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Make This Go-To Vinaigrette

Susannah Chen — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 10:30:26 PDT

Although you can purchase salad dressing at every grocery store in America, we recommend you make your own! It's really easy to put together a quick vinaigrette that's healthier than a store-bought counterpart because you control the ingredients that go into the dressing. Our everyday vinaigrette is a simple mixture of mustard, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil. Watch the video now to learn how it's made, then print out the recipe and experiment with it at home.

10 Salad Dressings With 50 Calories or Fewer

Jenny Sugar — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 15:21:08 PST

If you want to sit down to a super-healthy meal, a big salad is the way to go. With all those iron-packed greens and fiber-rich veggies, a fresh and delicious salad is super filling, without a ton of calories. That is, unless you douse your bowl in high-calorie creamy dressings. Don't let your salad cause weight gain by limiting the extras like nuts, dried fruit, croutons, and avocado (yes, it's full of healthy fats, but you don't need an entire avocado on your salad), and drizzle your bowl with one of these salad dressings, all with 50 calories or fewer per two-tablespoon serving.

Annie's Lite Gingerly Vinaigrette: 40
Seeds of Change Organic Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette: 50
Newman's Own Organic Lighten Up Balsamic Vinaigrette: 45
Spectrum Sweet Onion & Garlic Fat-Free: 15
Maple Groves Farms Maple Fig Vinaigrette: 30

Continue reading for five more low-calorie salad dressings.

10 Ingredients to Liven Up Your Salad Dressings

Anna Monette Roberts — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 14:58:32 PST

The sky is the limit when it comes to making homemade salad dressings, yet most people still toss their greens in something store-bought or a simple mix of olive oil and balsamic. Adding a few simple ingredients can totally transform the flavor of your salads, many of which are kitchen staples.

Fresh or dried herbs: Quickly chop herbs like parsley, mint, thyme, dill, tarragon, cilantro, basil, or chives, and whisk them into your dressing at the last minute. Dried herbs have more concentrated flavor, so use a third of the amount you would for fresh herbs.
Flavored oils: Thee are tons of specialty oils available like walnut, pistachio, pumpkin, peanut, sesame, even smoked olive oil. Even blending just a tablespoon of a flavored oil with a neutral tasting oil like canola will add roasted, nutty accents to your dressing.

See eight more ways to liven up your salad dressings.

Burning Question: What Exactly Is Ranch Dressing?

YumSugar — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 11:28:40 PST

Ranch dressing happens to be the number one selling salad dressing in the United States since 1992. But what exactly is this creamy concoction that we seem to love to pour all over salads, pizzas, and wings?

The dressing, which started out as a simple buttermilk-based dressing enjoyed by cowboys, was made popular when Hidden Valley Ranch began serving and selling the dressing in 1952. Ranch is essentially a combination of sour cream, mayonnaise, yogurt, and/or buttermilk (which accounts for its high fat content) mixed with various seasonings, like fresh herbs and garlic powder. With ingredients this simple and straight-forward, ranch dressing can be made at home with the seasonings adjusted to your own taste buds!

How do you feel about ranch dressing? Do you pour it all over everything you eat or shy away from its creamy consistency?

Source: Flickr User whitneyinchicago

5 Dangerous Salads and Ways to Make Them Healthier

Heather Dale — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 19:54:55 PST

Salads can be quite deceiving. Those bowls of leafy greens look so colorful and nutritious yet are filled with more fat and calories than a burger and fries combo. Here are five salads that may taste amazing but need a serious health overhaul, so I've included tips on how to re-create them yourself - minus some of the calories!

Simple Tip: Transform Condiment Dregs Into Salad Dressing

Susannah Chen — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 03:03:04 PDT

Spring cleaning may have passed, but that doesn't mean there aren't ways to constantly pare down and simplify the items in your refrigerator. I'm guilty of keeping more than a few condiments, and one of my favorite ways to make use of containers that are almost gone is to make salad dressing.

Start with a nearly empty jar of any component that will work in salad dressing, such as anchovies in oil, mustard, soy sauce, olive tapenade, or chopped sun-dried tomatoes, pictured here. (Of course, don't forget to check the date on it.)

Add in the necessary components for vinaigrette (one part acid, three parts oil of any kind), along with seasonings such as salt and pepper, and anything else you've got a hankering to add. Close the top, give it a good shake - and what do you know? You've got homemade salad dressing (in this case, flecked with bits of tomatoey goodness) in its own container!

Have you ever tried this? If not, how do you use up those last jarred bits in your fridge?

Which Fast Food Salad Dressing Is Healthiest?

Leta Shy — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 23:00:00 PST

Sometimes, there's no way to hide from the fast food drive-through. Luckily, most restaurants have a healthy menu for you choose from, although with the long ingredient lists on some of these products, "healthier" is relative.

Salad offerings at fast food restaurants are no different; although the base of lettuce and other vegetables is good news for your healthier eating pledge, large dressing packets can be your diet's downfall. Before you pour on the sauce, check out the calorie stats of salad dressings from five top fast food restaurants.

	Calories	Total fat (g)	Sat fat (g)	Trans fat (g)	Sodium (mg)	Sugars (g)	Cholesterol (mg)
McDonald's Newman's Own Ranch	170	15	2.5	0	530	4	20
Burger King Ken's Ranch	190	20	3	0.5	560	1	20
Wendy's Classic Ranch Dressing	200	22	3.5	0.5	380	2	20
Jack in the Box Bacon Ranch Dressing	260	26	4	0.5	700	2	30
Taco Bell Spicy Avocado Ranch Dressing	80	8	1	0	120	0	10

Check out the healthier Italian dressing options after the break.

Simple Tip: Anchor Bowl With Twisted Towel

Katie Sweeney — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 09:15:49 PST

When making things like ice cream or salad dressing, a slow stream of liquid sometimes has to be added to a bowl while whisking. However, if one hand is whisking and the other hand is pouring, that leaves no hands to hold the bowl in place. No matter, here's what you do: take a kitchen towel and hold the top left-hand corner and the bottom right-hand corner in your hands. Twist to form a long roll and wrap the roll into a circle on your kitchen counter. Nest the mixing bowl in the middle of the circle and start whisking. The bowl will stay perfectly in place.

Jazz Up Salads With Green Goddess Dressing

Katie Sweeney — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 03:30:50 PST

If eating healthier meals is on your agenda for 2011, start by incorporating more salads into your diet. Select fresh, in-season vegetables, fruits, and nuts and put together a salad that is full of colors, textures, and flavors. Skip the store-bought salad dressing and make your own green goddess dressing instead. This classic salad topping originated in San Francisco and has a base of herbs and anchovies. While many recipes use mayonnaise or sour cream to achieve a creamy texture, this one employs avocado and Greek yogurt. The best thing about this recipe is that the dressing can also be a dip. Pack it in a Tupperware with crudités and enjoy for lunch. Learn the technique.

Do You Ever Eat Salad Without Salad Dressing?

Katie Sweeney — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 08:30:52 PDT

To save money and incorporate more vegetables into my diet, I eat salads for lunch at work. Normally I'll prep the ingredients at home and assemble in the office kitchen just before eating - this ensures that none of the components get soggy. I change up the salads according to whatever is in my fridge on any given day. One thing that I always leave out, however, is salad dressing. It's easier not to deal with it and if the salad is full of juicy produce, I don't miss a dressing or vinaigrette. The salad may be naked, but it's still satisfying and delicious. Do you enjoy undressed salads?