purse if I want to eat salad out and don’t like the choices for dressing the restaurant offers.

Save your old jam jars or small pickle jars and store your dressings in them. They are perfect to give the dressing a quick shake, then serve over favorite greens.

Healthy Salad Dressings

Miso Lime Dressing

Ingredients
2 Tbsp light miso
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup organic extra virgin, cold pressed olive oil
1/4 cup coconut or light coconut milk
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp agave syrup (available from health food or organic stores)
Hot sauce to taste

Preparation
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend on high speed until creamy. Refrigerate until using.

Source: Brenda Davis RD

Lime and Cilantro Dressing

Ingredients
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1/2 cup organic extra virgin, cold pressed olive oil or Udo’s oil
Fresh cilantro
2 cloves garlic
1 tomato
2 small shallots
1 Tbsp Bragg’s liquid aminos

Preparation
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend on high speed until creamy. Refrigerate until using.

Source: Christina Blanchard, a FormerFatGuy subscriber and Weight Loss Forum member

Super Sesame-Ginger Dressing

Ingredients
1/2 cup organic extra virgin, cold pressed olive oil
1/4 cup organic sesame oil
2 tsp Bragg’s seasoning
2 tsp Apple cider vinegar
Juice of one small orange (about 1/8 cup)
1 1/2 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp chili paste (optional if you like it hot)

Preparation
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend on high speed until creamy. Refrigerate until using.

Salad Stuffs

Now that you have all these great dressings ready to go – now we just need to discuss what to put in your salad. Select an organic mixed greens, or spring salad mix or get loose bunch spinach. Make sure you have lots of fresh organic green leafy things (they are the highest nutritionally of any foods, next to sea vegetables and freshly grown sprouts) then add any or all of the following vegetables:

• peppers
• mushrooms
• green onions
• radishes thinly sliced
• grated carrots
• tomatoes or cherry tomatoes halved
• avocado slices
• cauliflower
• broccoli
• asparagus
• cucumber
• sprouts

Seeds and Nuts

Seeds and nuts you can also add for some essential fats

• raw unsalted pumpkin seeds
• raw unsalted sunflower seeds
• sesame seeds
• flax seeds
• hemp hearts
• sliced raw unsalted unpasteurized almonds
• walnuts
• cashews
• pine nuts
• filberts

Earlier this week on the blog there was a poll that asked us “Do you eat salad?” So now you are armed with lots of ways to do that, so feel free to go vote a strong “Yes”

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Healthy Salad Recipe Photo Credit: Her View Photography